54 minutes ago, Porthos said:Sincere question. Which came first, SV as a tool for things like steaks in restaurants or for the Modernist Cuisine uses?
Well, "modernist cuisine" is a made-up name that covers all kinds of things, and I'd argue it's a lousy description for most of them. Many people would consider SV a modernist technique no matter what you're doing with it.
Here are the origins, according to the Oracle of Wikipedia:
The method was first described by Sir Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford in 1799 (although he used air as the heat transfer medium).[2][3] It was re-discovered by American and French engineers in the mid-1960s and developed into an industrial food preservation method.[4] The method was adopted by Georges Pralus in 1974 for the Restaurant Troisgros (of Pierre and Michel Troisgros) in Roanne, France. He discovered that when foie gras was cooked in this manner, it kept its original appearance, did not lose excess amounts of fat, and had better texture.[4] Another pioneer in sous-vide is Bruno Goussault, who further researched the effects of temperature on various foods and became well known for training top chefs in the method. As chief scientist of Alexandria, Virginia-based food manufacturer Cuisine Solutions, Goussault developed the parameters of cooking times and temperatures for various foods.[4]
I wonder if the industrial food preservation method from the 60s is boil-in-bag.
The Modernist Cuisine books don't make a claim about the first restaurant use, but offer this as a conspicuous early story:
On a September evening in 1985, a privileged group of diners sat down to enjoy the cuisine of Joel Robuchon, a legendary French chef whose Jamin restaurant in Paris had earned three Michelin stars and a reputation as one of the best in the world. It was in many respects a typical Thursday dinner scene, with business executives and politicians on expense accounts settling into plush leather chairs before tables set with the very best linens, china, and silver. Michel Cliche, Chef Robuchon's trusted aide of many years, was overseeing the cooking and presentation to ensure that the food met Robuchon's renowned standards.
It did not disappoint, and as the guests ate they were also treated to a remarkable accompaniment to their meal: a view of the French countryside whizzing by in a blur. For this evening they were dining not in Jam in but in the Nouvelle Premiere car of an eastbound bullet train streaking from Paris to Strasbourg. Even more amazing, the entire meal had been cooked days before in an experimental kitchen in the depths of the Gare de l'Est train station. Mr. Cliche had been able to reheat the food in the cramped galley of the dining car without diminishing its quality.
