When I was touring the West Coast this fall, I stopped by the laboratory founded by Nathan Myhrvold which houses the Modernist Cuisine kitchen. (The lab is mostly devoted to creating patents for new inventions such as a laser-guided mosquito zapper. Don’t ask!)
Unbeknownst to me, Nathan had organized a 12-course lunch which was stunning both in its creativity and the food itself. Yes, some of it was silly and certainly not for the home cook (the pistachio gelato cost $25 per scoop) but credit must be given to someone who had the time, money, and smarts to investigate the best way to produce certain dishes. The pea and corn butters, produced in a centrifuge, were incredible. The gelato was amazing. The roast chicken was indeed perfect. And, I got lots of ideas for testing in our kitchen. I was left, however, with an appetite for imperfection.
As a colleague of mine says every year about dry turkey breast, “That’s why God invented gravy!” We always strive for perfection at America’s Test Kitchen, but I love cooking because it doesn’t always turn out as one had hoped. It’s the possibility of failure, the joy of discovery, and the pure imperfection of it that is often its charm. However, Nathan Myhrvold has made a terrific contribution to the culinary world and a huge “thank you” from me to his staff for an extraordinary dining experience.
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Here I am with Nathan Myhrvold at the Modernist Cuisine lab. Bright, interesting guy.
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This polenta was excellent and the "strawberry marinara" on top was full of flavor but a tad unsettling. This is a far cry from a cast-iron Dutch oven and the kids trying to get at the crusty bits around the sides of the pot!
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This roast chicken did provide the ideal of perfectly crisp skin and very moist meat but it certainly was no Tuesday night recipe. But kudos to Nathan and his team for a job well done.
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This pea butter is made using a centrifuge. Yes, it had intense flavor and was a winner.
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This is pastrami cooked in a sous vide method for 72 hours and served with wasabi and sauerkraut. This was quite good although it did lack chew—a great fallback option in my later years!
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An omelet that has a design of "constructed egg stripes." This was extremely rich and eggy—think that a Julia Child omelet would be my first choice here. Of all the 12 courses, this was my least favorite.
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This is Nathan's steak frites recipe. The fries are indeed very crunchy on the outside. They are put into a water bath and then sound waves are run through it which roughs up the outside of the fries.
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This king salmon recipe was good but I like texture in my food and this fish was a bit too soft. Great flavor but I do still have my teeth!
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This banana/bourbon/goat's milk milkshake was fabulous. Say goodbye to Dairy Queen!
About the Author: Christopher Kimball
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LOVE those letters from Vermont! They make me remember how soul happy it made me to get a letter in the mail back in the day. Too bad that tradition is gone.
Anyone dumb enough to spend $25 on a scoop of ice cream deserves to have his money stolen….I’ve had the Tartufo(Black Truffle Ice cream) at the Tre Scalini in the Piazza Navona in Rome for around 10Euros or roughly twelve dollars certainly one of the most famous and best tasting ice cream dishes ever developed for half the price….and was I able to see Bernini’s fountain of the four rivers while enjoying this masterpiece…….
but then there’s one born every minute…….
Chris:
Do you see Nathan as a colleague or competitor? I realize both ATK and “Modernist Cuisine” are in the business of “perfecting” food or a recipe.
You’re right, that not many home cooks would not spend $25 for a scoop of ice cream/gelato. However Nathan (just as ATK) have pushed the boundaries of cuisine and cooking, turning many “tired and true classic methods” on their ear.
Your comments, while likely not your intent, to me come off as ungrateful and demeaning towards their food; the majority of your comments above seem negative towards the bites they presented to you.
I would be grateful to have the opportunity to taste any of their methods that have pushed culinary boundaries into a new frontier, just as I would be grateful to taste methods ATK is tinkering with to perfect a recipe or method.
We know from the ATK and CC taste tests, your palate seems to differ from the tasting panel frequently. You stay true to your palate. In the same essence that Robert Parker essentially changed the way winemakers produce wines to produce a result that would garner 90+ point ratings from him; hopefully the ATK (or Modernist Cuisine) doesn’t try to craft the end result around pleasing your (or Nathan’s) individual palate.
Nathan, and Modernist Cuisine have their interpretation, ATK has theirs (which is usually more accessible to the home cook). I wish you would have focused this post more on the positive “take aways” you had from your time there.
Happy Holidays!
Justin
Love the letters from Vermont …and they always take me back to my one lovely night in Bennington.
Thought of you again when I saw this in the New York Times …I did not realize that the liquid gold from your glorious maples was so literally “GOLD!”
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/20/business/arrests-made-in-maple-syrup-theft-from-quebec-warehouse.html?src=ISMR_AP_LO_MST_FB
Happy Holiday!