Had heard of molecular cuisine before ... not really understanding what it's about. Of course this is where google comes in ...
Molecular gastronomy is a scientific discipline involving the study of physical and chemical processes that occur in cooking. It pertains to the mechanisms behind the transformation of ingredients in cooking and the social, artistic and technical components of culinary and gastronomic phenomena in general (from a scientific point of view).
The key as I understand it, is the very last sentence ... that this type of cooking is akin to a laboratory experiment. 20cl of this, 3.5oz of that, 2 drops of the other, add some liquid nitrogen ... and voila ... a dish is made :-)
Joking aside ... we had dinner at
Blu restaurant last night (on the top floor of the Shangri-La Hotel), where the Canadian chef Kevin Cherkas prepared an amazing 6-course meal using the above-mentioned techniques. We went for the surprise menu and had him select the dishes for us. The taste of the food was out of this world. The texture, flavour, method of preparation and presentation were really impressive. The wagyu beef, the egg dish, caviar waffles ... scrumptious. And the dessert? Kevin brings a plastic tree onto the table, with pink puffs pinned onto the edge of all the branches. What was it? Cotton candy ... that you picked off the tree yourself.
Did I mention the superb wine selection that comes with the meal?
Let's put it this way ... we were really blown away with Kevin's cooking. It left us satiated, but not full, and got us thinking of what we were eating ... versus just devouring, as so often happens.
Well done Kevin!
Unfortunately, I have no photos ... was too dark to do anything with my iPhone :-(