How Europe’s food entrepreneurs are using fermentation to try to create convincing fake Camembert and fake burgers

• Entrepreneurs are using fermentation to make fake meat and dairy taste more convincing.
• It’s a growing segment of the alternative-protein market, which saw billions in investment in 2020.
• Startups include Symplicity, run by a steak chef, and New Roots, which is creating fake Camembert..

Walk into any of Neil Rankin’s three Temper steak restaurants in London, and the carcasses are very much on show.

By his own account, the London chef is a dedicated carnivore.

He wants to bring his high standards to the world of fake meat – moving away from the primarily processed patties and sausages on offer to something more akin to high-quality produce. He also wants it to taste better.