Munchin' in München (Part 1)

So that's where the research funding goes! (I'm just being facetious, please keep funding us. Pretty please?)

The food. And this is only for one day. Insane. (click to enlarge)

So I mentioned last time that I was in Munich for a certain very well known festival. That's right, the Festival of Chemical Biology!!! (Who is Oktoberfest? Never heard of him...) As you might know, funding is pretty dismal in academic research, especially with the austerity cuts due to rather poor economic times. One country that appears to be bucking the trend and investing in science is Germany and it shows...

This was a seriously amazing conference! Not just some amazing speakers but hands down the best food I have ever had and possibly will ever have at a conference. I don't mention this lightly.

There was literally so much food that there were multiple trays of leftovers on offer after the final talks on each day. On a related note, we literally stuffed ourselves silly thanks to seriously addictive Laugenstange (straight pretzel-like bread) sandwich things. If there's one German thing I wish they had here in the UK, it would be their bread. So good!

Ok, time to roll the photos:

Sallow thorn curd - unusual, but the fruit itself is quite nice.

Rosted Donau-Waller filet on leek vegetables with fresh grated horseradish - a great match of condiments with the fish.

Tolzer smoked salmon trout and samlet filet on rucola tips with cranberries - this tasted AMAZING. Full of flavour from the smoked fish, working beautifulyl together with the cranberry sauce.

Vegetable terrine on fennel-carrot salad in shallot vinagrette - unusual one, not bad, slightly jelly like in texture. Salad was quite sour I have to say... well pickled I suppose.

Carpaccio from smoked lamb with shaped mountain cheese and tomato oil - quite salty, but the meat was quality stuff.

But wait, there's more! Here comes the hot food:

Professor Chris Chang doesn't realise the peril he is in...

Veal prime boiled topside with Sacher-chive sauce and root vegetables - rather innocuous looking, but wow my damn! This was the most tender meat ever - how do the Bavarians do it...

My stash. The wild mushrooms were so good...

And then for dessert:

Fruit cake galore!

Carrot cake with a little fondant carrot on top.

Bavarian cream with raspberry - deceptively light, not so deceptively delicious.

Caramelled Kaiserschmarrn with apples and cherry-picks - not bad, great vanilla custard, but we had better on the trip.

Well what can I say about the science and about the food? Best conference ever.

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Part 2 will continue tomorrow with a taste of the non-scientific Oktoberfest!

Here are more food photos courtesy of photographer Oliver Baron (www.oliverbaron.com) - hope he doesn't mind: