Our Team

Joshua Evans

joshua@biosustain.dtu.dk
Josh (he/him) is Senior Researcher and leader of SFI, which he started in October 2021. He develops our research programme, supervises research and engagement projects, coordinates the team, succumbs to admin, grubs for money, and when he can, writes and gives some talks. SFI’s transdisciplinary research programme for flavour, biocultural diversity, and sustainability emerges in part out of his cross-disciplinary academic and professional background in food, and his belief in bringing different people and disciplines together to create new knowledge and transform the food system. Previously, he conducted and led research at Noma’s former Nordic Food Lab, and has experience in the restaurant industry and sustainable agriculture. Academically he is interested in how different species shape each other through cooking and eating; how science and technology mediate these relationships; and how different knowledge systems interact or fail to, particularly in food and agriculture. He has studied humanities, history and philosophy of science, and geography and the environment. He is originally from Canada. He enjoys all kinds of fermented chili sauce, and usually won’t say no to a nice dill pickle.
Kim Wejendorp

kimwej@biosustain.dtu.dk
Kim (he/him) is our R&D Chef, since November 2021. He leads our culinary research and development and is involved in a range of projects based around flavour, new foods and techniques. He is particularly interested in finding the flavour and functionality of underutilised parts of our current food system through upcycling, and likes to find ways to collaborate with industry to do so. He believes that adapting techniques whilst honouring their traditions is an important part of the innovation process. He was previously head of research for Amass Restaurant in Copenhagen, and has over 20 years of experience working as a chef in various parts of the world including Japan, South East Asia and Australia. He is originally from New Zealand. Understandably reluctant to pick a single favourite ferment given his wealth of experience, when pressed he landed on Sai Krok Isan, fermented pork sausages from Northern Thailand.
Caroline Kothe

caisko@biosustain.dtu.dk
Caroline (she/her) is our Postdoctoral Researcher in Novel Fermentation Science, since February 2022. She leads our scientific work, spending much of her time in the lab working with microbiology, metagenomics, metabolomics and other methods to investigate microbial ecology and evolution, and volatile and nutritional compounds within fermented food. In autumn 2023 she spent a semester as a visiting postdoc at Tufts University with The Wolfe Lab and at Harvard University with the Sörensen Lab, furthering our work on microbial ecology and evolution in plant cheeses. She has studied food engineering, food science and technology, and microbiology. She is originally from Brazil and loves to eat sourdough bread, especially with goat’s cheese and other soft cheeses.
Eliot Beeby

erbeeby@biosustain.dtu.dk
Eliot (he/him) is our Food Culture Specialist, since September 2023. He facilitates knowledge dissemination by exploring food culture and the food system through essays and articles, and is responsible for managing our website and documenting our culinary R&D. He is interested in agroecology, agrobiodiversity, and food innovation that is sensitive to land stewardship and food culture. He works to bring more nuance and imagination to food systems discussions and likes to use futures thinking to creatively explore possibilities. He formerly worked as a food systems researcher at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and on a small-scale agroecological market garden in Scotland. He has studied climate change and geography and is originally from the UK. He is rather partial to gochujang, especially chicken and potatoes slowly roasted in it.
Mathieu Virsolvy

matvir@biosustain.dtu.dk
Mathieu (he/him) is our research assistant, since August 2024. He supports our scientific research, including isolating, identifying, and characterising microbial strains from fermented food samples; managing and maintaining our bacteria and fungi culture collection; and establishing and adapting analytical protocols. He previously worked with the team as part of his Master’s thesis, under Josh’s and Kim’s co-supervision (along with a colleague at DTU Food) to investigate the microbial production of vitamin B12 in plant cheese. He is interested in how microbes can help enhance the flavour, texture and nutrition of plant-based foods. He has studied computer science and engineering and food science and microbiology, and formerly worked at Adidas as a data scientist. He is originally from France. He enjoys making and eating tempeh, as it’s one of the ferments that best embodies the challenges he focuses on, and was the first plant-based food where relatively high quantities of vitamin B12 were discovered.
Taylor Rayne

taylra@biosustain.dtu.dk
Taylor (she/her) is our Food Culture Assistant. She supports the dissemination of our research, shaping the creative direction of our website and Instagram presence and crafting experimental storytelling approaches at the intersection of food, science, and culture.
A big fan of small molecules, she spent much of her undergraduate studies developing computational methods for secondary metabolite discovery and exploring bacterial bioactive compounds with applications in cosmetics and medicine. She is fascinated by how knowledge and ideas are shared and communicated, driven by a desire to further explore both creative and academic approaches. Originally from the Sunshine Coast, British Columbia, Canada, Taylor also has an above-average affinity for all varieties of vinegar—the canonical balsamic being her favourite.
Bente van Vlijmen

