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Ignoring the idiom that variety is the spice of life, what single dish could I make that would provide all my nutritional needs forever more? A vegetarian option would be good too.

鈥� The only dishes that will do this are soups, stews and casseroles. What the reader might consider is the creation of a perpetual stew. Once this mixture starts to boil, it is reduced to a simmer and never turned off. Each day you would add more vegetables and protein, striving for variety. This was a common cooking method in the Middle Ages and there are contemporary examples that have lasted for more than 60 years. To be safe, it is important to never cool and reheat the stew, but to constantly keep it hot.

As for whether a vegetarian or vegan option exists: humans require vitamin B12 and the only readily available sources are from animals, in meat, fish, eggs and dairy products. It would be possible to fortify the stew with B12 additives, but these are often derived from animal sources too.

Stephen Johnson, Eugene, Oregon, US

Some vitamin B12 supplements are extracted from bacteria 鈥� Ed

鈥� All over the world, people eat a variant of a vegetarian meal containing a legume, a grain and a fruit or green leaf to provide vitamin C. Baked beans on toast with a grilled tomato is a complete meal, as is hummus with pitta bread and olives. Those on the go can have a peanut butter sandwich with an apple to follow. In Italy, there is pea risotto with lettuce. Native American people cook succotash: a dish of beans, maize and squash.

And in India, lentils, rice and fenugreek leaves have together sustained people for centuries. This would be my suggestion for a universal food.

Alisoun Gardner-Medwin Heddon on the Wall, Northumberland, UK

鈥淯sain Bolt typically covers 100 metres in 41 steps, spending 39 per cent of the race on the ground鈥�

鈥� The doner kebab 鈥� a flatbread containing meat, salad and mayonnaise 鈥� provides all major nutrients. For a vegetarian option, use a meat substitute such as tempeh (soya digested by a fungus such as Aspergillus). It may still need to be fortified with vitamin B12.

Luce Gilmore, Cambridge, UK

鈥� With a reasonable budget and a lab, you could formulate an optimally balanced meal. You could extract protein from animal or fungal sources to obtain the correct balance of amino acids, and mix this into a carbohydrate flour. Fat can be easily extracted from plant, animal or dairy sources and added to the mixture, as can fibre from plants. A small amount of sugar and salt may be a welcome addition.

Vitamins and minerals are another easy addition, since they are already synthesised to fortify foods and make nutritional supplements. Finally, you would be well advised to add some flavour extracts or spices to what otherwise sounds a rather unappealing concoction.

Lewis O鈥橲haughnessy, London, UK

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