Modernist Cuisine:The Art and Science of Cooking

Nathan Myhrvold, Chris Young, Maxime Bilet

From Shelf: A selection of Cookbooks seen on the TV sensation, The Bear.

A revolution is underway in the art of cooking.

Just as French Impressionists upended centuries of tradition, MODERNIST CUISINE has in recent years blown through the boundaries of the culinary arts. Borrowing techniques from the laboratory, pioneering chefs at world-renowned restaurants such as ElBulli, The Fat Duck, Alinea, and wd50 have incorporated a deeper understanding of science and technology into their culinary art.

Nathan Myhrvold and his 20-person team at The Cooking Lab have achieved astounding new flavors and textures by using tools such as water baths, homogenizers, and centrifuges, and ingredients such as hydrocolloids, emulsifiers, and enzymes. The team has created a series of reference titles that reveal science-inspired techniques for preparing and photographing food that ranges from the otherworldly to the sublime. Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking, Modernist Cuisine at Home, and The Photography of Modernist Cuisine are works destined to reinvent cooking.