Bente (she/her) is working on a project exploring the feasibility and go-to-market strategy for different upcycled food products that we have been working on in our R&D lab, co-supervised by Kim and Josh. She is currently pursuing her Masters in tech entrepreneurship at DTU and holds a degree in economics. She is leading the expansion of Kanpla, a Danish Food Waste SaaS company, into the Dutch market, building on her previous experience working at multiple startups in the USA. She is originally from The Netherlands and enjoys using leftover veggies in her fridge to make different kinds of kimchi.
Kacper Szewranski

Kacper (he/him) is working on a project investigating how bacteria and fungi can enhance the flavours of plant-based cheeses, as well as developing a specific soy-based growth medium. The project is supervised by Caroline, Josh, and partners from DTU Food as part of his Masters in Food Technology. As part of his thesis, he analysed the environmental footprints associated with producing cultivated meat, plant-based, and mycoprotein meat alternatives. Outside of his studies, he works as a laboratory assistant in a startup producing precision fermentation flavourings and vitamins. He is particularly interested in researching ways to improve meat and dairy alternatives so that they are sensorially appealing to consumers whilst being affordable. He also has a keen interest in life cycle assessment of new alternative protein products. He is originally from Poland. He is an undaunted fan of mature cheeses and gorgonzola and also enjoys dumplings with sauerkraut—but only during the winter holidays.
Omotoyosi Odusanwo

Omotoyosi (she/her) is currently exploring the sociocultural significance and innovative potential of fermented African locust beans for her Masters thesis, co-supervised by Josh, in Gastronomic Sciences at the Basque Culinary Center. More broadly, her interests lie in addressing the underutilisation of West African ingredients and expanding studies on alkaline fermentation. She is originally from Nigeria. She holds a degree in geology and has over five years of experience working as a chef in a fine dining restaurant in Lagos, and now she’s specialising in fermentation projects and product development. Choosing a favourite fermented food is challenging, but she finds simple fulfilment in a meal of garri (fermented cassava meal) paired with a soup seasoned with ogiri (a fermented oil-rich seed condiment), topped off with a refreshing drink of palmwine.
Maxim Velli

Maxim (he/him) is working on a project to develop a ‘Tamagotchi’-inspired system for growing mycelium-based biomaterials. The project combines hands-on learning with citizen science, allowing users to engage with fungi cultivation while collecting data on mycelium growth under different conditions. Co-supervised by Josh, in collaboration with DTU and the Royal Danish Academy of Architecture, Maxim aims to create a prototype that tracks bioelectric activity and encourages users to care for the process of growth. As a biodesigner, Maxim explores how biology and design can work together to create materials and structures that interact with natural ecosystems. He is particularly interested in how built environments can integrate with nature rather than disrupt it. He is currently pursuing a Master’s in interdisciplinary research and education and holds a degree in life science and technology. Born in Russia and raised in the Netherlands, he loves making and eating kimchi.

Affiliate Members

Nabila Rodríguez Valerón

Nabila (she/her) successfully defended her PhD thesis in March 2024, which was undertaken at the Basque Culinary Centre and Harvard University and jointly supervised by Josh since September 2022. Her multidisciplinary research on koku investigates how different cereals and cereal by-products can be used to create alternative misos that enhance koku sensation, alongside the meaning, culinary context, and social differentiation of koku sensation in Japanese culture. She is currently working with Josh to publish her ethnographic findings based on fieldwork in Japan. She is interested in how fermentation can be used to create more delicious plant-based and upcycled foods, and believes that improving flavour and consumer appeal is critical to sustainable food innovation. She formerly worked as a gastronomic scientist at Alchemist Restaurant in Copenhagen, and has studied industrial engineering, chemistry, and gastronomic sciences. She is originally from the Canary Islands. Naturally, she loves miso and soy sauce, and likes to experiment using them in her native Spanish cuisine, like in her favourite dish of ‘potaje de lentejas’ (lentil soup).
Taeko Hamada

Taeko (she/her) was an MA thesis student with us from February 2022 to August 2023, and has been an affiliated researcher with us since then. She wrote her master's thesis in anthropology at the University of Copenhagen under Josh’s co-supervision, where she investigated the interdisciplinary process of developing new tastes in the restaurant industry, and the ways in which food microbes are enlisted in this process. She has since been working on publishing academic papers based on this research. Her wider research interests lie in enriching understandings of human–microbe relations through a combination of technoscience, social science and culinary methodologies. She has studied anthropology and is originally from Japan. Some of the ferments she’s found most culturally and microbiologically interesting recently include Gira (Lithuanian Rye drink), Kapi (Thai Shrimp paste) and Nukadoko (Fermented Rice Bran bed).
Taís Suhre

