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DIGESTED DIGEST PHYTOPLANKTON Over 50% of the wor
ld’s oxygen is produced by plankton, with one out of every three breaths we take coming from ocean-based phytoplankton. Phytoplankton are microorganisms that live in both salty and fresh water. There are three species: Diatoms (bacteria), Dinoflagellates (protists), and Desmids (single-celled plants). They provide nutrition for colonies of sea creatures, from whales to sea lions and dolphins, along with a vast array of fish throughout the globe. However, their role on this planet is not solely defined by their significance in the food chain, but by how they ensure that life continues as a whole. Like land plants, phytoplankton have chlorophyll to capture sunlight and they use photosynthesis to turn the sunlight into chemical energy. Just like trees, phytoplankton consume carbon dioxide and release oxygen into the atmosphere. All phytoplankton photosynthesise, but some get additional energy by consuming other organisms (when the diatom phytoplankton consume the desmid plankton). When the phytoplankton die, the carbon they have consumed throughout their lives sinks to the depths of the ocean along with their bodies. It’s this decay, spanning over millions of years that is partly responsible for our gas and oil reserves, trapped beneath the seabed. In case that’s not clear: Dead Plankton + Time = The world’s fossil fuels. Call me naive, but this absolutely BLEW MY MIND and further demonstrates how alienated from the sea we are as a culture. It might surprise you to hear that over 50% of the world’s oxygen is produced by plankton, with one out of every three breaths we take coming from ocean-based phytoplankton. Although this is not to detract from the role of trees in our ecosystem, phytoplankton are our planet’s unsung heroes. 34 Bioluminescent plankton I had the idea of using phytoplankton on my menu when on holiday in West Cork this summer. Lough Hyne is a seawater lake and one of the most beautiful lakes in Ireland. It is Ireland’s first Marine Nature Reserve, steeped in folklore, castles, churches, and home to a unique ecosystem including bioluminescent phytoplankton. At night, the lake lights up into a spellbinding sea of shimmering bioluminescence, a defence mechanism caused by the chemical reaction in organisms containing luciferin, a light-emitting compound (lux is the Latin for light). Some organisms synthesise luciferin or generate it from consuming those who do. You can even go starlight kayaking in Lough Hyne from dusk to dark, where you can experience the bioluminescence firsthand. Seeing the phytoplankton reminded me of my time spent at three Michelin star, and avant-garde restaurant, Quique Dacosta in Alicante, as a young trainee exactly 10 years ago, when phytoplankton as a food source had just broken ground. Phytoplankton as human food I had spent six months of internship in the Valencian restaurant before I was asked to become Juanfra Valiente’s assistant. Juanfra was a decorated chef who spent three years in El Bulli, working alongside Ferran Adrià, the world’s best chef of his time. At Quique Dacosta, Juanfra was the head of the test kitchen and was responsible for the development of the intricate 24-course menus. I was in absolute awe of what went on in that space. With over 40 chefs, two menus, and serving both lunch and dinner six days a week, the restaurant was fast-paced, hot, and had no margin for error. However, in Juanfra’s room, next to the pastry kitchen separated by the glass door, everything changed. I recall knocking one day to ask if I could borrow a dehydrator. The door slid open and I was greeted by a welcoming blast of cool air and an immediate sense of serenity. The kitchen’s noise had dissolved and steel had been replaced by a calming brushed chrome and matt tile. Juanfra was standing by the island with a smile and showed me the dish he was creating: a phytoplankton focaccia with sea lettuce and smoked mozzarella. In Liguria, focaccia is made by pouring saltwater brine over raw dough, like it were a piece of meat. Typically, the purpose of a brine is to evenly season the ingredients throughout and not just on the outer surface. The dough is removed from the brine before cooking. In this case, Juanfra took inspiration from this tradition, using the saline qualities of the phytoplankton, massaging them into the dough and serving it topped with smoked creamy cheese and briny seaweed. Because phytoplankton had such extraordinary levels of chlorophyll, the focaccia became an appetising dark green. The result was an umami, sea-forward bite of pillowy heaven. For Iceland, I took my learnings from Juanfra, and applied them to my potato bread recipe. We fermented the potatoes so that they become ‘cheesy’, kneading the