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Notice something different? We've made a few improvements to Wikipedia. Learnmore!Futurist mealsFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJump to:navigation, searchFuturist meals comprised a cuisine and style of dining advocated by some members of the Futurist movement, particularly in Italy. These meals were first proposed in Marinetti and Fillià 's Manifesto of Futurist Cooking, published in the TurinGazzetta del Popolo on 28 August 1930.The Futurist movement recognized that "men think, dream and act according towhat they eat and drink" so cooking and eating needed to become subservient tothe proper aesthetic experience that Futurism favored. Revolutionary in itsexpectations of overturning set patterns and expectations, some of its moreinteresting ideas for the realm of cuisine were:No more pasta, as it causes lassitude, pessimism and lack of passionPerfect meals requiring:originality and harmony in table setting including all implements, foodaesthetics and tastesabsolute originality in the food

Sculpted foods, including meats whose main appeal is to the eye andimaginationAbolition of the knife and forkUse of perfumes to enhance the tasting experience

The Manifesto of Futurist Cooking also proposed that the way in which meals were served be fundamentally changed:Some food on the table would not be eaten, but only experienced by the eyesand noseFood would arrive rapidly and contain many flavors, but only a few mouthfulsin sizeAll political discussion and speeches would be forbiddenMusic and poetry would be forbidden except during certain intervals

One of the proposed settings for these "perfect meals" incorporated the Futurist love of machinery: The diners would eat in a mock aircraft, whose engines'vibrations would stimulate the appetite. The tilted seats and tables would"shake out" the diners' pre-conceived notions, while their tastebuds would beoverwhelmed by highly original dishes listed on aluminium cards.Traditional kitchen equipment would be replaced by scientific equipment,bringing modernity and science to the kitchen thus eliminating the limiting.Suggested equipment included:Ozonizers -- to give food the smell of ozoneUltraviolet ray lamps -- activates vitamins and other "active properties"Electrolyzers -- to decompose items into new forms and propertiesColloidal mills -- to pulverize any food itemAutoclaves, dialyzers, atmospheric and vacuum stills to cook food withoutdestroying vitaminsChemical indicators or analyzers to help the cook determine if sauces needmore salt, sugar, or vinegar

The Italian public was not won over by Marinetti's manifesto regarding cuisine.Immediately following its publication the Italian press broke into uproar. Allclasses participated in the dispute that ensued. Every time pasta was served ina restaurant or a private house there was heated debate. Doctors were measured

 

in their response, agreeing that habitual consumption of pasta was fattening and recommending a varied diet; but the Duke of Bovino, Mayor of Naples, was firmerin his views: "The angels in Paradise," he told a reporter, "eat nothing butvermicelli al pomodoro [fine spaghetti with tomato sauce]." Marinetti repliedthat this confirmed his suspicions about the monotony of Paradise.The Futurists amused themselves and outraged the public by inventingpreposterous new dishes, most of which shocked by their unusual combinations and exotic ingredients - for example, mortadella with nougat or pineapples withsardines.[1] Marinetti wanted Italians to stop eating foreign food and to stopusing foreign food words: a bar should be called quisibeve (literally, "here one drinks" in Italian), a sandwich should be called traidue (between-two), a maîtred'hôtel a guidopalato (palate-guide), and so on. Elizabeth David, the cookerywriter, comments that Marinetti's ideas about food contained a germ of commonsense, but behind his jesting lay the Fascist obsession with nationalism.Marinetti wanted to prepare the Italians for war. "Spaghetti is no food forfighters," he declared.[1]

[edit] ReferencesMarinetti, Filippo Tommaso (28 August 1930), "Manifesto of Futurist Cooking",Gazzetta del PopoloMarinetti, Filippo Tommaso, and Fillià , La Cucina Futurista, (ed. PietroFrassica), Milan, Viennepierre Edizioni, 2009Davidson, Alan. Oxford Companion to Food (1999). "Futurist meals", p. 327^ a b David, Elizabeth, Italian Food, Penguin Books, 1974, pp.93-94

[edit] External linksMarinetti, Filippo Tommaso (28 August 1930), "Manifesto della cucinafuturista", Gazzetta del Popolo,http://www.railibro.rai.it/articoli.asp?id=484 . Text of the manifesto fromRaiLibro.

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