by Tierney Plumb in Eater-Washington DC Thanks to Pam P.
Culinary superstar José Andrés just made history by selling Good Meat’s cell-cultivated chicken for the first time in the U.S., right here in D.C.
The chef and global humanitarian hosted the landmark meal at his Penn Quarter Peruvian restaurant China Chilcano on Wednesday, July 5, preparing the charcoal-grilled chicken for a select crowd.
The same skewers, marinated in anticucho sauce and served with native potatoes, will officially land on China Chilcano’s menu starting July 31. Reservations to try the revolutionary chicken go live on July 25, with limited quantities available each week.
The meal comes two weeks after Good Meat received final regulatory approval to sell its chicken to American consumers. Its California-based food technology parent company Eat Just Inc. created the world’s first-to-market meat that’s grown from animal cells instead of slaughtered livestock. Singapore was the first place to receive approvals for the product in 2020, and Eat Just was awarded a key clearance earlier this year to scale up and manufacture the sustainable meat for less.
Andrés’ milestone dinner honored the “godfather of cultivated meat” Willem van Eelen, the late Dutch entrepreneur who would have celebrated his 100th birthday on July 4, 2023. His daughter and Good Meat advisor, Ira, was among the first to try the meat at China Chilcano.
“The big day is here, the chicken is here, and people are going to be talking. This is a first for the history of humanity,” said Andrés, in a statement, adding he picked China Chilcano as the inaugural spot to sell the meat because “Peru is a country of many civilizations at once.”
Meanwhile, San Francisco diners were the first in the U.S. to sample the futuristic chicken at a restaurant just days earlier. At Michelin-starred Bar Crenn, chef Dominique Crenn started serving a tempura-fried take with a burnt chili aioli on Saturday, July 1 as part of a new partnership with another lab-grown meat producer (Upside Foods)