New York University’s Departments of Chemistry and Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health will host “Experimental Cuisine: Science, Society, and Food” on Wed., April 11 at NYU. Hervé This, physical chemist and food scientist at the Institut National Agronomique in Paris, will be the keynote speaker. Other speakers include: Will Goldfarb, chef-owner of Room 4 Dessert; Robert F. Margolskee, professor of neuroscience at Mount Sinai School of Medicine; Wylie Dufresne, chef-owner of WD-50; and Mitchell Davis, vice president of the James Beard Foundation. Florence Fabricant, food writer for The New York Times, will moderate the discussion.
The invitation-only event will assemble 80 participants from the restaurant industry, universities, and the media. Reporters interested in attending must RSVP to James Devitt, NYU’s Office of Public Affairs, at 212.998.6808 or james.devitt@nyu.edu by MON., MARCH 26. For more information, go to www.experimentalcuisine.org.
The event launches the Experimental Cuisine Collective, a collaborative working group of restaurant industry professionals, academic researchers, and journalists interested in using scientific principles to produce advances in cooking.
By supporting an interdisciplinary approach, the group aims to better understand the mechanisms involved in food preparation with an eye toward positively influencing the public’s everyday decisions made about food. The project is initiated by two NYU faculty: Amy Bentley, interim chair, Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health, and Kent Kirshenbaum, assistant professor, Department of Chemistry.