Upside Foods cultivated chicken no longer served at Calif. restaurant

Cultivated meat company Upside Foods’ partnership with San Francisco restaurant Bar Crenn has come to an end, a company spokesperson confirmed to Food Dive. 

The restaurant, one of Michelin-star chef Dominique Crenn’s locations, began selling the product in July. It was only available to 16 people per month and in one-ounce portions. Getting a reservation also required being added to a waitlist. 

The only other restaurant in the U.S. offering cultivated meat on its menu was Chino Chicano in Washington D.C. Michelin star chef José Andrés offered it on the location’s tasting menu. It also has pulled the item from its establishment. 

Upside Foods has plans to continue working with Crenn as well as other chefs to serve its product at events, the company said. 

“We’ve wrapped up our dinner series and are taking our chicken on the road,” it said. The company also teased that it is “working hard on our next-gen, larger-scale products (which are pending regulatory approval).”

According to Upside Foods COO Amy Chen, the choice to test products in the luxury food service space was due to the mindset of consumers there who like to experiment. 

Now, along with consumer education, the biggest challenge for the industry remains being able to supply the product at a reasonable price.

With the only two restaurants offering the namesake products for sale to consumers, this news could be the latest blow for the sector. Along with efforts to educate the safety and quality of the product and raising funds for production, the space has also had to deal with legislative backlash recently. 

Arizona is the latest state to explore imposing additional requirements that would prohibit the sale of cultivated meat in their states. Florida and Texas have introduced similar legislature as well.