Lab-grown chicken will debut in Singapore restaurant this weekend

Singapore is the world’s first nation to approve lab-grown meat. That happened earlier this month, and the first official meal made with lab-grown chicken will make its grand debut on Saturday. It will be served at 1880, a private members club, and will be offered to 40 total guests starting from tomorrow through December 22, according to a press release.

The first wave of diners who will give the lab-grown meat a try will be a group of “young people age 14 to 18 who have shown, through their consistent actions, a commitment to building a better planet,” reports a press release from Eat Just, the creators of this groundbreaking based-off-meat-yet-not-meat meat. (Lifehacker tried East Just’s Just Egg last year with mixed results.)

“This historic step, the first-ever commercial sale of cultured meat, moves us closer to a world where the majority of meat we eat will not require tearing down a single forest, displacing a single animal’s habitat or using a single drop of antibiotics,” said Josh Tetrick, co-founder and CEO of Eat Just. “We’re thrilled to partner with 1880 to launch a product that will someday be served on the dinner tables of families living in the suburbs of Birmingham, Alabama, to the skyscrapers of Shanghai.”

The final course of the meal will combine three dishes in one, inspired by the United States, Brazil, and China, homes of the top chicken-producing companies in the world. The Chinese-influenced portion will include a bao bun, sesame cultured chicken, spring onion and pickled cucumber. The Brazilian bite will feature phyllo, cultured chicken, black beans, garlic, and lime. And the U.S. version will be a cultured chicken and waffle dish, complete with hot sauce.

I’m not sure about all of you, but I’m totally down to try this lab-grown chicken. My guess is that it will be chicken-ish in texture with those fibers you associate with white meat, but somewhat spongy. I’m guessing most of the flavor will come from seasoning. This is all conjecture from me, so time will only tell until I get my grubby little teeth on it, but if you get there before me, let me know.