Aleph Farms partners with celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson to popularize cultured meat

08 Jun 2023 --- Ahead of expected regulatory approvals for its cultivated meat in the US, Aleph Farms has announced chef Marcus Samuelsson will join the company as an investor, culinary advisor and launch partner. Samuelsson will advise on product development and eventually serve cultivated steaks in his restaurants.

According to the business, Samuelsson is known for his diverse and inclusive cuisine that celebrates food cultures, sharing Aleph Farms’ vision of “making a positive impact on our food system with creativity, courage and care.”

“Partnering with Marcus and other chefs who plan to serve Aleph Cuts products offers diners an ideal tasting environment for cultivated meat. With Chef Marcus’ skill in creating dishes that blend the best of cuisines from around the world, we are confident that diners in the US will discover just how easily cultivated meat can be incorporated into their diets,“ a Aleph Farms spokesperson tells FoodIngredientsFirst. 

“With his vast experience and focus on creating accessible and inclusive cuisine, Marcus’ insights and expertise are perfectly suited for developing and promoting Aleph Cuts to a wider global audience,” says Didier Toubia, CEO and co-founder of Aleph Farms.

He also highlights how Samuelsson’s culinary methods align with Aleph’s Farms’ “local approach to promoting food security in ways that can deliver broad social, economic and environmental benefits.”

Aleph Farms is an Israel-based cellular agriculture company specializing in cultured steaks. The company unveiled its first thin-cut beef steak in 2018, a ribeye steak in 2021 and cultivated collagen in 2022.

Celebrity chef chooses cell-based
Samuelsson, who has won eight James Beard Foundation awards as a chef and has been in US television and in Netflix shows, talks about the reasoning that brought him to be an early adopter of cell-based products.

Didier Toubia, CEO and co-founder of Aleph Farms with Chef Marcus Samuelsson.“It’s essential that we look for new ways to feed our planet sustainably, which is why I was attracted to the mission of Aleph Farms and being part, both as a chef and as an investor, in bringing delicious, cultivated meat to the table,” he says.

“Right now, it’s a pioneering movement and one that I think will only grow to be more important and increasingly commonplace in our lives. What once felt futuristic – like electric cars – soon becomes familiar. This is a game-changing moment in the industry to invest in the future, and I’m excited to partner with an innovative company like Aleph Farms,” Samuelsson notes.

The chef owns 13 restaurants worldwide.

Working toward regulatory approval
Aleph Farms is gearing up to launch its first product: the Petit Steak. The steak is made from non-modified cells of a premium Black Angus cow and will be sold under the Aleph Cuts brand. 

The Petit Steak is anticipated to launch in Singapore and Israel later this year, pending regulatory approvals.

The company says it can produce thousands of tons of cultivated meat from a single fertilized egg, offering a sustainable and secure alternative to conventional meat production. Aleph Farms also aims to create different cuts of steak and other animal-based products, such as collagen, using its proprietary technology.

Moreover, Aleph Farms is set to increase production capacities by acquiring VBL Therapeutics Facility and a partnership with ESCO Aster. 

In other moves, last month Aleph Farms announced an alliance with Enzymit to leverage the latter’s bioproduction AI and deep learning capabilities to develop insulin alternatives. New insulin substituents could make cultured meat more affordable and accessible and bring it to scale while reducing production time. 

By Marc Cervera