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��Molecular Gastronomy in the UK Molecular Gastronomy a definition Molecular Gastronomy (MG) is a new science - the application of scientific principles to the understanding and improvement of domestic and gastronomic food preparation. Molecular Gastronomy is distinct from traditional food science in that it is primarily concerned with small, rather than large scale preparation of food. Further, Molecular Gastronomy treats the experience of eating food as a whole:- from the raw ingredients, through the preparation of a dish to its appreciation by the consumer. It is thus a strongly interdisciplinary subject involving the physical sciences, biology and biochemistry, physiology and psychology. We see MG as being a highly interdisciplinary activity, bringing scientists from all areas Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Psychology, Physiology, Engineering, etc. together with people working in all areas of the food industry (from producers through processors to chefs). How does MG work in the UK? What makes MG work is that people who would never be likely to be interested in conventional food science (seeing it perhaps as beneath them, or because they distrust or dislike the mass processing involved) are very happy to become involved. All of us in the sciences and in the restaurant business are very busy people with our own agendas. Scientists have their own research projects and, to survive in the academic world have to obtain and retain research grants, and produce a steady stream of high quality publications in their own discipline. This makes it hard to justify helping others in different disciplines there just has to something in it for you. But in the case of MG it seems any scientist who is asked to join in immediately comes aboard with open arms. The reason is simple. There are immediate, tangible results and benefits. If you can see your work going to produce fantastic food - and are able not only invited to eat it, but are also able to learn how to make it for yourself you are more likely to give freely of your valuable time. In the UK, there is not as yet any formal structure to the MG networks that have sprung up. Basically, we work as a loose network of individual chefs and scientists who talk regularly by phone and email and ehlp each other sort out any problems. It is important to most of us that the activity is driven by the food, rather than by the science. This may seem strange at first sight, but it works because it is almost inevitable that when you ask ant question about what makes good food there is an opportunity for one of the scientists involved to do some research that is directly in (or at least close to) his (or her) own area of interest. By offering mutual support every body gains (and we all get to eat better and better!) For example, a question that has been posed is why does the same dish taste better depending on where it is eaten? This led to a little simple research to check it was true the conclusion was that surroundings do affect the appreciation of food. It was not found that food tasted any better if it was local though. That led to one of our physiologists thinking about the biochemical aspects of pleasure; we put him in touch with a psychologist who also works with MG from time to time and they joined up with a chemist who had a magnetic resonance scanner to look further. A few months later and they had formed a firm alliance and shortly later obtained major funding from the Medical Research Council for a study of Brain chemistry. It is this sort of unexpected spin-off that drives some of the best scientists in the country to want to be associated with MG. In exchange for a good meal, more or less any good scientist can be persuaded to offer a few suggestions about how a novel problem (e.g. how to make a foamed hot jelly with two or three different flavours trapped in the bubbles). Then once hooked they just keep on coming back for more! Where is MG going in the UK? I cannot speak for all of those who are involved in the wide variety of MG activities that are going on, mostly in pair-wise interactions. So I have outlined below my own ambitions for MG in the UK. British food is widely regarded as the worst in Europe, if not the developed world. This is false. We have in Britain some of the finest chefs in the world and a strong tradition of good wholesome food. The new science of Molecular Gastronomy is being driven by British scientists and chefs to improve this situation. Over the next few years we hope that various institutions within the UK will run a range of courses (in the long term these will include a taught Masters programme) and workshops, and publish newsletters and journals. The ethos of open discussion will be very important in facilitating the free exchange of ideas and concepts. In particular, many chefs find it difficult to share their ideas and often jealously protect their own recipes. By holding workshops in an open academic environment and by having a number of Associates who are themselves top chefs who are fully prepared to share their own ideas we hope to create an appropriate atmosphere. We intend to restore the reputation of the UK and make it widely recognised as amongst the leading nations in terms of the food we eat. The main objectives are: " To carry out a range of Research and Development projects covering all aspects of Molecular Gastronomy. " To organise workshops and courses for professionals to exchange ideas and develop new Molecular Gastronomy concepts. " To improve science and home economics teaching in schools by introducing food related examples and experiments. " To develop the use of Molecular Gastronomy in top restaurants to create opportunities for chefs to improve and create new dishes, etc. " To publish regular newsletters, a Journal of Molecular Gastronomy and a series of text books on all aspects of Molecular Gastronomy. " To develop cooking techniques and novel dishes which allow "healthy" eating without compromising flavour or texture. " To contribute to the making of the UK the foremost food nation at all levels. Educational aspects Several of those who have been involved with the develop0ment of MG see that it has the potential to play an important role in education not only to improve the appreciation of good food, but also (and for some of us more importantly) to use the medium of good food and cooking to engender a greater understanding and appreciation of the sciences. We wish both to improve science and home economics teaching by making it more relevant and to encourage families to eat together and discuss the food so leading to better communication and cohesiveness of family units. As a first step we want to introduce increasing amounts of "cooking" and "food" related examples and experiments into the science part of the national curriculum, the "science experiments" will help students to learn basic cooking techniques and to prepare simple but very impressive dishes. In school, children will learn simple basic and highly effective cooking techniques at school and be encouraged to take them home parents will be most impressed and enjoy eating the food cooked by their children leading to more family meals and more discussion, etc. Parents will be further inspired through seeing the new food styles in restaurants, on TV and in the press and magazines and want to try it all out. The overall aims are to encourage families to eat together and discuss the food so leading to better communication and cohesiveness of family units and to improve restaurant experiences so that people eating out will discuss the food, the ingredients and the preparation while eating - thus generating enthusiasm to experiment at home and again lead to more family meals. Research Projects The opportunities for collaborative interdisciplinary research are limited only by the imagination of those involved. Two examples that we are currently exploring are described briefly below. The effect of polymeric additives on food processing and texture: The UK Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC) has noted that expertise in polymer science should be applied in the area of soft solids and highlighted the relevance of investigations of food additives as a particular topic of interest. The effect on flow of small amounts of polymeric additives can be dramatic Discussion between a food processing company, a chef and two departments at Bristol University are ongoing and we expect to put a joint proposal to the EPSRC to study how food textures can be affected through the judicious use of very long polymeric additives. The project will cover the basic science to allow the food processing industry to manufacture products with controlled phase morphology to provide desired texture. Flavour, texture and healthy eating: Food quality is one of the main themes of the another research council in the UK (BBSRC). The BBSRC is aware of the links that have been established good links with several chefs, food processors and food retailers all of whom are concerned to produce foods that have the flavour and texture of the finest gastronomic dishes, but at the same time are designed to give a balanced and healthy diet. The main problems lie in the areas of texture (mouth- feel) and control of the rates of flavour release in the mouth. All good chefs know intuitively how to use fats and oils to control texture and flavour release, but, as I have already shown in a few preliminary experiments with one restaurant (The Fat Duck) it is possible to use gels made from a combination of different polysaccharides to construct fat free desert dishes which have textures and flavours comparable to traditional ones that are very high in fat content. We intend to apply to the BBSRC for funding to extend this work to a range of both savoury and sweet dishes and to explore techniques to scale up production. Peter Barham August 2004 In confidence

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