Ladies and gentlemen, meet Neurospora intermedia, the vibrant orange mould that’s growing on Michelin-starred chefs around the world. This neon fungus is not breaking down any old waste – it’s transforming food waste into Michelin-starred meals with a touch of sustainable magic.

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley challenged chefs in New York and Copenhagen to experiment with Neurospora intermedia as the restaurant world prepares to take on the problem of food waste. 

Rasmus Munk, head chef of the two-Michelin-star restaurant Alchemist in Copenhagen has created a sweet (but sugarless) dessert featuring Neurospora intermedia grown on rice, showcasing the mould’s ability to completely change a product’s texture and flavour. Dan Barber of Blue Hill, another two-Michelin-star restaurant in New York has also embraced the power of the fungus, planting a patty of grain covered with orange Neurospora on the menu. The patty is served with mouldy bread that, when fried, tastes and looks like a toasted cheese sandwich. 

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While the Western world may be taking on the fabled fungi, for those in the know (about 36 million of them) the mould is commonplace.

For generations, Neurospora intermedia has been the essential ingredient of oncom, a traditional ingredient in Sundanese cuisine from Indonesia. This isn’t your average mould – it excels in transforming leftover materials like corn stalks and soy byproducts into a highly nutritious food in just 36 hours. The mushroom marvel converts otherwise indigestible plant waste into something both delicious and wholesome.

What sets Neurospora intermedia apart is its safety and effectiveness. Unlike many moulds, it doesn’t produce harmful toxins, making it a safe choice for food production. Think of it as an adjunct to other beneficial fermented foods, such as tempeh, miso, and cheese, which also rely on specific fungi to enhance their nutritional profiles and flavours. 

The mould, however, is incredibly quick in terms of converting food scraps. Monday’s unusable fruit pulp is Thursday’s mind-bending special. 

For chefs like Munk and Barber, sustainability and innovation go hand-in-hand with deliciousness and experimentation. Both chefs’ restaurants have made their bread and butter (sorry) by making the best of ethically and environmentally sound ingredients. Neither are strangers to culturing, fermenting, and downright transmorphing ingredients to create something entirely novel, however, this “new” mould presents an opportunity to introduce a potentially planet-saving product to the mainstream.

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