“This is a moment in the history of cooking in which it is no longer enough to talk about creativity, but that word must be accompanied by another: research”, were the declarations of principles, made in mid-2008, by the Spanish chef Ferran Adria, the most outstanding reference of the so-called molecular cuisine, which was applied in the exclusive restaurant “The Bulli” of Barcelona.
Recognized as one of the best chefs in the world, entrepreneur and writer of more than 30 books, Ferran Adria will visit Argentina, under the auspices of Zuccardi Valle de Uco. From Monday 27 to Friday March 31, the prestigious molecular chef will carry out an intense agenda of meetings in the country, with gastronomic professionals, educational and social references. Among these activities, which will take place in Mendoza and Buenos Aires, his masterclass will stand out under the motto “Connect knowledge”which will take place on Tuesday the 28th at the Zuccardi Valle de Uco Winery and on Thursday the 30th at the Kirchner Cultural Center. This outstanding international visit raises the following question: whatWhat is molecular cuisine and where to try it in Buenos Aires?
molecular gastronomy It is a subdiscipline of food science that seeks to investigate the chemical and physical transformations that occur in ingredients during food preparation. In this regard, it is related to the study and analysis of the technological processes to which they are subjected, such as beating, gelling, and increasing viscosity, to name a few.
On the other hand, molecular cuisine recognizes a modern style of cooking and makes use of technical innovations from scientific disciplines. Linking the artistic, the technical and the social, with the dish to be served. All this depending on the ingredients that are selected, the mixtures that are made and the techniques that are applied.
Foods are organic compounds, such as proteins, carbohydrates, lipids and vitamins, and minerals that, when subjected to processing, are capable of manifesting their properties, transforming into foams, emulsions or other structures where gastronomy flirts with visual art.
Developed in Europe as a branch of Food in 1988, the discipline had officially landed in the country, in April 2005, through the Argentine Association of Molecular Gastronomy, with three founding partners and almost 700 interested in following its seminars and courses. Currently, there are several gastronomic diplomas in molecular cuisine in tertiary gastronomy institutes and in several national universities.
Chandon Bistro, Located in Mendoza, it offers gastronomy with molecular cooking techniques. The result is a four-course menu with molecular gastronomy techniques, which is inspired by fennel. The final design was based on the use of raw materials that contain molecules such as menthol, anethole, estragole and eugenol, present in the volatile compounds of green apple, fennel, anise, celery and mint.
“What inspired me to design the menu was my childhood, I lived in a house surrounded by ditches, which were loaded with fennel. In the morning the fresh fennel was felt a lot and the aroma was present every day. That was the basis to start working on the menu, fennel is like a common thread that goes from the entrance to the dessert, and it is tasted in different textures. This allows us a friendly entrance to each of the steps, since the aromas are present on the palate”, explained the chef Matias Gil Falcon.
The Buenos Aires benchmark for this particular technique of flavor and food is the Aramburu Restaurant, located in the traditional neighborhood of Recoleta. At the time, the international platform tripadvisor published the following description of the restaurant: “Aramburu is committed to the guest experience. The owner chef, Gonzalo Aramburu, experiments with sophisticated dishes that reflect his gastronomic philosophy, highlighting molecular gastronomy techniques, such as: introduction of chemical elements, foams, air, vacuum production, among others. After visiting different restaurants and gastronomic schools around the world, Gonzalo designs an avant-garde space on a daily basis. The Aramburu Restaurant presents a tasting menu by steps. The author’s creative vision combines Buenos Aires cuisine with national roots and a menu that is renewed each season”.
However, this type of experience has its detractors. This year the British-Spanish food journalist John Carlin wrote a note titled “Requiem for molecular cuisine”, where he analyzed the disappeared trend of these spaces in danger of extinction. The article concludes with a reflection: “I appreciate the art, science, rigor and Spartan discipline behind each of these inventions. But to me, today, they leave me cold. And I believe that I am not alone and that it is not by chance that so many No mom like The Bulli It was not profitable for them to turn the eternal ritual of sitting down to eat into a Hollywood blockbuster”
While it is true that the rage for molecular cuisine is a thing of the past, even the award-winning restaurant The Bulli closed its doors in 2011 to become a gastronomic foundation, many master chefs rescue scientific and laboratory technique to adapt it to culinary creativity and imagination, today and in the heart of albiceleste territory.
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