Imagine, a creator of engaging visitor experiences that entertain, educate, and inspire, has brought Universcience’s hugely popular food-based exhibition to North America. The show, created by Universcience, an organisation that works to make science accessible to all, and produced and toured for the North American market by Imagine, has already proved successful at the Montreal Science Centre, where it has drawn over 130,000 visitors since opening on 15 May 2024.
Named Banquet in French for the Montreal Science Centre run, it will remain on show at this venue until 16 March 2025 before heading to its next stop at TELUS Spark Science Centre in Calgary, starting 12 April 2025.
See also: Banquet: where science and gastronomy meet
A multisensory experience
The experience begins in the kitchen. Here, visitors move from workstation to workstation and learn to perfect certain gestures, such as how to whisk, use a rolling pin, and use a mandoline slicer correctly. This section of the exhibition also explores how science can help with creativity, looking at things like pairing aromas in new ways and preparing meals.
From here, visitors proceed to the amuse-bouche section, which is all about scent, sight, hearing and tasting. Taste is about 80% smell, and through this series of multisensory experiences, visitors can discover more about how their senses work when they eat.
Finally, the third part is the banquet, an immersive spectacular that seats 30 people at a time. It features a unique menu invented for the exhibition by Thierry Marx, who specialises in molecular gastronomy, alongside scientist Raphaël Haumont.
“We fell head over heels for this exhibition and are so proud to present its North American premiere,” says Cybèle Robichaud, director of Montréal Science Centre. “There is no doubt in my mind that Québec audiences of all ages will absolutely delight in this experience!”
Food: Science, Culture, and Cuisine is now available to book, and institutions in North America interested in hosting it can contact the Imagine team for more information.
Imagine, formerly known as Imagine Exhibitions, recently celebrated the eighth anniversary of its exhibition REAL BODIES on the Las Vegas Strip. In addition, the Las Vegas showings of Discovering King Tut’s Tomb, The Cabinet of Curiosities and The Lock are preparing for their third anniversaries. The firm itself is celebrating 15 years in business this year.
