Army food is turned into stunning fine dining dishes

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Military MREs - Meals Ready-to-Eat - from the US, China, Russia and France were transformed for the project
Series, From MRE To Michelin , was created by a food photographer, a chef and a videographer from New York
Food was photographed first in the unappetising army ration pouches and then elegantly arranged on plates
Meals include noodles with tuna, pork brain with red sauce, and an energy bar with lemonade 'crackle'

Published: 05:37 EDT, 25 April 2017 | Updated: 05:13 EDT, 27 April 2017

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When you think of army food, unappetising tins of suspicious meat and freeze-dried powders in pouches are what spring to mind rather than gourmet meals.

But a captivating new photo series has given sad-looking rations the Michelin star treatment, transforming them into stunning fine dining dishes.

The project used MREs - what the military call their 'meals ready-to-eat' - from all over the world, including the United States, China, France and Russia.

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The photo series - 'From MRE to Michelin' - shows how even sad-looking army rations can be transformed into fine dining dishes worthy of a Michelin star restaurant. Left: A Russian bag of rations, and right: noodles with tuna with a sweet chilli lime sauce

This dish wouldn't look out of place at any Michelin star restaurant - but it's actually pork brain with potato stew and beef and a red sauce out of an army ration pack

A French army ration pack in its entirety - one of several from around the world that the creators used for the photo series. The French ration pack contains chocolate muesli (top centre), crackers (left centre), risotto with pork and mushrooms (second from right in centre), nougat bars (left) and fish soup (top left)

Photographed before and after their transformations, bland vacuum-packed packages have been turned into elegant meals and shot on clean plates next to delicate accompaniments.

The small amount of food in army ration packs suits the world of haute cuisine surprisingly well, as tiny portions are a staple of the fine dining world.

The series - called 'From MRE to Michelin' - was created by food photographer Henry Hargreaves, videographer Jimmy Pham, and chef Chuck George, who all live in New York.

It looks draws attention to how some of the bravest men and women in the world are fed before they go into battle.

Henry, 37, who lives in Brooklyn, New York, and is originally from New Zealand, said: 'Military meals are not something that ends up in the public eye..

The project leaders turned the mysterious contents of plain army ration pouches, such as this one from China (left), into stunning Michelin-starred dishes. One prune bar (right) was turned into a stunning starter and served with lemonade 'crackle' and melted cheese

The photo series proves that you turn even the saddest of food portions into fine dining fare. Left: a ration bag from Lithuania and right: an energy bar is transformed into a beautiful dessert, and covered with chopped nuts and served with diced pears, peanut butter and chilli lime hot sauce

These dull-looking pictureless army ration packs don't look very tempting - but the series transforms their contents into high end dishes. This US military meal pack contains crackers (bottom left), diced pears (bottom centre), dry roasted peanuts (bottom right), French vanilla cappuccino powder (top centre) and an energy bar (top centre)

'We wanted to reveal some of this, and compare how various armies feed their troops.

'There are many metaphors in food and how the way you people them reflects the way you feel about them.'

As well as simply showcasing the meals that servicemen and women have to eat in the line of duty, the group wanted their series to poke fun at the seriousness of the food world, which they said can appear very trivial compared to the realities of war.

Made entirely using army ration packs, one plate (left) tops pineapple with a sweetbread and lemonade 'dust', while another (right) tops lemon energy crystals with a chocolate shard

This Korean army ration pack (left) contains a dried chicken with rice and spicy vegetable broth that needs boiling water to heat it up. The photographers arranged it elegantly in a bowl served with a spicy sauce and hot water to pour over (right)

The photographers created this tempting chocolate dessert (left) using chocolate muesli, a powdered milk mix, shaved cacao and jam. They then created a starter of 'mystery meat' on a cracker, with chopped almonds, jam and black tea 'dust' (right)

Henry has shot a number of food-based projects in the past - including the last meals of prisoners on Death Row, and meals that have been eaten by James Bond in various books.

For this series, the inspiration came from Chuck, the son of a US serviceman.

All of the MREs were sourced on eBay and came from smaller nations such as Lithuania as well as military powerhouses.

In a nod to trendy charcuterie boards, the creators of the series used army rations to create a tasting plate of veal (centre), deer pate (left centre), prunes (top), pork risotto with mushrooms (top right), energy bars (top) cheese (top) and biscuits (bottom)

The photo series not only shows off how the army rations can be transformed into fine dining fare, but also provides an insight into what soldiers eat on a daily basis. Pictured: an Russian army ration pack

The Chinese army ration pack looks a lot less appetising than other military food from other countries as everything is plainly packaged in green pouches

The trio group decided how the meals would eventually be plated up, with Chuck working on the presentation and Henry and Jimmy shooting his creations.

Jimmy, 33, who also lives in Brooklyn, said: 'I actually didn't think it tasted that bad.

'Growing up camping and spending time in the outdoors, I've learned to appreciate canned food and freeze dried meals.

'I'm a little more open to trying things like this, so for me it was a blast.'