Taís (she/her) is currently pursuing her PhD, since June 2021, at the Institute of Food Science and Technology at Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS). She is researching the production of low-alcohol fermented beverages using kombucha and native Brazilian fruits, supervised by Caroline.She has experience with brewing and kombucha production, cell culture, molecular biology techniques, bioactive compounds, and sensory analysis, combining these skills to participate as an evaluator in food competitions and contribute to new legislation for kombucha production in Brazil. She has studied food science and biotechnology, is originally from Brazil and is especially interested in beverages and wild fermentation.

Former Members

Alma Willumsen

Alma (she/her) worked on a project, supervised by Kim, that assessed the role of calcium and enzymes on the coagulation and textural properties of peanut-soy plant cheese, as part of her BSc in life science and technology at DTU. She is very interested in the potential of microbiology in sustainable food system transformation, particularly in developing innovative alternatives to high-climate-footprint items and utilising side streams from current food productions to reduce waste and create more value. She is originally from Denmark. She loves experimenting with different flavours and carbonation levels when making kombucha—her favourite so far is made with raspberry and ginger.
Leo Kühnemann

Leo (he/him) worked on a project that explored upcycling fish bones and carcasses into edible protein-rich food products with desirable texture and sensory profiles, co-supervised by Kim and colleagues at DTU Food, as part of his BSc in General Engineering at DTU. He has experience working as a chef in restaurants in Germany, Italy and Denmark and is involved in a pre-start-up at SkyLab FoodLab, turning bread waste into miso. He also works as a student assistant at Zealand Pharma, a metabolism-focused pharmaceutical company. He is originally from Germany. His favourite fermented food is sauerkraut, especially as served in the northern Italian mountains, where it is cooked in a broth after fermentation, together with butter, onions, caraway seeds and juniper berries.
Aly Beveridge

Aly (she/her) was our R&D intern, working with Kim and Eliot to document and support our culinary R&D during summer 2024. She also runs ‘Radikal Hospitality’, a food design experience pursuing social eating for social change, where she explores the complex interrelation of individual and collective perceptions of food systems, food systems education, neurogastronomy, and their impacts on food and climate futures. Previously, she was a chef and researcher at Blue Hill at Stone Barns and Restaurant Kadeau, and was a Princeton in Asia Fellow. She studied geosciences, theatre, and integrated food studies, and is originally from the USA. The fermented foods she prepares and eats most are cultured butter and miso on toasted sourdough bread.
Nurdin Topham

Nurdin (he/him) is currently pursuing an MSc in Food Innovation and Health at the University of Copenhagen. He has over 25 years of experience in gastronomy, training under Raymond Blanc at Le Manoir Aux Quat’Saisons and earning a Michelin star for his Hong Kong restaurant, NUR, in 2014. His consultancy work takes him around the world, from Kenya to Antarctica, enriching his culinary knowledge and global food connections. He aims to enhance human nourishment through innovative culinary approaches that bridge the gap between nutrition and gastronomy. He has studied nutritional therapy and applied human nutrition, connecting the dots between nutrition and gastronomy while exploring the potential of wild plants and fermentation. He is originally from the UK. He enjoys using white shoyu, a versatile condiment, and homemade water kimchi.
Isabela Jaeger

Isabela (she/her) was an MSc thesis student with us from June 2021 to Dec 2023. She wrote her Master’s thesis at the Institute of Food Science and Technology at Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) on the characterisation of the nutritional and microbiological composition of plant-based cheese analogues produced in Europe and Brazil, supervised by Caroline. She later published an academic paper with us based on this research, with another forthcoming.Currently, she works as a quality consultant in nutrition for the food industry and has experience working with food service, specialising in food and nutritional safety, compliance and management. She has studied nutrition and food science and technology. She is originally from Brazil, and loves wine and cheese.
Christopher Tomo

Chris (he/him) was a research assistant with the team during Spring 2023, joining on secondment The Wolfe Lab at Tufts University, where he is currently completing his undergraduate studies in biology. During his time with us, he worked on trying to identify and isolate a novel species of Exiguobacterium as part of our research on novel misos. He is interested in how macro-scale societal problems might be solved at the microscopic level and hopes to explore how this idea might be applied to the food system, public health and urban planning through the lenses of molecular biology, genetics, and ecological/evolutionary frameworks. He is originally from the United States and loves to bake and eat sourdough bread.