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BUTTER, cheese, carrots, ham, sardines, fish balls, sausages, instant noodles, burgers, spam, coffee, jell-o, gingerbread, chocolate, coffee, whisky, vodka, salt, ice cream, even celebrity leftovers — you name it, and there’s a food museum for it, somewhere in the world. On International Museum Day, we’re taking a virtual tour around a few of the most delicious ones.
Alimentarium in Vevey | Switzerland
With a tagline like “who says you can’t play with food?” you may think the Alimentarium doesn’t take food seriously. But this isn’t the case. The Swiss institution is simply invested in making food fun, as that’s the best way to get people to engage with in a more meaningful way. The Alimentarium is housed (since 1985) in what used to be the former Nestle headquarters, by Lake Geneva; it has extensive kitchen gardens from which chefs pick fresh produce and herbs to prepare dishes for the museum’s visitors and food displays.
Games, classes, workshops, exhibitions, activities for school children, the Alimentarium has it all…even an in-house “escape room” style game called AL2049, where players are thrust into a futuristic world where they inhabit an empty abandoned museum, with limited resources and time. “Grow crops, raise livestock, open a restaurant, set up processing facilities or even research labs” are among the decisions players need to make, and quickly.
At a larger level, Alimentarium isn’t about a specific food (unlike many of the other museums on this list) but about food itself — humans’ relationship with it, its journey from farm to plate, the global implications of our food choices and a whole lot more in that vein. Heavy subjects that the Alimentarium handles with a light and engaging touch.
Cup Noodles Museum, Yokohama | Japan
Started by Nissin, the Cup Noodles Museums are a tribute to their founder (and instant ramen noodle inventor) Momofuku Ando — as also to noodle lovers everywhere. We say “Museums” in the plural because there is another, older one in Osaka as well. At the Yokohama museum, you can actually experience what it’s like… to be a noodle… in a factory. Ulp. “The huge athletic facility offers the virtual experience of being a noodle in a huge factory, and going through the entire manufacturing process from making the noodles to shipping them,” the museum’s attractions’ guide promises.
If living the noodle life doesn’t sound like the most appealing experience, there’s a lot more on offer. There’s an on-site recreation of the work shed where Ando created his noodles; a station where you can get a made-to-order/customised package of cup noodles (you pick an option from among four possible soup bases, and a combination of four toppings from among 12); make chicken ramen by hand from scratch; and dig into different kinds of noodles from around the world.
Also of interest: The Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum was the world’s first ramen-themed amusement park, and has been operational since 1994. It brings together the best known ramens from across Japan in one place, has exhibits dedicated to the history and culture of ramen, and classes on how the traditional Chinese method of green bamboo beating can be used to prepare ramen.
Bruges Beer Experience | Belgium
Belgium’s reputation as the world’s beer capital is quite rightly earned. No fewer than 600 varieties of beer are brewed in a country that’s among Europe’s smallest by area, and the craft of beer making is one the region’s brewers have been perfecting since the Middle Ages.
Despite all this history, a dedicated museum for beer only opened in 2014, in Bruges. However, it’s quickly grown into an important pit-stop for visitors to the city. Within the charming interiors, you can view and interact with exhibits that showcase the ingredients of beer and the brewing process. The museum showcases 16 draught beers that visitors can sample as they linger in the premises, and mull over what they’ve learned about Trappist and abbey beers.
Also of interest: Located in the historic Liberties locality of Dublin, The Guinness Archive is a one-stop resource for all things pertaining to Ireland’s most iconic drink. Apart from discovering the history and origins of Guinness, there’s a range of special activities, like learning the six-step ritual for pouring a pint, and getting your selfie ‘printed’ onto the head of your drink. You can also head over to the Guinness brewery that’s less than 400 metres away from the museum, sample the wide array of food and drink on offer in and around the institute, and shop for Guinness-themed gifts.
São Paulo’s Coffee Palace | Brazil
São Paulo’s monument to all things coffee (at the heart of the municipality of Santos) is a must-visit as much for the building in which it is housed — the historic home of the city’s Coffee Exchange, which was active from 1914 to 1950 and enjoyed as much importance in the economy as say, New York’s Stock Exchange — as it is for sampling the varieties produced in regions across Brazil. Some reports state that as many as 400 cups of coffee a day are sold at the museum, such is its allure for visitors.
The building, with its high ceilings, arched windows and intricate interiors provides an opportunity to step into a different era, its elegant façade perfectly reflected in the aesthetic indoors. Coffee beans are on display, ready to be roasted, ground and dispensed.
You can walk through the old auction rooms, view the stained glass that dots the structure, hang out at the cafeteria, browse the myriad temporary exhibits or the monumental permanent one on the “trajectory of coffee in Brazil”. It starts with the arrival of the first coffee plant seedlings into the country, the establishment of plantations, influx of Japanese and European immigrants who contributed their labour to the coffee industry, and the many ways in which coffee brought wealth and progress to the state of São Paulo and Santos in particular.
Ice Cream Museum | Singapore
With branches in New York, Chicago, Austin and Shanghai, apart from Singapore, the international Ice Cream Museum is a candy-hued, sugar-rush of a fever dream. There are special events planned throughout the year (like one that will entice you to “make your own Slime”) and also permanent attractions, like multi-sensory installations covering the history of ice cream, unlimited ice cream treats (yes!) at the in-house dessert bar and vintage diner, a unicorn playground, and possibly the one that visitors love best: a giant pool of sprinkles to submerge yourself in. We’re sold!
The Big Mac Museum in Irwin | US
Because you get to eat a Big Mac while learning all about the now ubiquitous burger’s history and evolution.
