Food museums - putting what we eat on show

London's The Observer previews two new museums

Venues looking at food culture will open this month on both sides of the Atlantic. London will have its British Museum of Food (BMoF) and Brooklyn, New York its Museum of Food and Drink (Mofad).
Mofad, which bills itself as the first food museum with exhibits you can eat, has its mission as changing the way people think about food and inspiring day-to-day curiosity about what we eat and why.  BMoF hopes to inform the public and invite it to reassess its relationship with food in an imaginative new way.
The New York venture says it will feature a series of rotating exhibitions that provide an in-depth look at topics related to food history (how did the search for spices drive the age of exploration?), culture (what is the socioeconomic role of street food in cities?), science (where does soil come from, and why does it matter?), production (how is breakfast cereal made?), and commerce (what is the impact of coffee on world trade?). Through tastings, live demonstrations, and hands-on activities, these innovative exhibitions will bring to life the vital role of food in human culture.
London’s BMoF, launching in collaboration with Borough Market, also aims to cover “the history, evolution, science, sociology and art of food”. Its initial offering, reports The Observer, will try to embody the museum’s motto of “From field to table, mouth … and beyond”, and allow guests to take a digital journey through the alimentary canal into the stomach and intestines. More appetisingly, there will also be a chocolate “wonderland” for testing tastes against different sound backgrounds.