Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking | Nathan Myhrvold | Talks at Google

Dr. Nathan Myhrvold is chief exec­u­tive offi­cer and a founder of Intellectual Ventures, a firm ded­i­cated to cre­at­ing and invest­ing in inven­tions. In addi­tion to stim­u­lat­ing the inven­tion of oth­ers, Myhrvold is him­self an active inven­tor, with nearly 250 patents issued or pending-including sev­eral related to food tech­nol­ogy. Before found­ing his inven­tion com­pany, Myhrvold was the first chief tech­nol­ogy offi­cer at Microsoft. He estab­lished Microsoft Research, and dur­ing his tenure he over­saw many advanced tech­nol­ogy projects. He left Microsoft in 1999 to pur­sue sev­eral inter­ests, includ­ing a life­long inter­est in cook­ing and food science.
Myhrvold com­peted on a team that won first place in sev­eral cat­e­gories at the 1991 World Championship of Barbecue, includ­ing first prize in the spe­cial pasta cat­e­gory for a recipe that Myhrvold devel­oped on the day of the contest.
After work­ing for two years as a stagierat Seattle's top French restau­rant, Rover's, Myhrvold com­pleted culi­nary train­ing with renowned chef Anne Willan at the Ecole De La Varenne. In addi­tion, he has worked as Chief Gastronomic Officer for Zagat Survey, pub­lisher of the pop­u­lar Zagat restau­rant guide­books. Through his many vis­its to the world's top restau­rants, Myhrvold has become per­son­ally acquainted with many of the lead­ing Modernist chefs and the science-inspired cook­ing tech­niques they have pioneered.
Myhrvold is him­self an accom­plished prac­ti­tioner of Modernist cui­sine. He has con­tributed orig­i­nal research on cook­ing sous vide to online culi­nary forums, and his sous vide tech­niques have been cov­ered in the New York Times Magazine, Wired, and PBS's "Gourmet's Diary of a Foodie" tele­vi­sion series.

[@specialk22tt]

I have the book and it's worth every penny. It has so much science and physics behind cooking that when you finally begin to understand the processes of cooking, you can then begin to know how to manipulate them to produce truly world class dishes. Brilliant brilliant book.

[@ryangies4798]

Enjoyed this talk. I see a lot of value for the home cook which now in 2023, many of techniques have finally been adopted. I cook BBQ professionally for a living and found some of his comments to be accurate and others not. Indeed, the “stall” is real, known in the realm of cooking possibly for many centuries. Wrapping briskets and pork shoulders to push through is a technique that’s been around for a very long time. It’s called the Texas Clutch, using tin foil, many today use butcher paper soaked in tallow, some use the foil boat method (thanks to Evan LeRoy and Bradley Robinson)… while others will simply push through unwrapped. There are pros and cons to each but they all get you to the final product. Now on to the answer regarding Sous Vide for BBQ… it’s been well debunked. Hundreds maybe thousands of videos prove a Sous Vide, then smoked BBQ simply doesn’t hold up. For ribs… a 48 hour Sous Vide will produce meat that’s slide off the bone at best, mushy at worst. The time in the Smoker accomplishes Smoke (which pitmasters use as an ingredient, not a flavor bomb) the other is maillard reaction, crust, and wide variance of textures and flavors. Give me a 16 hour brisket in a Smoker over 72 hours in Sous Vide any day of the week. Steven Raichlen seems the type to tell everyone their food’s the best! I’d like to hear his opinion a decade on from this video 😂

[@christopherwillson]

What a guy, he can cook for me any day.

[@user-dj9vy5nc4w]

sure just give me your a**res*

[@SuperAngje]

awesome

[@jayceemanila3575]

tell me mate whats uo with the guy?

[@muchomusiclibre]

This is the same guy that owns the worlds biggest 'patent troll', meaning he professionally sues people for a living.

[@nicholo85]

Overly simplistic questions when she could have asked more in-depth questions. Oh well.