Is Molecular Gastronomy the New Mainstream?
I love Michael Ruhlman’s blog — his writing is fascinating, his guest bloggers are among some of my favorite chefs and authors, and even his comment sections drag in a fascinating array of comments from lay foodies and serious chefs alike — and not a one of them is afraid of an argument.
A great example is the offal-storm started with this post recounting an experience at Alinea — “The End of Molecular Gastronomy?”
“We are at a remarkable point in our culinary history. The burst of creativity that began at El Bulli and has carried on in places like Fat Duck and Alinea (among a handful of other notable American restaurants) has been thrilling. But I think the innovations we’ve seen have been more than enough for now. Now, like the innovations of Nouvelle Cuisine in the 1970s, techniques such as hot gels, unusual starches and gums, foams, and sous vide cooking, need to find their proper place in the evolution of those restaurants fueled by the creative spirit that are striving for innovation–without being dogged by the ungainly and inaccurate term “moleculary gastronomy.” It is the new new cuisine. But we stopped referring to Nouvelle Cuisine as such, after its essential mandates were fully incorporated into the fine dining idiom. In the hands of a chef such as Achatz, whose culinary fundamentals (how to cook a potato, how to make a chestnut puree) are so exquisite, I hope we stop calling the new new cuisine anything at all other than really good food.”
A touchy subject among the food crowd, to be sure… Read the post, but be sure to read the comments (often the best part of Ruhlman’s blog — too bad they’re not part of the RSS feed). And then this follow-up by guest blogger Bob del Grosso (including the comments).
Fascinating stuff.
It really doesn’t matter what your position is on “weird science food” — or food in general — reading this will at least broaden your perspective dramatically, even if it doesn’t change it.
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