Science and Cooking at Harvard

I am pleased to say that science and cooking are coming ever closer together.

To that end, the joint effort by the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the Alícia Foundation to create a course “Science of the Physical Universe 27: Science and Cooking: From Haute Cuisine to Soft Matter” is a crucial step forward.

By uniting some of the world’s most creative chefs with one of the world’s leading research and teaching universities, we are building a bridge to connect the culinary arts with the liberal arts.

Not so long ago, the fields of science and cooking were largely unrelated. Even though cooking is essentially a technological activity, the majority of chefs have shown little desire to use scientific knowledge to enhance culinary creativity. In the past decade in particular, however, that has begun to change.

Members of the culinary world have demonstrated a growing interest in deepening the knowledge base of their profession. To do so, cooks have integrated research methods similar to what scientists rely on in the laboratory as a key element to help advance cuisine.

Such an approach has helped to spur a creative revolution in cooking, from the introduction of foams to the use of encapsulation. For example, in my native Catalan, the marriage of haute cuisine and modern science has played a critical role in fostering culinary research and innovation. This has led to the region’s growing international reputation as an epicenter for next generation cooking. It is not by luck alone that six of the chefs who are guest lecturers in the course are from Catalan.

Of course, recent breakthroughs in preparing food, stemming from all parts of the world, should not be limited just to trained chefs or to high-end restaurants. Traditional cooking also needs the support of scientific knowledge so that any home cook can better understand, and thus, better master techniques and processes. In other words, research and knowledge can be translated to the everyday kitchen, ensuring that indispensable culinary classics will be preserved—with the necessary precision and delicacy—and continue to be an essential part of our food heritage.

In fact, in 2006, as part of a synthesis of our cooking techniques at elBulli, we stated: “As has happened throughout history in the majority of the stages of human evolution, the new technologies act as a support for the progress of cookery.” And by that, we mean all types of cooking by all types of people.

It turns out that food and cooking are fantastic tools to help disseminate knowledge to a broad audience. Many scientific phenomena are extraordinarily difficult to explain. From the phases of matter to viscosity to the nature of gels and emulsions, cooking has shown itself to be a fantastic vehicle for illuminating tough concepts. As nearly 700 students lined up for a chance to take the new course—an applied physics course, mind you—I think we have proved our point.

Moreover, there are now new works that explain cooking in scientific terms, such as the “Scientific and Gastronomic Lexicon” (published by Alícia Foundation and elBullitaller). The ultimate aim is to make the principles of science more accessible to cooks. Getting out of the kitchen now and again may be the best possible advice for aspiring and established chefs.

This brings to mind another point in our manifesto: “Knowledge and/or collaboration with experts in the different fields (gastronomic culture, history, industrial design, etc.) is of prime importance for the advancement of cookery. In particular, cooperation with the food industry and science has provided a fundamental boost. The sharing of knowledge among professional chefs has contributed to this development.”

The Alícia Foundation set up a research center devoted to doing just this: promoting technological innovation in food and cooking. Cooks and research scientists work side-by-side developing culinary knowledge with exacting precision.

The fruits from this relationship have been many. I was awarded the degree honoris causa from the University of Barcelona through their Chemistry School. I also received the degree honoris causa from the Technical University of Valencia, among others. The awards are less about my own accomplishments and more about how cooking is increasingly viewed in a similar light to traditional academic fields, rather than simply as a trade.

I consider the course a natural next step in the extension of our practical cooking philosophy. The ingredients—both the literal and metaphoric ones—we work with in the kitchen will now be taken into Harvard’s classrooms. And from there, I hope that we can tackle issues such sustainability and world hunger and find other ways that culinary science can help improve our society.

Sept. 7, the first day of the course, was a very special day for me and for my calling. It marks a true “before and after moment” in the evolution of cooking.

Ultimately, my fellow chefs and I all feel privileged to be part of such an extraordinary educational opportunity. While we are in awe of teaching at Harvard, we are thrilled to share what we know with all of you.

Ferran Adrià is the Chef at elBulli and President of the Advisory Board of Alícia.