Laissez-Faire Catering, one of Sydney’s leading premium caterers, has partnered with Forged By Vow, the Australian food technology company pioneering cultured meats. Together, they are introducing a new frontier for dining – bringing Australia’s first meat, handcrafted at a cellular level, to the business events industry.
The first dish debuted on 15 August 2025 at the Sapphire Project’s 5th Anniversary Dinner at Carriageworks, where 300 distinguished guests gathered to raise an impressive $1.6 million for ocean conservation. Guests experienced a bespoke, zero-waste menu featuring a world-first culinary innovation: “Candlelit Quail”.
At first glance, the tallow candles appeared to be part of the table decor – they looked, smelled and melted like real candles. But once lit, guests discovered they were crafted from cultured Japanese quail tallow. As the candles melted, waitstaff revealed the surprise: “This is no ordinary candle.” Homemade bread and organic butters were served, inviting guests to dip into the warm, golden tallow – a playful twist that redefined dining by candlelight. The immersive experience was received with delight, sparking conversation across the room.
Sara Flaksbard, General Manager, Laissez-Faire Catering, said the collaboration perfectly reflects the company’s ethos of crafting immersive, multi-sensory events:
“We’ve always been known for creating theatre at the table – transforming food into performance and giving guests moments they don’t just taste but truly experience and remember. Partnering with Forged takes us a step further, bringing Australia’s first cultured meat to events and offering our clients something genuinely new and imaginative.”
“This is just the beginning; we’re excited to keep pushing the boundaries of how innovation, sustainability, and creativity can come together to create dining that engages every sense,” said Flaksbard.
Forged meat is not farmed – it’s crafted. Beginning with a single animal cell, it is nurtured with natural ingredients over a precise 79-day culturing process, inspired by master brewers, bakers, and winemakers alike. The result is an entirely new category of meat – sustainable, ethical, and deliberately different – created without fillers, synthetic additives, or traditional farming.
Ellen Dinsmoor, Chief Operations Officer from Forged said the collaboration was a natural fit:
“We’re excited to be partnering with Laissez-Faire Catering, who share our appetite for pushing boundaries and creating experiences guests will remember. Together, we’re bringing something new to Sydney’s events scene — food that feels decadent, surprising, and made to spark conversation.”
Laissez-Faire is now incorporating Forged’s reimagined creations into its corporate catering menus and offerings across their 30+ venue partners across Sydney, giving clients access to dining experiences found nowhere else in Australia. Alongside Candlelit Quail, event organisers can now select from other Forged dishes designed to inspire curiosity, including:
- Crumbed quail with crème fraiche and caviar
- Cannoli with forged parfait and black truckle
- Smoked cultured Japanese quail spread
Perfected over six years and crafted with sustainably at its core, Forged’s cultured Japanese quail represents a future where meat is locally made, ethically created, and designed for imagination. For Laissez-Faire Catering, it signals the arrival of a new chapter in event dining, one that blends culinary artistry with breakthrough food technology.
