"Culinary Physics" Lecture Series
Science & Cooking: From Haute Cuisine to Soft Matter
Science
by Harvard School of
Engineering and Applied Science.
Through cooking you
can learn a lot about science—and vice versa. If you'd like to know more about how recipes work, as well as basic
physics and engineering principles, this lecture series is for you.
Science & Cooking:
From Haute Cuisine to Soft Matter Science is a free online course taught by Harvard professors and top chefs.
Improve your cooking skill! Do you want to learn more?, download the Science and Cooking: A Companion to the Harvard Course, please click here now... Science and Cooking.
ABOUT
THIS LECTURE SERIES
This course is a collaboration between eminent Harvard researchers and
world-class chefs. During
the lecture series of the course, you will watch as chefs reveal the secrets
behind some of their most famous culinary creations — often right in their own
restaurants. Inspired by such cooking mastery, the Harvard team will then
explain, in simple and sophisticated ways, the science behind the recipe.
The Science and Cooking Public Lectures were a popular series of lectures
presented through the Harvard University School of Engineering and Applied
Sciences. Now it's available online for everyone to watch.
This public lecture
series discusses concepts from the physical sciences that underpin both
everyday cooking and haute cuisine. Each lecture features a world-class chef
who visited and presented their remarkable culinary designs. The
introductory lecture features Harold McGee (author of On Food and Cooking),
who talks about the history of using science in cooking up through current
techniques in molecular gastronomy. That first session also includes a
lecture and demonstration by Spanish chefs Ferran Adria - considered one of the
"best chefs in the world" and head chef at elBulli - and José
Andés, who was trained by Adria and now has several restaurants in the
Washington DC area.
Ferran Adria presented
spherification (the culinary
technique pioneered by Ferran Adrià); Jose Andres discussed both the basic components of food and gelation;
Joan Roca demonstrated sous vide;
Enric Rovira showed his chocolate
delicacies; Wylie Dufresne presented inventions with transglutaminase. Topics will include: soft matter materials, such
as emulsions, illustrated by aioli; elasticity, exemplified by the done-ness of
a steak; and diffusion.
The lectures then use
these culinary creations as inspiration to delve into understanding how and why
cooking techniques and recipes work, focusing on the physical transformations
of foods and material properties.
COURSE STAFF:
INSTRUCTORS
Michael Brenner
(Faculty lead)
David Weitz (Faculty
lead)
Pia Sörensen
(Preceptor)
Lab
Design/Implementation
Pere Castells, Unitat
UB-Bullipèdia
Michael Brenner
Michael Brenner is the
Glover Professor of Applied Mathematics and Applied Physics, and Harvard College
Professor at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. He
developed the popular Harvard class, "Science and Cooking: From Haute
Cuisine to the Science of Soft Matter," with his colleague David Weitz and
chef Ferran Adrià. His research uses mathematics to examine a wide variety of
problems in science and engineering, ranging from understanding the shapes of
bird beaks, whale flippers and fungal spores, to finding the principles for
designing materials that can assemble themselves, to answering ordinary
questions about daily life, such as why a droplet of fluid splashes when it
collides with a solid surface.
David Weitz
David Weitz is a
Professor of Physics and Applied Physics, at the Harvard School of Engineering
and Applied Sciences and the Department of Physics. He developed the popular
Harvard class, "Science and Cooking: From Haute Cuisine to the Science of
Soft Matter," with his colleague Michael Brenner and chef Ferran Adrià.
His research group studies the science of soft matter materials as well as
biophysics and biotechnology.
Pia Sörensen
Pia Sörensen is
Preceptor of Science and Cooking at the School of Engineering and Applied
Sciences at Harvard University, and the HarvardX Fellow for Science &
CookingX. She earned her PhD in Chemical Biology at Harvard University,
studying small molecule inhibitors of cell division.
Ferran Adrià
Culinary Advisor: Ferran Adrià was the chef and
owner of restaurant elBulli in Roses, Spain, the only restaurant to have been voted number one in the world a record five
times by the World’s 50 best restaurant list. He is founder of the elBulli
Foundation, a creative initiative intended to keep pushing the limits of
culinary invention. His books include: A
day at elBulli, Modern
Gastronomy A to Z, and other
books.
Pere Castells
Culinary Advisor: Pere Castells is a chemist,
teacher, and former head of the Alícia Foundation’s Scientific Research
Department in Barcelona, Spain. He is currently coordinating the research
project UB-Bullipèdia with the elBulli Foundation.
Daniel Rosenberg
Science Demo Guru: Daniel Rosenberg of Harvard
University is the master mind behind the science demos in the course.
Harold McGee
Culinary Expert: Harold McGee is an expert on the
chemistry, technique, and history of food, and will appear regularly, sharing
his insights on these topics. He is the author of many books and articles,
including the textbook for the course: On
Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen.
Nathan Myhrvold
Culinary Expert: Nathan Myhrvold is the principal
author of the five volume cookbook Modernist
Cuisine, Modernist
Cuisine at Home and author of the forthcoming The
Photography of Modernist Cuisine.
Students of SPU27X get
a 20% discount on the ebook Modernist Cuisine at Home. Apply "SPU27X20" at check out. This
discount is available until January 1, 2014.
Dan Souza
Culinary Expert: Dan Souza is a senior editor at
Cook's Illustrated and cast member of the America's Test Kitchen
television show. Dan developed the test kitchen experiments for The
Science of Good Cooking. He will be a regular contributor to the course.
Dan's twitter handle is @testcook.
José Andres
Chef: José Andres is the founder
of ThinkFood Group and
chef and owner of several restaurants including Minibar, Jaleo and
The Bazaar. His books include Made
in Spain: Spanish Dishes for the American Kitchen and Tapas:
A Taste of Spain in America.
Dave Arnold
Chef: Dave Arnold is chef and owner of
the bar Booker and Dax in New York City. He is also the founder of the
Museum of Food and Drink and writes on Culinary Technology developments in the
blog Cooking Issues.
Dan Barber
Chef: Dan Barber is chef and co-owner of
Blue Hill in New York City and Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Pocantico Hills, NY.
He serves on the President's Council on Physical Fitness, Sports and Nutrition
and Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture's board of directors. Dan is
the author of several talks and articles and the book The
Third Plate (Spring 2014). Twitter: @danbarber
Joanne Chang
Chef: Joanne Chang is chef and owner of Flour
Bakery and Myers + Chang in Boston, MA. She is the author of two books: Flour:
Spectacular recipes from Boston’s Flour bakery + Café and Flour,
Too: Indispensable Recipes for the Cafés Most Loved Sweets and Savories.
David Chang
Chef: David Chang is chef and owner of
the Momofuku restaurant group, including the two Michelin starred Momfuku Ko in New York City. He is the
author of Momofuku
cookbook, Milk
Bar Cookbook and other books, and also publishes the quarterly journal
Lucky Peach Magazine.
Wylie Dufresne
Chef: Wylie Dufresne is chef and owner
of the Michelin starred restaurant wd-50
and the gastropub Alder in New York City.
Nandu Jubany
Chef: Nandu Jubany is chef and owner of
the Michelin starred restaurant Can
Jubany in Vic, Spain.
Joan Roca
Chef: Joan Roca is chef and owner of
restaurant El Celler de Can Roca,
outside Girona, Spain. The restaurant, run in collaboration with his two
brothers, Josep and Jordi Roca, was recently voted best restaurant in the world by the World’s 50 best
restaurant list and has three Michelin stars. Books include Sous-Vide
Cuisine and El
Celler de Can Roca.
Enric Rovira
Chef: Enric Rovira, based in Barcelona,
is one of Spain’s most celebrated Master Chocolatiers.
Carme Ruscalleda
Chef: Carme Ruscalleda is chef and owner
of restaurants Sant Pau
in Sant Pol de Mar, Spain, Sant Pau de Tòquio, Japan, and Moments
in Barcelona, Spain. The three restaurants have been awarded six Michelin stars
combined. She is the author of CR20:
20 Years of the Sant Pau, Carme
Ruscalleda’s Mediterranean Cuisine, and several other books.
Ted Russin
Ted Russin is the
Director of Consulting at the Culinary Institute of America. A food chemist
with culinary training. Ted has experience in both culinary and industrial food
process and product design. He has collaborated with chefs such as Wylie
Dufresne, Thomas Keller, and Corey Lee. His work has been featured in the Los
Angeles Times, The New York Times, and in the Cooking Channel Special
“Geek-A-Licious”.
Carles Tejedor
Chef: Carles Tejedor is the chef of
restaurant Via Veneto in Barcelona, Spain. He is also the founder of
Oilab, a virtual space devoted to research and development of culinary oil
products.
Bill Yosses
Chef: Bill Yosses is White House
Executive Pastry Chef in Washington, DC. He is the author of The
Perfect Finish: Special Desserts for Every Occasion.
WATCH THE COMPLETE CULINARY PHYSICS LECTURE
SERIES
(You can bookmark this page and
watch the other videos later)
1) Video Food and Science | Lecture 1
(2012)
Dave Arnold, Food Arts
Harold McGee, New York Times September 4, 2012
2) Video Food and Science | Lecture 2
(2012)
Joan Roca and Jordi
Roca, El Celler de Can Roca Salvador Brugués, Sous-Vide Cuisine September 10,
2012
3) Video How Phase Changes Cause:
Deliciousness | Lecture 3 (2012)
Bill Yosses, White
House Pastry Chef, September 17, 2012
4) Video Explorations of Chocolate
Texture | Lecture 4 (2012)
Enric Rovira, Master
Chocolatier, Ingrid Farre, Alicia Foundation September 24, 2012
5) Video Working with Modern Thickeners |
Lecture 5 (2012)
Fina Puigdevall, Les
Cols Pere Planagumà, Les Cols Paco Perez, Miramar Monday, October 1, 2012
6) Video The Science of Paella |
Lecture 6 (2012)
Raül Balam Ruscalleda,
Moments
7) Video Gelation and Heat Transfer |
Lecture 7 (2012)
Jose Andres, Think
Food Group, minibar, Jaleo October 15, 2012
8) Video Water, water everywhere: A
Study in Texture | Lecture 8 (2012)
Wylie Dufresne, wd~50
Ted Russin, The Culinary Institute of America October 22, 2012
9) Video Bakistry: The Science of
Sweets | Lecture 9 (2012)
Joanne Chang, Flour
Bakery
10) Video The Science of Good Cooking |
Lecture 10 (2012)
Jack Bishop, Editorial
Director at Cook's Illustrated and an Editor on The Science of Good Cooking Dan
Souza, Associate Editor of Cook's Illustrated
11) Video Modernist Cuisine at Home |
Lecture 11 (2012)
Nathan Myhrvold,
former Microsoft CTO; co-founder and CEO of Intellectual Ventures; and author
of Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking
12) Video Microbes, Misos, and Olives |
Lecture 12 (2012)
David Chang, momfuku
Carles Tejedor, Via Veneto
The Harvard College Course
WATCH VIDEO BELOW: Chefs
at Google: Nathan Myhrvold | "Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of
Cooking"
Dr.
Nathan Myhrvold is
chief executive officer and a founder of Intellectual Ventures, a firm
dedicated to creating and investing in inventions. In addition to stimulating
the invention of others, Myhrvold is himself an active inventor, with nearly
250 patents issued or pending including several related to food technology.
Before founding his invention company, Myhrvold was the first chief technology
officer at Microsoft. He established Microsoft Research, and during his tenure
he oversaw many advanced technology projects. He left Microsoft in 1999 to
pursue several interests, including a lifelong interest in cooking and food
science.
Myhrvold competed on a
team that won first place in several categories at the 1991 World Championship
of Barbecue, including first prize in the special pasta category for a recipe
that Myhrvold developed on the day of the contest.
After working for two
years as a stagierat Seattle's top French restaurant, Rover's, Myhrvold
completed culinary training with renowned chef Anne Willan at the Ecole De La
Varenne. In addition, he has worked as Chief Gastronomic Officer for Zagat
Survey, publisher of the popular Zagat restaurant guide books. Through his many
visits to the world's top restaurants, Myhrvold has become personally acquainted
with many of the leading Modernist chefs and the science-inspired cooking techniques
they have pioneered.
