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

SCIENCE AND COOKING
LECTURE SERIES 2025

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

Teacher Outreach - Science and Cooking for Secondary Teachers

2025 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 2025. Presenters this year include Harold McGee (author of “On Food and Cooking”, “Curious Cook”, “Nose Dive: A Field Guide to the World’s Smells”), Dave Arnold (author of “Liquid Intelligence”), Joanne Chang (Flour Bakery and Café, Myers and Chang), Lars Williams (Empirical Spirits, Copenhagen / NYC), Nok Suntaranon (Kalaya, Philadelphia), Bryan Furman (Pitmaster, Georgia), Claire Saffitz (author of Dessert person), Smitha Haneef and Martin Breslin (Harvard University Dining Services), and Mauro Colagreco (Mirazur, France).

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

2025 Chef Lecture Dates

Monday, Sept. 8

Science Center Hall C, 7PM
“The Science of Food and Drink: What a Difference a Decade (or Two) Makes”
Dave Arnold (@CookingIssues), founder of Booker and Dax (NYC), author of Liquid
Intelligence, host of the podcast Cooking Issues, and founder of the Museum of Food
and Drink, is known for his groundbreaking work at the intersection of culinary
innovation and science.
Harold McGee (@Harold_McGee), celebrated food science writer and author of On
Food and Cooking, Curious Cook, and Nose Dive: A Field Guide to the World’s Smells,
has shaped the way chefs and home cooks understand the chemistry of food

Monday, Sept. 15

Science Center Hall C, 7PM
“The Science Sugar”
Joanne Chang ’91 (@jbchang), James Beard Award–winning pastry chef and
restaurateur, is the co-owner of Flour Bakery + Café and Myers + Chang in Boston. She is
also the author of several acclaimed cookbooks, including Flour, Flour Too, Baking with
Less Sugar, and Myers + Chang at Home.

Monday, Sept. 22

Science Center Hall C, 7PM
“Translating Flavor”
Lars Williams (@empiricalspirits), co-founder of Empirical Spirits, has been
internationally recognized for innovation in flavor and distillation. Empirical Spirits
earned Double Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals at the 2023 San Francisco World
Spirits Competition.

Monday, Sept. 29

Science Center Hall C, 7PM
“Making Picture-Perfect Flower Dumplings”
Nok Suntaranon (@kuhnnok / @kalayaphilly), chef-owner of Kalaya in Philadelphia, is
winner of Best Female Chef North America, 2025 and the 2023 James Beard Award for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic. Her vibrant Thai cooking has received national acclaim for its bold flavors and artistry.

Monday, Oct. 13

Science Center Hall C, 7PM
“Sweet Structures: The Science of Jam-making”
Claire Saffitz ’09 (@csaffitz), pastry chef, YouTube host, and author of Dessert Person and
What’s for Dessert, is known for bringing pastry science to a wide audience. She received the IACP Julia Child Award in 2020 and was nominated for a James Beard
Award in 2022.

Monday, Oct. 20

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. 27

Science Center Hall C, 7PM
“Viscosity and the Perfect Sauce”
Martin Breslin (@HUDSinfo), Director of Culinary Operations for Harvard University
Dining Services, oversees culinary standards and operations for five million meals annually, award-winning chef, awardee of multiple American Culinary Federation medals, founding member of Healthy Menus Collaborative.
Smitha Haneef (@HUDSinfo), Managing Director for Harvard University Dining Services, brings global culinary leadership and innovation in sustainable dining practices.

Monday, Nov, 17

Science Center Hall C, 7PM
“NoLo Beverages: Innovation Through Fermentation”
Mauro Colagreco (@maurocolagreco), chef-owner of Mirazur in Menton,
France – ranked one of the best restaurants in the world – explores the next frontier of
fermentation and flavor. His work with non-alcoholic and low-alcoholic drinks reflects his
ongoing drive to push the boundaries of culinary creativity.

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. 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: