Grant Achatz has made headlines for his outstanding culinary skill, three Michelin stars, heartbreaking diagnosis with tongue cancer, and unlikely recovery of his sense of taste. He has famously taken an inventive and avante guarde approach to flavor and menu design, which he learned during his time at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) and training with Ferran Adrià’s at El Bulli in Spain. Achatz, a Chicago local, opened the restaurant Alinea with co-founder Nick Kokonas in 2005, where he offers guests a range of multi-sensory and experimental dishes. Alinea is not just food, it is an experiment, which Aschatz constantly reinvents and incorporates elements of art, theater, and psychology for an unforgettable dining experience. Aschatz's other two restaurants and cocktail bar have found similar commercial success for taking this approach and all four venues are well known for playful and surprising serving techniques.
To make this innovation and constant reinvention possible, Aschatz became a chemist. After all, there are only so many ways one can plate and decorate their food. The chef has made a career beyond aesthetics and instead applies transformative science-driven methods through the art of molecular gastronomy. He investigates ingredients' physical and chemical properties. Similar to a traditionally trained chemist, his research utilizes methodological experimentation.
Some standout creations include a helium filled edible balloon, which Achatz produced by cooking an isomalt mixture, a natural sugar substitute made from pure beet sugar, in stages to achieve an elastic and edible skin, which he fills with helium.
Achatz' experimentation with unconventional textures has also yielded a plethora of unique menu items including liquid olives and parmesan air. The first comes from the process of spherification, in which olive juice is combined with sodium alginate and put into a calcium chloride bath to create a gel skin around the liquid olive flavoring. Foodies can experience a similar and far less expensive textural sensation at perhaps any boba tea shop, thought Achatz' has a more unique flavor profile.
Parmesan air provides Alinea' customers with flavor but no texture. Achatz this created with a specialized foaming canister (iSi siphon) charged with nitrous oxide, which traps the flavored liquid base in air and creates a disappearing foam leaving an invisible flavored residue.
Aschatz's scientific technique parallels Jennifer Doudna's approach to understanding the shape of RNA. Similar to Aschatz breaking down ingredients to understand their individual parts, Doudna focused on understanding each component of RNA and the function of its building blocks. She aimed to "fully discern [RNA's] structure, atom by atom" (Isaacson, p. 48).
Both Aschatz and Doudna embrace the tedious complexity of their fields that others find intimidating. Doudna's motto, "never do something a thousand other people are doing" (p. 46) brought her to RNA research because it was, according to Doudna's graduate mentor at Harvard Jack Szostak, "'viewed as so difficult it was maybe impossible to figure out'" (p. 48). Achatz welcomes difficulty at Alinea, his renowned three Michelin star restaurant, by reinventing the menu every four months. The restaurants namesake, the ¶ symbol, is defined as "the beginning of a new train of thought." Like Doudna, Achatz considers his "creativity [to be] primarily the result of hard work and study" (Achatz) and less some abstract, divine gift. Both creatives consider their processes to be mentally stimulating and enjoy finding ways to push themselves.
Prior to reading this I was not familiar with Grant Aschatz’s career and his heartbreaking condition. I enjoyed learning about the two experimental foods you highlighted, liquid olives and parmesan air. It is fascinating how he turned these basic foods into a science experiment, resulting in these incredibly unconventional culinary inventions. After reading I researched his restaurant, Alinea, and was taken aback by the price point. As impressive as his work is, it made me question how far food manipulation can go before it crosses an ethical line, as millions of people continue to live in poverty. I am also curious to learn more about how his diagnosis has impacted his creative process when developing these experimental menu items.
ReplyDeleteGrant Achatz is so inspiring! I think his story shows how science and art can merge to create unforgettable experiences. I love how you compared Achatz to Doudna. Both of these creatives prove that pushing boundaries comes from dedication as much as imagination/creativity.
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