Molecular Gastronomy Made Complicated via PowerPointThe genius of Hervé This, the molecular gastonomist whose lecture we attended the other day, is so far beyond our ken that we were unable to understand what the hell he was talking about, even with the aid of his Powerpoint presentation. Clearly, closer study was needed. So in the interest of furthering gastronomic knowledge, here are a few highlights from the Powerpoint presentation itself, in all their intellectual splendor. It would no doubt be more edifying if you had This speaking while looking at the slides, but then again maybe it wouldn’t be. We can’t say for sure. But just the knowledge that someone is thinking this deeply keeps us encouraged. In something.
NewsFeed
Molecular Gastronomist Wows Them in Rare New York AppearanceHervé This, the famous French scientist who coined the term “molecular gastronomy,” yesterday made a rare New York appearance, lecturing first at the Institute of Culinary Education, then at NYU before the Experimental Cuisine Collective, and finally before the Culinary Historians of America at the soon-to-open Astor Center downtown. We were fascinated by This’s PowerPoint presentation, which featured food images, mathematical formulas, Venn diagrams, and images of classical artwork, all accompanied by gnomic, rambling commentary on the nature of things edible. (There seemed to be a lot of stuff about emulsification in there as well.) The truth is that we could make neither head nor tail of the talk, which apparently was totally different at each of the three appearances.
The Launch
Sam Mason Joins a Molecular Secret SocietyWelcome to the latest installment of the Launch, where Sam Mason, former pastry chef at wd-50, relates the ups and downs of preparing to open Tailor, the swanky restaurant and lounge coming together at 525 Broome Street.
