Molecular gastronomy…cutting-edge, or cut it out?

[gourmand]

Like Anthony Bourdain says in his book kitchen Confidential "I don't like it if you f......." too much with your food" I agree that if you denature natural ingredients they lose what they have to offer in the first place. But what about these amazing Japane omakase progressive dinners? Where food is art. Perhpas it''s like a Picasso painting some people can't stand to look at it, others throw tens of million of dollars at it. I don't think there is anything wrong with going to a food museum once in a while but then any of what these artful masters prepare is totally impractical on a daily basis. Then again as long as it's healthy and you can afford it... why not? Any tip on restaurants that offer omakase style menus?

[slade]

I am very impressed by the creativity and thinking outside of the box ideas that molecular gastronomy has provided. However, after eating with Wylie Dufrene at 71 Clinton compared to WD50 both restaurants provided me with completely different experiences. The most important thing in a dining experience is the TASTE of the food. 71 Clinton was by far more clever and flavorful than its newer successor WD50. Food should be flavorful and beautiful, not a manipulation of something from the farmer's market that has been raped of its freshness and been drowned in stabilizers and immersion circulated to hell and back to the 1950's era of preserved food. Fredy Giradet is correct in my book. I will bet you money that Ferran Adria would much prefer to eat a perfect payaya anyday that eat his agar agar treats!

[wendissima]

My first and only experience with molecular gastronomy was lunch at Thierry Marx's restaurant in Pauillac earlier this month. It certainly was the most beautiful meal I have ever had but far from the the tastiest. Visually it was art and obviously paid homage to the Japanese esthetic.
I am open to weird combinations, no, I even welcome them...but they have to work. Texture is extremely important but flavour must definitely not be lacking. Here flavours were severely lacking. I was initially impressed by the never ending surprise amuse-gueules and avant desserts.They were beautiful and sometimes interesting. But finally all this become a little tiresome.
The names of the dishes on the menu bore very little relationship what was in them. When the waiter took our orders he had to explain to us at lenght that in fact what we were expecting might bear very little relationship to what we would be getting. Some of us had to change our orders entirely. My fish baked in a brick with chocolate was tasteless and dry.
A "virtual sausage" contained quenelles and lentils wrapped like a sausage in cling film and exploded juice everywhere when the server open the package...amusing..glad to see the chef has a sense of humour!
I dont know about the cheese board. Were we intentionally offered a selection of cheeses bordering on the banal? Or was that another haha
on the part of M. Marx?

[miles1960]

Chefs that are doing real cuisine are becoming rare. Molecular cuisine i might term novice cuisine a good way a to impress a novice diner. Instead of taking the time to find extraordinary ingredients these chefs spend the time in a lab-kitchen devising new bells and whistles to impress. I guess this is OK since there are not many of the greats like M. Girardet working. M. Bernard Pacaud is about the only one still working in his kitchen now doing real cuisine and he is true rarity. So since cuisine modern and novice cuisine are more mainstream now the real chefs are truly unique! Hail to the molecular/novice cuisine to keep all the rest distracted.....

[boots]

I'd love to eat at El Bulli, too...it sounds like a unique experience. I don't see why chefs shouldn't try to expand their boundaries. I'm sure they don't want to get bored!

[hungryman]

I think the concept is cool! I'd love to eat at El Bulli. Chefs who want to pursue this should, while those who don't can pursue other directions.

[admin]

Is molecular gastronomy, in which avant-garde cooking techniques are used to combine unusual flavors and textures, worthwhile or a waste? One of the world’s best chefs, Frédy Giradet, just blasted the practice. But many gourmets appreciate the efforts of chefs Ferran Adrià of El Bulli in Spain and Homaro Cantu of Chicago’s Moto in concocting items like cocoa butter with crispy ears of rabbit, foie gras lollipops encrusted with Pop Rocks, deep-fried cubes of mayonnaise, and edible menus.

Read about the dispute at http://www.gayot.com/restaurants/features/fredy_girardet.html and weigh in with your thoughts.