Cooking with Lava: Bompas & Parr

British culinary architects Bompas & Parr's latest venture invites UK consumers to host their own lava banquets, serving food that is cooked on a molten-lava-powered barbecue.

Describing the event as a "cross between a barbecue, art installation, concert and interactive theatre", the team will cook a range of foods by pouring man-made lava underneath custom-built grills, searing the food above it. Meanwhile, musicians will perform music inspired by live seismic data, incorporating the sounds of real volcanic frequencies into their performances.

Because of the considerable risks, trained staff wearing protective clothing will operate the barbecue and custom-built furnace, which heats the prehistoric basaltic rock for 70 hours to turn it into the liquid lava used for cooking.

The project is inspired by Bompas & Parr's recent research conducted with New York professor Robert Wysocki. They poured molten lava heated to around 1,350 degrees beneath bespoke grills, searing rib-eye steaks in seconds.

Bompas & Parr are known for their inventive and immersive food experiences. The duo recently partnered with ice-cream brand Cornetto to create glow-in-the-dark ice creams. Read more about them in our interview with Sam Bompas, as well as Bompas & Parr's Tutti Frutti Installation and Truvia Voyage of Discovery.

Technology is transforming the way in which we cook, eat and view food. For more on changing food aesthetics, see New Food Styling and New Food Aesthetic.