“Molecular Gastronomy” has been a buzzword in the restaurant and cooking scene for many years, but what lies behind it and is there any room for it in the world of Slow Food?

The term molecular gastronomy originates in 1988 from a series of workshops held in Erice, Italy, by the Hungarian physicist Nicholas Kurti and the French physical chemist Hervé This. Both were eager amateur cooks and felt that the gap between food science and cooking at home or in restaurants was becoming too large. The event brought together scientists and chefs to discuss the food chemistry behind traditional food preparations. Since then, chefs around the world began to develop an interest in the subject and its popularity has grown rapidly. Many have tried to create a specific definition: the scientific study of deliciousness (Harold McGee); the art and science of choosing, preparing, and eating good food (Thorvald Pedersen). But as usage of the term grew, chefs, restaurants, and the media used it on everything from bacon-flavored ice cream to foam made of caramelized cauliflower and cocoa, and it soon gave rise to more confusion than clarity. Some of the pioneers in the field of applying science to cooking—like Ferran Adrià of El Bulli, Heston Blumenthal of The Fat Duck, Thomas Keller of The French Laundry, and writer Harold McGee—felt the need to set the record straight. In 2006, they put forth a statement in the UK newspaper, The Guardian, explaining their approach to cooking, and so to dissociate themselves from the by-then confusing term, molecular gastronomy: “That workshop did not influence our approach, and the term ‘molecular gastronomy' does not describe our cooking, or indeed any style of cooking.”

The ideas and beliefs of Slow Food may seem difficult to align with this new approach to cooking, but in the Catalonian hills the Alicia Foundation is managing to do just that. Although the rest of the world may look to their work as molecular gastronomy, that expression is forbidden at Alicia; the work there is simply called research. Founded by Ferran Adrià this research facility combines science and cooking with a social application in view, and takes the newest techniques in food science and applies them to known food-preparation methods. Using these tools, the Alicia goal is to make it possible for everyone to eat well. The work includes educating school children on healthy eating, promoting local products, developing a common language between chefs and scientists, and creating a number of cookbooks for people with special food needs. One such project is for people with protein intolerances, using food science and new techniques to remove the protein from certain dishes. Starting with the classic Catalonian recipe for crème caramel, researchers are replacing the egg content with gelatine, while using laboratory knowledge to achieve the characteristic silky smooth texture. Pleasure and health in one.

In a recent speech, Carlo Petrini said that knowledge and pleasure are the key elements in the future of gastronomy and Slow Food. Given the work like that being undertaken at the Alicia Foundation, one might add that the knowledge achieved through molecular gastronomy is a key element in making that pleasure available to all of us.

— Sarah Gjerø