BryanZ

I don't know about you, but when I make a braise, stew, etc..., I don't cook it at 100 degrees Celcius... Heck, I don't even cook carrots in 100 degree water. Obviously you don't understand the technique. ← I take issue with this. How do you blanch your veg then? And when I braise, either stovetop or in the oven it's usually at a simmer (on the stove) or at 325F-ish in the oven. A 325F oven is going to boil the liquid inside your cooking vessel, at 100C. I'm honestly curious as to how you blanch vegetables and approaching braising. Perhaps I've been missing something. Though this is kind of fodder for another thread.

I think you're referring to Elia. She's actually Mexican and "que cute."

That if anyone is interested in learning more about the battle from Chef Royal's perspective, I've got a story I can dig up. It's also surprising that it's taken this long to air. It was taped last January.

You should definitely take that up with the company. If anything, direct those at customer service to this thread. Best of luck to you.

Unfortunately, many people can't see this fact. And are put off irrationally because of this. I know all of this has been said before, so I've been reluctant to add to this thread since its rekindling, but I would like to add the following in the spirit of the "philosophy" aspect of its title. While I agree with you fundamentally, Mikeb19, I think that you're not adequately acknowledging that aesthetic facet. The compounds and techniques popularly ascribed to MG do not define MG. This too is a common misconception. MG is more a way of thinking about food than the realization of said techniques. MG is about changing/challenging perceptions and understanding food on a more complete level, and in this way cannot be so simply reduced to a "haute application of industrio-commercial compounds and techniques."

That's like asking to Tom Colicchio to start using foams and powders and sous-viding everything. He works at Casa Mono. I'd rather him cook something he knows than to try to cook things that he knows nothing about. Variation aside, I think the judges would rather eat something that the cook knows is good rather than him trying to do something he knows nothing about and have it taste like crap. Either way, he seems to always have solid dishes that make sense and potentially really taste good. ← Perhaps Chef Colicchio should. In fact, I find him quite curmudgeonly when discussing modern cooking techniques. That he wrote on his blog something to the effect of "immersion circulators are usually held at 100-120 degress," (that's, umm, wrong-o) shows that he still has plenty to learn. This goes even more so for Ilan. He's still young and seems only to be cooking dishes that would be served at Casa Mono. They look great, but I wonder if he'll have the flexibility to move beyond Spanish-inflected cuisine in later challenges. I can see Gail Simmons saying something like "a top chef has to be able to cook any cuisine to some degree or another." Whether you agree with that statement or not, I simply think that Ilan has yet to cook beyond his comfort zone and wonder if he is able to.

Harold speculated that Marcel won the quickfire because he was one of the few to actually make a main course. This much was true, and given the environment/weather it worked, but it did seem somewhat contrived. Marcel's lack of social skills leave me in awe. I love it. Ilan needs to stop cooking Spanish food. And wearing two watches. But I still loved the purple-tinged sunglasses this time around. His faux-hawk actually worked nicely in this episode by bridging the gap between the 'bu and the Village. The overall cooking in this episode bored me, though. I'm not a big fan of breakfast and putting that severe a limitation on the chefs seemd foolish. Yes you need flexibility, but the food merely looked "OK" as opposed to aspirational.

You're going to have to give us more than that. Like are we talking alginate s'fers. But short answer, I'd say no.

That's interesting, Daniel. Can you elaborate? We've got tomatoes going at home. And I'm "in between seasons" here at school, as I don't want start the mixed herbs until I get back from winter break.

I tried calling today and it went to voicemail. The website also isn't running yet. I wish I could see a menu or something.

