Influx

For years, multinational food companies have been trying to create a new category of foodstuffs called nutraceuticals. These new foods are supposed to combine some of the benefits of pharmaceuticals with food. One example is a yogurt that strengthens the immune system.

In body centric South Beach, Miami, a new restaurant has opened catering to the idea of “you are what you eat”. Afterglo has developed the concept of “international beauty cuisine” that supposedly promotes radiant beauty, increase brainpower and help with digestion.

Although it sounds like an interesting marketing tactic, Chef Michael Schwartz and restaurant developer Tim Hogle spent a considerable amount of time researching the science of food and health to develop Afterglo’s menu. A menu that contains mainly organic and local ingredients and a cooking style that doesn’t use excessive heat and utilizes dehydrating and sprouting techniques.

Afterglo seems to be another manifestation of the increasing use of science in food, one that Influx first identified with the rise of molecular gastronomy.