Science and Cooking – 2023 Science and Cooking Lecture Series Celebrates Worldwide Culinary Techniques and Flavors

SCIENCE AND COOKING
LECTURE SERIES 2024

Food Fermentation: The Science of Cooking with Microbes on HarvardX, New online course

Teacher Outreach - Science and Cooking for Secondary Teachers

2024 SCIENCE AND COOKING LECTURE SERIES CELEBRATES WORLDWIDE CULINARY TECHNIQUES AND FLAVORS

Popular series pairs Harvard Professors with Chefs and Food Experts

The Science and Cooking Public Lecture Series at Harvard University returns this 2024. Presenters this year include Arielle Johnson (author of “Flavorama, A Guide to Unlocking the Art and Science of Flavor”), Harold McGee (author of “On Food and Cooking”, “Curious Cook”, “Nose Dive: A Field Guide to the World’s Smells”), Daniela Soto-Innes (World’s Best Female Chef award), Janice Wong (Asia’s Best Pastry Chef award, Singapore’s 2am dessert), Giorgia Caporuscio (Master Pizzaiola, New York City’s Don Antonio), Kyo Pang (NYC’s Malaysian café Kopitiam), Bryan Furman (Pitmaster, Georgia), Karen Akunowicz (Fox & the Knife Enoteca in Boston), Joanne Chang (Flour Bakery and Café, Myers and Chang), and Alex Atala (D.O.M. restaurant in São Paulo, Brazil).

The lectures pair Harvard professors with celebrated food experts and renowned chefs to showcase the science behind different culinary techniques.

The series, organized by Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) is based on the Harvard course “Science and Cooking: From Haute Cuisine to the Science of Soft Matter”.

All talks will be on Mondays at 7 pm E.S.T. and take place in the Harvard Science Center (1 Oxford St., Cambridge, MA., Hall C)
Each presentation will begin with a 15-minute lecture about the scientific topics from that week’s class by a faculty member from the Harvard course
The lectures are free and open to the public
Seating for all lectures is first come, first seated
Lectures will be posted on YouTube after each event
Contact: science_cooking@seas.harvard.edu

2024 Chef Lecture Dates

Monday, Sept 9

Science Center Hall C, 7PM
“A Dive into the Science of Flavor”
Arielle Johnson (@arielle_johnson), author of “Flavorama, A Guide to Unlocking the Art and Science of Flavor”, Flavor Scientist, Co-founder of the Noma Fermentation Lab.
Harold McGee (@Harold_McGee), author of “On Food and Cooking”, “Curious Cook”, “Nose Dive: A Field Guide to the World’s Smells”.

Monday, Sept. 16

Science Center Hall C, 7PM
“The Science of Tradition: Nixtamalization and Cultural Heritage”
Daniela Soto-Innes (@danielasotoinnes), youngest recipient of the World’s Best Female Chef award in 2019, has garnered numerous accolades for her innovative work at renowned restaurants like Cosme and Atla in New York City, and continues to represent Mexican culinary excellence internationally with her upcoming project, Rubra.

Monday, Sept. 23

Science Center Hall C, 7PM
“Fat Matters: Phase Transitions in Chocolate”
Janice Wong (@Janicewong2am), Singaporean artist, chocolatier, chef, and entrepreneur. In addition to restaurants, dessert bars, and retail ventures, she is known for her edible art installations. Named Asia’s Best Pastry Chef in 2013 and 2014.

Monday, Sept 30

Science Center Hall C, 7PM
“Pizza is my Yoga”
Giorgia Caporuscio (@giorgia_caporuscio), master pizzaiola who took over New York City’s renowned Don Antonio in 2023; has elevated the restaurant’s legacy with her innovative approach to Neapolitan pizza, earning accolades such as the prestigious Caputo Cup and “Pizza Maker of the Year” in 2024.

Monday, Oct. 14

Science Center Hall C, 7PM
“Diffusion in Baba Nyonya Cuisine”
Kyo Pang (@kyo_pang78), third-generation Baba Nyonya from Penang, Malaysia, and founder of NYC’s acclaimed Malaysian café Kopitiam; has seamlessly blended her rich culinary heritage with modern sensibilities, earning a spot on Bon Appétit’s 2019 “Hot 10” list and spearheading initiatives to feed low- and no-income individuals during COVID-19.

