Dolloped on a plain cracker is the ideal way to let the rich, umami flavour of Vow's smoked Japanese quail spread shine.
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So says the Australian startup's head of manufacturing Matt Wilkinson, who took a jar of the lab-grown creation home at Christmas to rave reviews.
It's been roughly nine months since the food tech company's cultivated meat received the green light from regulators for sale in Australia and New Zealand.
The Japanese quail smoked spread, foie gras and parfait have since been appearing on fine-dining menus around the country and are now being served in dozens of venues worldwide.
While the products are not everyone's cup of tea, Mr Wilkinson says the response has been generally positive.
"We're getting really good feedback," he reports during a public tour of the company's Sydney facilities during Climate Action Week.
After securing hard-fought regulatory approval to take lab-grown meat to market in its home country, Mr Wilkinson says expanding the reach of the "Forged" products, as they have been branded, has been the priority.
They can now be found in boutique local markets and purchased online but it might be a while before they land in major supermarkets.
The premium market has been targeted purposefully to build social acceptance and refine the offering, company founder and chief executive George Peppou says.
"Chefs who push boundaries, diners who seek out new experiences - they're not just your first customers, they're your best development partners," he says.
Lab-grown meat cannot yet compete head-to-head with established farming practices, but Mr Peppou says the economics are improving with every cycle.
To make cultivated meat, cells from sample animals are put in bioreactors and fed nutrients to grow.
The cells must be kept at the right temperature, agitated gently and monitored closely to help them rapidly proliferate.
The main 20,000 litre reactor - resembling a brewery fermentation tank - is now capable of yielding 250 tonnes a year.
Creating novel meat products is another guiding principle, rather than trying to compete directly with chicken, beef and other common proteins.
The team has tried growing everything from alligator to peacock cells but unlike the Japanese quail, not all deliver on taste, texture and scalability.
More promising products are in the works, including the company's first designed around improved nutritional value, due for launch soon.
Further uses for cultured cells are also being explored, with potential applications in cosmetics and other sectors.
Vow is coming of age as the broader market for alternative meat - dominated by products made from plants - faces setbacks.
Interest exploded in the 2010s as the environmental footprint of animal protein came into focus but demand for meat stand-ins never quite met lofty expectations.
Mr Peppou says his company never wanted its products to be viewed as an alternative to meat.
"We wanted it to earn its place on a menu because it's genuinely delicious and interesting," he says.
Focusing on premium dining has helped Vow begin building that reputation, with the goal to gradually make cultivated meat more accessible and provide a supplementary source of sustainable protein.
"The sustainable food system I believe in isn't one where people stop eating meat," Mr Peppou says.
"It's one where meat eaters have more interesting options."
Demand for meat is expected to increase by 40 to 100 per cent by 2050 as the global population approaches 10 billion, yet animal agriculture already takes up 80 per cent of farmland.
These numbers fuel the company's pursuit of sustainable proteins.
Early results of life cycle analysis suggest the cultured quail's greenhouse gas profile is roughly 90 per cent lower than that of beef and should shrink further at scale.
Australian Associated Press