I love cheese and find that it's severely under-utilized in dining in this country. I like being able to feature cheeses that are actually relatively easy to find but perhaps less known. At your typical Whole Foods or Wegmans you can find 90% of the cheeses offered at the best restaurants in New York; I can't say the same about produce, fish, meat, etc. I also don't like too much sweet. If I use a sweet component, there's usually not a lot of it. A brush of chocolate across the plate, a spoonful of peanut butter powder, a lightly sweetened sorbet, or some fruit. My menu language speaks to the relative simplicity of the food I'm creating. From the technical standpoint, nothing I'm doing is truly groundbreaking. Rather I take ingredients that most people can relate to and put them together in interesting and hopefully well-executed ways using modern techniques. There's a lot of theory behind my dishes which I hope is at once accessible on the page but thought provoking on the plate.

I wrote about this a while ago for the Chron. Might've posted it here, possibly in the Angus Barn thread.

I enjoyed that quote, too. But then again there was the one about winning "America's Next Top Pharmaceutical Research" where I like, "umm, ok?" Anyway, those reviews were fair I think. I'm surprised Eater tried to low ball Toqueville to one star.

Roasted red bell peppers, toasted almonds, roasted tomatoes, olive oil, toasted bread. You can riff off Romesco in Andres' book.

Why not just filter it and use it as a subtle finishing jus?

Mixing the bacon fat powder with ground bacon could work nicely, too. Just been doing something similar with white truffle oil powder, adding extra black truffle. Have you tried re-cooking once it's mixed yet? Heating really helps bring the flavour of pork or bacon back out, and if you fry it in clumps rather than as a fine powder you can get a nice combination of crispy outside and melty inside. ← Here's what I do for a bacon condiment I put on slow-cooked eggs. It conveys salt, smoke, and pork while adding some subtle texture. People really like it. Cook bacon in pan until crispy but not burnt, drain, food process with salt and maltodextrin, dry in low oven, food process again with a bit more maltodextrin until you get a fine powder. Obviously this is like a refined take on Bacon Bits. By drying in the oven you can drive off all the water and adding the maltodextrin allows one to absorb the remaining fat so you get a really nice, dry power.

You're going to have to contact the US distributor.

It's getting a fair amount of talk in the blogs and other food boards, so yes it's surprising it hasn't gotten more attention here. Did you go Todd or is that report based only on what you've observed w/o eating there? If you have, I'd love to hear a little more, as I'm thinking of going in the next few weeks. I'm looking for something traditional that's less than Kuruma and perhaps a different experience than Yasuda.

Ooohhhh!

Obviously right here on eG is huge. You can learn a lot here. Also, ideasinfood, is brilliant. Keep in mind that everyone has a different definition of "molecular gastronomy" so simply looking for "MG" sites is going to yield a lot of different results. There's also this link for a broad overview of the better known chemicals and such trendy in the MG pantry. Hungry in Hogtown MG Pantry And where to buy some of this stuff. WillPowder L'Epicerie

I had the pleasure of meeting eG member umbabaru this evening along with his wife and other friends. I think a good time was had by all. Here's what I cooked. I was finally able to take some pictures, too. Some dishes are similar to those I have made before, and this again speaks to the conflict between my desire to constantly innovate and the reality of having to recreate successful dishes. Anyway, some of the pictures are better than others. Toast with truffle butter was served on the side. Before the addition of the almond salt. ETA: I forgot the pork.

Nooo! Now I can't get Nueske bacon.

Word.

Interesting idea. Might be somewhat easier said than done, but I'd like to see it.

On the contrary, Dow actually has a ton of literature on its products in terms of hydration. Do some searching or wait for me to finish exams in a couple weeks and I'll send you stuff or just call them and ask for some lit. I prefer to hydrate in hot water and whisk. At this point air bubbles aren't so much a problem. You can also disperse it into other dry ingredients or into oil. Once you've got it hydrated, incorporate it into your puree or what have you. If you want a bubble-free gel this is where you've got to be careful. I now use a spoon or whisk to incorporate, not a blender. sevilla, Be creative, that's all I can tell you. While lying is not nice, I'm sure you can think of something. The mold isn't a bad idea. If we put the ice cream into something as simple as an plastic Easter egg (first thing that came to mind) you might be able to get a pretty cool shape.