The Magic and Science of Food

A few years ago, in a magazine, Bon Appetit or Gourmet, I ran across an recipe for frittatas that called for Lay's potato chips, and specifically Lay's plain, noting that the recipe's designer Ferran Adria, a controversial, innovative chef from Spain had experimented with several brands of potato chips and that the Lay's performed better than say a chip with ridges or a bar-b-que style chip. The term molecular gastronomy was thrown in, interesting concept, I thought. I then searched out the Lay's and other ingredients and ended up with a pretty wonderful brunch.

Since then I have become more and more interested in food and cooking, in the history of foods as well as the future of foods and cooking. On our road trip to Nicaragua, traveling companion/business partner/culinary enthusiast, Charles Lee and I ended up listening to a great book, "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan. A book that discusses how, what and why we eat what we do and the many resulting outcomes and implications. We were engrossed in it for many, many hours. For better or for worse we opted for it over the various Spanish lessons I had brought along.
This coupled with the wonderful food I had in Nicaragua, combined with a trip to Paris, along with the additions of a wood-fired oven intensified my desire to learn more about food and cooking, which somehow lead me to a wonderful DVD, "Decoding Ferran Adria" that Cindy and I watched with amazement and awe. I highly recommend it. You don't need to obsessive about cooking, although it helps, or interested in the science of food, also helpful. Ferran Adria is wonderful to watch. He is like Willy Wonka, in so many ways.

Ferran's culinary lab, El Taller

So I thought I would pass on these wonderful experiences.