IMprobable fOOD
April 21 & 22, 2026
Paris
You know Design Thinking.
Now meet its more rebellious, gastronomic cousin:
Art Thinking, where food, art,
and the improbable collide.
Artworks by ??
Food is the most intimate expression of culture, identity, and innovation—reflecting the spirit of our time. Today, it stands at the heart of accelerating change, from climate urgency to digital transformation, and from heritage cuisine to lab-grown ingredients. The food industry is evolving at an unprecedented pace, reshaped by technology, sustainability, and shifting consumer values.
In this dynamic landscape, leaders must reimagine business models, creative processes, and systemic impact. Traditional approaches are no longer enough. The future demands bold, interdisciplinary solutions that integrate sustainability, digital acceleration, and cultural relevance.
“The way you make an omelet reveals your character.”
Anthony Bourdin
Improbable Food is a two-day executive seminar designed by ESCP Business School’s Improbable Chair to tackle these challenges. Using Art Thinking, an evidence-based methodology developed by Professor Sylvain Bureau (PhD from Ecole polytechnique), participants learn to navigate uncertainty, unlock strategic imagination, and create transformative, cross-disciplinary solutions.
Rooted in food’s history of radical artistic disruption—from Ferran Adrià’s molecular gastronomy to the farm-to-table movement—the program empowers participants not only to anticipate change but to shape it.
Bringing together industry leaders and selected students from ESCP Business School, Stanford University, and other schools, Improbable Food creates a rare, intergenerational, and interdisciplinary space to prototype the future of food.
Strategic Angles
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Investigate the dynamic interplay between artificial intelligence and human ingenuity in gastronomy. Move beyond automation to augmented creativity, redefining culinary authorship, design processes, and leadership in the kitchen.
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Go beyond marketing to craft meaningful, enduring food narratives that foster emotional resonance, cultural relevance, and community. Transform dining into a platform for storytelling that connects people across generations and cultures.
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Reimagine dining as an immersive ecosystem, seamlessly blending digital innovation with physical experiences. Create unforgettable culinary journeys that engage all the senses and redefine hospitality.
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Shift from linear production to circular, regenerative models that prioritize sustainability across sourcing, production, and consumption. Rethink value creation to align with ecological and ethical imperatives.
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Address food’s evolving role in a world shaped by planetary boundaries, ethical urgency, and shifting societal values. Learn to innovate within constraints, turning challenges into opportunities for transformation.
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Develop the capacity to navigate ambiguity, acceleration, and paradox in a rapidly changing industry. Cultivate strategic foresight and talent to lead with vision and adaptability.
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DescCultural Identity: A medium for individuals to express their heritage and values.
Intercultural Exchange: A universal language that bridges divides and fosters understanding.
Art Studio: The kitchen as a space for collaboration, experimentation, and creativity.
Space for Peace: Food as a catalyst for dialogue, connection, and reconciliation.
Generational Link: A vessel for passing down traditions, recipes, and stories.ription de l’élément.
Innovation and Heritage: A balance between honoring the past and pioneering the future.
Literary Art: Recipes as a form of storytelling and artistic expression.
Gift and Humanitarian Gesture: Food as an act of generosity, solidarity, and care.
Learning Experience
Designed by Professor Sylvain Bureau and artist Pierre Tectin at ESCP, Improbable has been recognized internationally from Stanford University to the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City.
Improbable Food is an immersive, high-intensity experience that transforms skills, mindsets, projects, and networks. It is not traditional training but a lasting learning journey.
Through masterclasses, hands-on workshops, and curated creative tension, participants challenge conventional business thinking and unlock new strategic perspectives. Using disruptive practices of the Art Thinking method—donate, deviate, destroy, drift, dialogy=ue and display—they create a bold, improbable culinary art piece unveiled during a memorable (tasting) vernissage.
Key Outcomes
Use Art Thinking as a concrete transformation tool for business and creativity.
Strengthen creative leadership in times of uncertainty.
Master AI × Artistic Intelligence as strategic drivers of innovation.
Rethink food models in the age of the Anthropocene.
Expand your ecosystem through rare intergenerational and cross-disciplinary collaboration.
Prototype bold, improbable perspectives ready to challenge dominant industry logics.
Earn the Art Thinking Certificate from ESCP Business School
Who Will You Learn With?
Participants :
Executives and leaders from the food, hospitality, and creative industries.
Students from the MSc in International Food & Beverage Management of ESCP Business School
(#1 worldwide/ Eduniversal Ranking) and selected students from other schools and universities)
Professors, Speakers and mentors :
Pr. Sylvain Bureau: Scientific Director of the Improbable Chair by Galeries Lafayette, is a normalien and agrégé in economics with a PhD from École Polytechnique. A pioneer in interdisciplinary education (received multiple international awards), he co-created the Improbable Seminar and developed the Art Thinking method, which he has taught at leading institutions worldwide, including Stanford, NYU, FIT, and HEC Montreal.
Jean-Marc Cortade: Filmmaker who has interviewed top French chefs (he is the best if you want to know where to eat in Paris!).
Mathis Collins: Renowned artist (exhibited at Centre Pompidou and Palais de Tokyo).
Julien Lacour-Gayet: PhD student working on art thinking and design thinking expert.
Julia Hou: Stanford d.school student specializing in food design and MBA from Ivey Business School.
Alexandre Sabouret: Entrepreneur and polyglot with experience at the restaurant La Tour d’Argent.
Gwendoline Blosse: extraodinary Food designer.
Thomas brigger: COO of the Improbable Chair, polyglot, art lover and former fashion designer
Format & Location
2 daysDuration:englishlanguage:Galeries Lafayette, Paris location:ESCP Business School, Montparnasse Campus, Parisexecutives : 1450 Eurospricing:entrepreneurs : 500 Eurosstudents : 50 EurosAn Improbable Executive Education experience by ESCP Business School to shape the future of hospitality.