ACADEMICS and foodies from the North-East are behind a team taking a taste of medieval times to a Californian light festival.

The work of English medieval scientist Robert Grosseteste is featured in the Napa Lighted Art Festival thanks to a partnership including Durham University.

A team from the university-led Ordered Universe research project is bringing the past alive with digital artwork plus talks and historical food and wine tastings.

The sound and projection piece, called Horizon, explores human understandings of our place in the universe, from the ground-breaking works of Grosseteste to the modern-day.

Professor Giles Gasper, principal investigator for the Ordered Universe project at Durham University, said: “When medieval science and modern day research combine it gives an inspiring and humbling window into the past. Taking part in events such as Napa Lighted Art Festival gives us the opportunity to share the wonders of medieval science in new and innovative ways.

“From understandings of our place in the universe to the discovery that medieval cuisine was a global fusion of flavours, there is so much to explore and to learn.

“Robert Grosseteste is probably the greatest scientist that people have never heard of, so to be able to bring his works to a new, international audience is a huge privilege.”

Visitors will see projections of Grosseteste’s interpretations of the universe and its structure, along with hearing his own words, before journeying through to 21st century imagery from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

The projection is a partnership between the Ordered Universe project and The Projection Studio, who have collaborated on a show for Lumiere Durham and other international light shows.

As part of the festival, which runs until tomorrow, the Ordered Universe team is hosting food and wine demonstrations with the Culinary Institute of America at Copia and Blackfriars Restaurant, Newcastle.

Horizon will feature at the Light Up Poole festival in Dorset in February.