The tiny Ortolan coveted by major French political leaders - and how to eat it.

This video was included in a lecture I held on October 14, 2014 at the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam. As part of a research project on food, biology and behaviour, initiated by designers Susana Camara Leret and Mike Thompson, I connected Thomas Hobbes’ famous 1651 treatise ’Leviathan’ as one of the earliest social contracts to the necessity to develop a new kind of social contract with the huge population of microscopic organisms in the human body. As part of Hobbes’ ’Kingdom of Darkness’ I added this video: how to eat the vulnerable Ortalan, and how some powerful French politicians (Alain Juppé, Jacques Lang) hail the outstanding taste and scent of this tiny bird.
Back to Top