I first got introduced to molecular gastronomy and the modernist approach to culinary arts in Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations episode when he went to elBulli restaurant in Spain right before it closed down. The restaurant was owned by world renowned chef Ferran Adrià whose philosophy and methodology when it comes to preparing and serving food just blew me away. It is surely an episode that I would recommend to all of you.
I wasn't really a big fan of fancy or "michelin star" types of restaurants, cooking, or food; probably a bit similar to Bourdain's views in Kitchen Confidential. I'm more of the street food and authentic type, I would like to think. But then the whole concept of molecular gastronomy and the approach of chefs like Ferran Adrià is just so mind-blowing and intense that it somehow changed my mind about it all.
The way Adrià describes his approach and philosophy makes him much like a renaissance man of sorts whose expertise goes beyond cooking and into fields like chemistry and other sciences, history, sociology, psychology, philosophy, and others. Imagine all that, with very intricate attention to detail, all put into cooking and the dishes he serves. Aside from being innovative, it also feels a lot like being revolutionary of sorts. I'm really just out of words and I don't even know how to explain what I mean.
It just so happened that I just watched Top Chef season 9 episode 9 and they featured Nathan Myhrvold, also a renaissance man when it comes to molecular gastronomy and author of "highly coveted" series of books on Modernist Cuisine and I got so reminded of the elBulli episode and am now learning so much more about the modernist approach in cooking as more of a revolutionary movement than just a methodology.
It all just reminds me so much of freedom, art, passion, and the desire to change the world. Of course, it's also making me really hungry.
It all just reminds me so much of freedom, art, passion, and the desire to change the world. Of course, it's also making me really hungry.
