Mariani Takes On...Achatz, Myhrvold, et.al.

[weinoo]

In his Esquire blog piece of March 18, 2011, John Mariani, the erstwhile restaurant critic, takes on "Modernist Cuisine", modernist cuisine, Grant Achatz, and a lot more.

With lines like this...

To go by their pronouncements, the molecular/avant-gardiste chefs never approach a perfect ingredient as something to be treated in a simple way that retains essential flavors.

I have to disagree. Because sometimes it is about coaxing the maximum flavor of that perfect ingredient, as when something as simple as a carrot is cooked sous-vide.

He then goes on to slam Grant Achatz pretty vehemently, ending by writing...

Which puts into question the integrity of just about anything and everything Achatz and Kokonas write about in their self-serving memoir. Perhaps the book should have been called Life, on a Lie.

Some pretty harsh words, don't you think? So, is he onto something, or is it all sour grapes for reasons we mere mortals are not privy to?

[AaronM]

As always, the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle.

[KD1191]

It really feels like he's tilting at windmills. I don't want to waste my breath, but this is just preposterous.

[W]hat exactly has been the effect and influence of the modernist/molecular chefs' ideas on other chefs? The simple answer is: next to zero.

Yet he goes even further in response to Eater's questions:

t really was about modernist/avant garde/science fiction cuisine...Having tasted a great deal of it, my real point was that these guys have had zero influence — zero — on the world of cooking despite what the media say about how they have changed the way we eat in the 21st century. There isn't a shred of evidence that that's true.

[mkayahara]

As always, the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle.

+1

It was interesting reading the relevant section of Life, on the Line immediately after reading Mariani's rant, thereby getting two sides of the story. My gut feeling is that if what was written in the book were actionable, Mariani wouldn't be writing about it on his blog: his lawyers would be talking to Achatz and Kokonas' lawyers.

[hathor]

Dude needs to sell copies.

[gfweb]

Here's the other side of the story which jibes with what I've read about Mariani. http://eater.com/archives/2011/03/18/nick-kokonas-to-mariani-i-stand-by-everything-in-the-book.php

[lesliec]

Sounds like they have some issues with each other, but I'm not sure why the rest of us should care.

Sous vide a shortcut? Ya think??

[Jethro]

I did a (very funny) interview with Grant Achatz and Nick Kokonas last week. Nick, unprompted, defended Nathan Myrhvold and you can tell by the tone of the interview they are not by any stretch of the imagination, "insufferable".

http://jetcitygastrophysics.com/2011/03/22/guns-guitars-and-gastronomy-a-conversation-with-grant-achatz-and-nick-kokonas-of-alinea/