Monday, Oct. 21

Front Lawn of Pierce Hall (29 Oxford Street; facing Oxford Street and Peabody Museum), 7 PM
“The Thermodynamics of BBQ”
Bryan Furman (@bs_pitmaster), pitmaster and founder of Bryan Furman BBQ, has achieved national recognition for his smoking expertise and use of Heritage hogs, earning accolades such as Food & Wine Magazine’s 2019 Best New Chef and a James Beard Foundation semi finalist nomination, while continuing to expand his culinary empire with restaurants and pop-ups across the U.S. and Europe.

Monday, Oct. 28

Science Center Hall C, 7PM
“Viscosity and the Art of the Perfect Sauce”
Karen Akunowicz (@chefkarenakunowicz), chef and owner of Fox & The Knife Enoteca in Boston, which has been named to several best new restaurants lists; received 2018 James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef: Northeast. Judge on Top Chef.

Monday, Nov, 4

Science Center Hall C, 7PM
“The Science Sugar”
Joanne Chang ’91 (@jbchang), Flour Bakery and Café, Myers + Chang, author of “Flour”, “Flour Too”, “Myers + Chang at Home”, and “Baking with Less Sugar”, James Beard Award winner for Outstanding Baker.

Monday, Nov. 11

Science Center Hall C, 7PM
“The Science of Brazilian Cuisine”
Alex Atala (@alexatala), chef and owner of D.O.M. restaurant in São Paulo, Brazil, rated 4th best restaurant in the world by the Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants in 2012.

Videos

Videos of the past public talks are available on iTunes and YouTube

The Harvard College Course

The Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and the Alícia Foundation developed the General Education science course, “Science and Cooking: From Haute Cuisine to the Science of Soft Matter,” which debuted in the fall of 2010. The course uses food and cooking to explore fundamental principles in applied physics and engineering. (Watch a video about the course.)

While limited to currently enrolled Harvard undergraduates, the class, which brings together Harvard researchers and world-class chefs, is available to others on-campus through the Harvard Extension School and online through the HarvardX platform (details below).

Faculty Lead

Pia Sörensen, Senior Preceptor in Chemical Engineering and Applied Materials

Instructors

Michael Brenner, Michael F. Cronin Professor of Applied Mathematics and Applied Physics and Professor of Physics; Harvard College Professor
Pia Sörensen, Senior Preceptor in Chemical Engineering and Applied Materials
David Weitz, Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics and Applied Physics

Lecture Coordinator

Alejandra Touceda Súarez

Online Science and Cooking Courses on HarvardX

In HarvardX’s “Science & Cooking: From Haute Cuisine to Soft Matter Science,” top chefs and Harvard researchers explore how everyday cooking and haute cuisine can illuminate scientific principles in physics, chemistry, biology, and engineering. Both part 1 and part 2 of the online course are currently open for enrollment.

The online course “Food Fermentations: The Science of Cooking with Microbes” explores the role of microbes in food production, from history to preservation to flavor.

Science and Cooking Workshops for Grades 6-12 Science Teachers

Become part of a growing teacher community using food to engage students in science. In these hands-on workshops, teachers will explore food-based lessons from a student’s point of view. Each lesson is rooted in a single food, which is framed as an anchoring phenomenon to be investigated through science concepts and practices. Lessons align with NGSS standards and include a coherent sequence of hands-on activities, labs, videos, and readings intended to progressively build student understanding of content and engage them in science practices. Find here some of our available resources. Please share your contact information in this form to be notified of future opportunities.

Science and Cooking:

Physics Meets Food, From Homemade to Haute Cuisine

Based on the popular Harvard University and edX course, Science and Cooking explores the scientific basis of why recipes work.

The spectacular culinary creations of modern cuisine are the stuff of countless articles and social media feeds. But to a scientist they are also perfect pedagogical explorations into the basic scientific principles of cooking. In Science and Cooking, Harvard professors Michael Brenner, Pia Sörensen, and David Weitz bring the classroom to your kitchen to teach the physics and chemistry underlying every recipe.

Why do we knead bread? What determines the temperature at which we cook a steak, or the amount of time our chocolate chip cookies spend in the oven? Science and Cooking answers these questions and more through hands-on experiments and recipes from renowned chefs such as Christina Tosi, Joanne Chang, and Wylie Dufresne, all beautifully illustrated in full color. With engaging introductions from revolutionary chefs and collaborators Ferran Adria and José Andrés, Science and Cooking will change the way you approach both subjects―in your kitchen and beyond.

Find “Science and Cooking” in any of these retailers or in your preferred local independent store: