In 1865, the first ever protein-based product consisted of ‘melted-down beef hides and carcasses’. Now, there are countless shakes on the market – including one by a Michelin-starred chef. Why is everyone drinking them?I always thought my first foray into Michelin-starred culinary territory would involve sitting in a fancy restaurant feasting on some perfectly seared scallops or a magnificent rack of lamb doused in a rich jus. Instead, I’m in a fitness studio – with Doja Cat blaring through the speakers – watching my “Michelin-starred” shake come together in a blender. Inside is a scoop of vanilla protein powder, the flesh of a guanabana (a tropical fruit with a spiky exterior that tastes like a cross between a mango and a banana) and some almond milk. Saffron foam is sprayed into a plastic cup and sprinkled with some blue spirulina before the pale protein mixture is poured on top.The resulting shake, which was developed by the Michelin-starred chef Miller Prada for Hermosa, a luxury protein powder brand sold in Barry’s, a chain of fitness studios, is like a drinkable lava lamp, with white, blue and yellow swirling softly in the cup. According to Erika Tamayo, the founder of Hermosa, it has only one comparison. “Everyone says that it looks like Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night,” she says. Before I’m allowed to taste it, she spritzes a coffee-scented liquid on the lid and then tells me how to drink it to get the “full Michelin experience”. Place the straw about midway in the cup and suck (it should taste like an ice-cream), before shoving it down full-throttle to get a hit of the “mood-enhancing” saffron. Continue reading...