UPSIDE Foods Partners with Three-Michelin Star Chef Dominique Crenn

- Partnership includes recipe development and culinary counsel

- UPSIDE Foods to start selling chicken upon completion of regulatory review

- Dominique Crenn will bring meat back to the menu with this collaboration

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Aug 19, 2021, 09:00 ET

BERKELEY, Calif., Aug. 19, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- UPSIDE Foods, the leading company in cultivated meat, poultry and seafood (also known as cell-cultured meat) announced today that it has signed a partnership with Dominique Crenn, the co-owner and chef of the three-Michelin-starred restaurant Atelier Crenn in San Francisco. Under the partnership, Crenn will provide culinary counsel and recipe development. Following regulatory review, Crenn will also serve UPSIDE's cultivated chicken in her world-renowned restaurant Atelier Crenn. This is the first partnership in the cultivated meat industry with a three Michelin star chef.

Crenn shares UPSIDE's vision that food can be a force for good, which is a critical foundation for the partnership and collaboration. Crenn previously removed meat from all Crenn Dining Group's restaurants in 2019 due to concerns about the environmental footprint of meat production on our current food system. This partnership with UPSIDE Foods will be the first time Atelier Crenn serves meat since 2018.

"When I tasted UPSIDE Chicken for the first time, I thought, this is it! This is the future of food. The look, smell, and sear — UPSIDE Chicken is just delicious," said Dominique Crenn. "People are finally waking up to the downsides of conventional meat production, which led me to remove meat from my menus several years ago. Chefs need to lead the way in making more conscious product choices. I am excited to be collaborating with UPSIDE Foods and am looking forward to bringing meat back to Atelier Crenn that is delicious and better for the world."

UPSIDE Chicken looks, tastes and cooks like chicken because it is real chicken. Humane, efficient, and, most importantly, delicious, it is created by growing animal cells without the need to raise and slaughter animals. UPSIDE products are real meat -- not plant-based, vegan or a meat alternative.

"I have long-admired Dominique's passion for sustainability. She is relentless in her pursuit, without ever compromising on flavor or creativity, and we are honored to have a chef of her caliber join us as we prepare to debut UPSIDE Chicken to the world," said Uma Valeti, CEO and founder of UPSIDE Foods. "She is a visionary who knows the future of food is about creating and empowering a more sustainable global food system."

Dominique Crenn is the first chef UPSIDE Foods has partnered with as the company approaches commercialization. Upon completing regulatory review and opening its first-of-its-kind production facility custom-built for cultivated meat production, the company plans to partner with additional chefs and restaurants in the U.S., followed by commercial rollouts in grocery stores and markets worldwide.

More details on the UPSIDE experience at Atelier Crenn will be released in the future. For more about UPSIDE Chicken, visit www.upsidefoods.com.

About UPSIDE Foods
Based in Berkeley, CA, UPSIDE Foods (formerly known as Memphis Meats) is developing methods to cultivate meat directly from animal cells, without the need to breed or slaughter animals. The company released the world's first cultivated meatball in February 2016 and the world's first cultivated poultry in March 2017. It aims to bring to the market delicious, real meat that is significantly better for the environment, animals and public health, while claiming a share of the $1.4 trillion global market for meat. For more information, please visit www.upsidefoods.com.

About Dominique Crenn
Dominique Crenn is many things: chef, restauranteur, entrepreneur, best-selling author, activist, and breast cancer survivor. Recognized as a leader in gastronomic storytelling, Crenn is the first and only female chef in the United States ever awarded three Michelin Stars, and one of only five in the world. Crenn's eponymous bar, Bar Crenn is the only bar in North America ever awarded a Michelin Star.

As a chef, Crenn focuses on cuisine as a craft and uses the community as an inspiration for her work. Based on the French word for studio, restaurant Atelier Crenn can be defined as chef Crenn's workshop. This is a concept driven by chef Crenn's modern vision for fine-French cuisine, where art is at the forefront. Crenn is also the co-owner of Petit Crenn and Bar Crenn, located in the Bay Area. As an author, Crenn has written a best-selling cookbook, Metamorphosis of Taste, and her recently published memoir Rebel Chef: In Search of What Matters, was voted one of the best biographies and memoirs of 2020 by Amazon book editors. Additional accolades among her many include the 2018 James Beard Award for Best Chef: West, and in 2019, Atelier Crenn came in at No. 35 on the list of the World's 50 Best Restaurants.

Crenn is on a mission to heal the world through food and activism, and heal the planet by advocating for a more sustainable way of life.

Media Contact
David Kay
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SOURCE UPSIDE Foods