A controversial Russian artist has turned roadkill into haute cuisine saying: “It’s holistic”. Petr Davydtchenko and Masayoshi Haraguchi, former chef of Michelin starred Dominique Bouchet, have launched pop up restaurant Kham: The Road in London with servings of pheasant, deer and rabbit which had been killed by cars in the city.
Fox head soup and donkey prosciutto are also expected to appear on the menu. And on April 17 – when Davydtchenko launches his own road kill recipe book – he will host a Japanese Yakatori BBQ using squirrels for the public. The 38-year-old artist – who studied sculpture at the Royal College of Art in London and is inspired by TV adventurer Bear Grylls – previously lived exclusively off roadkill for three years from 2016-2019. Bear has famously eaten some of the wildest survival meals, from scorpions to goat testicles.
He’s since eaten rats in Cologne as a method of ecological pest control and even consumed a live bat as part of his vaccination piece Perftoran – a protest against the actions of big pharmaceutical companies during the coronavirus pandemic who “refused to take part in a World Health Organisation [WHO] proposal that would ensure that any medicine would be patent-free and fairly distributed to those in need”. He was later detained by Brussels police.
His works explore themes of sustainability, economic critique, and the politics of consumption. For his latest venture – which is an art installation cum fine dining experience – he sourced most of the road kill from the A21 from London to Hastings.
Guests had to sign waivers before sitting down to a six course tasting menu which included a steamed dumpling with rabbit as well as wild deer leg Tsukune with walnut sauce. But Davydtchenko admitted he nearly became roadkill himself due to the dangerous nature of procuring the carcasses.
“It is pretty intense,” he said. “The driving is so fast, so you have to be very conscious. I have had some near misses – there are some dangerous drivers but if there is something I want to pick up then I do it.”
He explained how the instantaneous death of the animals makes for a tastier meal. He said: “These are animals that have been killed almost instantly. This is meat without the increased cortisol levels that you will find in an animal that has been killed in a traditional slaughterhouse. Free roaming animals without antibiotics in their systems. The result is a healthier, tastier product.”
The dining experience takes place at A/POLITICAL, a radical art organisation which exists in the space between what is permissible and what is prohibited, engaging with artists who interrogate mainstream narratives.
As well as producing large-scale projects it holds one of the largest collections of socio-political art in the world, including works by artists such as Ai Weiwei, Marina Abramović, Barbara Kruger, the Chapman Brothers and Santiago Sierra.
Davydtchenko is also launching his own roadkill recipe book titled Death Book, published by Baron Books.
*Kham: The Road, is on at The Bacon Factory, a space run by the artists’ collection A/Political, until April 25. Food will be served on April 17, with possible further dates to be announced. For more information, visit a-political.org
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