Balkans: Invasive Species Dinner - If you cannot beat the enemy, eat the enemy

Invasive alien species are those species that are accidentally or deliberately introduced, by humans or other animals, outside of their natural habitat; in their new habitat they can cause ecological and economic damage. The use of invasive species in cooking helps reduce their negative influence and can also lead to a better understanding of environmental monitoring. This is a collaborative project that involve different aspects of a community – we partner with local associations, universities, NGOs dedicated to biology and ecology studies to determine which are the invasive species to be found in the area.

The Invasive Species Dinner itself is an educational dinner during as the audience learns about the origin of the invasive species they are eating and tasting. During the dinner there will be informal talk and presentations about the species and the ways of preparing them, and seated at each table will also be experts who are knowledgeable on the subject. The dinner is also an artistically creative event as it transforms a theater or venue into a makeshift restaurant and ecological info-zone. So the guests will have the opportunity to not only enjoy the imaginative dishes prepared from healthy ingredients, with the addition of several invasive plants, but also to learn something about them.