In Defense Of Modern Cuisine

By Chef James Briscione, Director of Culinary Development

What exactly is modernist cuisine? In short, it's a buzzword, the latest term used to describe an innovative and avant garde style of cooking. First popularized by Ferran Adria (the "foam guy") at his restaurant El Bulli, modernist cuisine has since become known the world over.

Previous to Adria, the techniques used in modernist cuisine were housed under the umbrella of molecular gastronomy: a scientific discipline that studies the chemistry of food. Great minds such as Nicholas Kurti, Herve This and Harold McGee made tremendous strides in this field, ultimately inspiring chefs like Adria, Heston Blumenthal and Grant Achatz to incorporate scientific methods into their cooking. Thus, modernist cuisine was born.