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Vol.11 A Dialogue Between Science and Food
February 2007
While pacing the stage at Madrid Fusion, between
discussions of the chemical structure of ingredients and the wonders
of freeze-drying, Ferran Adria made a passing comment about the
state of food: “if Escoffier came to my kitchen today, he
wouldn’t know what to do!” The audience laughed, nodded
their heads, and continued scribbling notes about spherification
and alginates. Now two weeks later, we think of this comment and
smile again, because Ferran was right. In the last ten years we’ve
seen a new approach to cuisine. It’s chemical, philosophical,
and technical, and in Madrid it was described by many as “a
dialogue between science and food.”
From natural-occurring alginates, to vacuum machines,
to material science (which gets down to the chemical nuts and bolts
of an ingredient), techniques and tools have certainly changed the
face of the modern kitchen. The science/food dialogue is exciting
– it’s broadening the resources from which a chef can
draw, and is defining the future of cuisine. It seems that journalists
can’t help but mention Marie-Antoine Carême when trying
to contextualize this new cuisine. Like with Carême, today’s
fine-dining is an increasingly theatrical, whimsical, multi-sensory
affair. Experimentation in the kitchen is a part of the theater
executed in the front of the house – diners make their own
“noodles” at WD~50, and take a whiff of kitchen-crafted
“perfume” at Cru as part of a course. And both
tools and philosophies are trickling down from big kitchens to the
mainstream (think of the now-ubiquitous iSi whipper).
As with the time of Carême, it appears more
and more that the last few years will be marked as a turning point
in the approach to cuisine. And not only because of the interplay
between technology, entertainment and artistry, but because of deepened
understanding of – and interest in – the product. We
heard it over and over again in Madrid: there is no progress without
better understanding of ingredients, and that chefs would benefit
from taking the tools they all have – their minds, their senses
and their knives – to further comprehend the basic chemistry
and composition of the product they serve.
In the spirit of Madrid, this Valentine’s
Day we reexamine ingredients by delving into the elements of flavor
and aroma. In Aphrodisiacs
we focus on chocolate – uncovering old myths about its passion-inducing
qualities, and highlighting recipes that pair chocolate with some
unusual bedmates (mustard, prosciutto, and cheese). In Love
Potions, Bar Chef Junior Merino plays with bubbly in Champagne-based
cocktails with multi-sensory appeal. And in our newest On
the Plate we feature some of the playful and engaging presentations
from Madrid Fusion. These features are all about evocative aromas,
colors, flavors, textures…but also about knowing your ingredients,
and using that knowledge to take them to new heights!
Cheers!
Antoinette Bruno
Editor-in-Chief
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