The Melting Teapot

I'll be spending my weekend at the International Food Bloggers Conference in Seattle. The conference has an incredibly full agenda: we'll be sampling food bites from great chefs, tasting wine, hearing talks given by food celebrities, attending panel discussions, and heading to special events (like an exclusive preview showing of the film Today's Special). It’s an intense schedule, but I’ll try my best to do it all and to report back on the highlights.  I know – rough job, but somebody has to do it, right? 

Modernist Cuisine Reception

Last night, I attended a pre-conference reception hosted at the Intellectual Ventures Cooking Lab in Bellevue.  Modernist Cuisine is a 6-volume book set that is dedicated to the science and technology of cooking.  You may have read any number of articles about this upcoming volume, which is getting quite a bit of buzz in both culinary and techie-geek circles.

It is not a cheap set of books, currently priced at $500 pre-order on amazon.com (full price is $625).  At first I was dismayed by the pricepoint, but I’ve become more understanding of it after reading and learning further about the project. 

The books are widely described as being dedicated to the new tools and processes of molecular gastronomy, which is indeed true.  However, last night I discovered they are about much more than that.  The scientist-chefs at the labs have dedicated many hours of research to studying the science behind food preparation, dispelling common myths, explaining how to make the most of traditional methods of cooking, as well as exploring this new world of centrifuges and emulsifiers.

“When it’s really great, cuisine can be thought-provoking.”

Those words were spoken by a well-known personality in the computer world, former Microsoft CTO Nathan Myhrvold, who created this lab dedicated to exploring and explaining the science of cooking.  As he speaks, Myhrvold’s passion for cuisine and the art of cooking is evident.  Seeing him in this sort of a role is very different from the scientist/mathematician that I’ve read about in the past.  It was a unique opportunity to speak with him and his two co-authors, picking their brains for information about the book and the new approach to cooking they promote.

Myhrvold is not the only impressive cook or researcher in the lab.  Each person I spoke with was very smart, filled with an impressive amount of knowledge, and really excited to share this with us.  They also shared some wonderfully intriguing bites of food, poured glasses of nice wine, and generally made us feel welcome.

At the close of the event we were given promotional material that is a sampling of what will be in the book.  From what I saw, as well as things I’ve read in outside sources, this set of books will indeed contain an unequaled collection of cooking knowledge.  The photography is both stunning and enlightening; the text I read is intended for an advanced cook, but it was accessible even to a non-professional like myself. If you’d like to get an early glimpse of the book, head over to their website for a downloadable excerpt.

Photos From Last Night

Still Life in Lab

The watermelon chips were delicately thin slices of crispy goodness.

I'd be more likely to eat my peas if they came served like this cup of Sweet Pea Veloute with a coconut froth and shake of cinnamon.  The soup tasted like fresh-picked summer peas, fresh out of the pod.  It paired especially well with a glass of Domaine Serene chardonnay.

A tasty dessert of Frozen Pistachio "Cream" with cherries, tomatoes, lemongrass, and rum cannele.

Tubes of spices and powders.

Stay Tuned

It was an informative evening and an auspicious start to the 2010 IFBC.  I’ll be posting about the conference in the coming week, so make sure you check back for highlights and more photos!