What if...?

Inspired by our summer exhibition Sweet Dreams, Ruby Tandoh takes over Factory+ as Editor in Residence to uncover the alternate realities of food. Exploring our food ecosystems, these essays cover the past, present, future and virtual worlds of food. The celebrated writer has commissioned five exciting voices to ask: what if we thought about our food systems in a different way?

Ruby Tandoh is a food writer and author whose work has been featured in the New Yorker, the Guardian, Eater, Vittles and more. She lives in London.

New articles released over the summer.

  • Ruby Tandoh | Editor's Letter

    Ruby Tandoh takes over Factory+ as Editor in Residence to explore our food ecosystems – covering the past, present, future and virtual world.
  • Alice Bucknell | Playing with Food

    From Mario’s mushrooms to cozy cooking in Animal Crossing, what does the food at our fingertips in gaming reveal about our food systems?
  • Diane Purkiss | On Chicken

    Historian Diane Purkiss tells the history of Britain's favourite meat – from Ancient Roman worship to the industrially raised chickens we eat today.
  • Olivia Sudjic | Influencing Food

    Novelist Olivia Sudjic considers how social media and influencers impact our food culture while hiding the economic realities of the industry
  • Juliet Jacques | On Pizza

    Move over chicken. Writer and filmmaker Juliet Jacques muses on the proliferation of pizza in all its glorious forms
  • Ruby Tandoh | Elixirs

    From the psychoactive colas of old to the ancient-but-modern tonics of today, Ruby Tandoh dives into the murky waters of the health drink
  • Meara Sharma | How food travels across cultures

    How do dishes travel and evolve through space and time – and where might they be headed next? Meara Sharma traces one home comfort across the world
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