As the culinary world evolves each day, a myriad of chefs continuously attempt to spin their wheels in order to cook up a nouveau food trend. Their willing, epicurean customers delight in trying something new and forbidden that will challenge their senses and prick up their tongues. So it is no wonder that the two best restaurants in the world, rated by Restaurant Magazine  in 2007 are also home to two of the most influential chefs in the eating world today. Ferran Adrià at ‘elBulli’ in Cala Montjoi, Spain, and Heston Blumenthal at ‘The Fat Duck’ in Bray, England, are both innovative and dexterous chefs who have brought the art of science to their expanding culinary practice. Their kitchens transform into dynamic laboratories for food, their final presentation on the plate is immaculate, and the initial construction of their meals is similar to the rules of a science experiment: systematic and precise. But where does the imagination and improvisation of a chef fit in?  
Phrased as ‘molecular gastronomy,’ a term that was coined in the late 80’s by a Hungarian physicist, Nicholas Kurti, and French chemist, Hervé This, there are five fundamental objectives defined by Hervé:
1. Investigating culinary and gastronomical proverbs, sayings, and old wives' tales
2. Exploring existing recipes
3. Introducing new tools, ingredients and methods into the kitchen
4. Inventing new dishes
5. Using molecular gastronomy to help the general public understand the contribution of science to society
With these themes in mind, Ferran Adrià created ‘culinary foam,’ which eliminates fatty ingredients such as cream and egg, and instead relies on the fundamental flavours of sweet or savoury foods combined with “air” in a whipped cream canister. Using nitrous oxide, foam is then forced out of the simple mixture. Although seemingly fluffy and light, the foam is capable of completely changing the taste and texture of the meal, adding an interesting dimension to the overall eating experience. Heston Blumenthal, who has worked with numerous scientists, favours the method of ‘ultra slow-cooking’ at a low temperature, (around 165 degrees Fahrenheit) which requires a cooking time between ten and twenty-four hours! By doing so, the meat retains its’ juicy, fat content whilst limiting collagen molecules from re-forming. An oven thermometer is imperative for this gradual process, and the upside is that slow-cooking produces no excess fat, it withholds a moist, rich texture of the meat, and the creation of gravy becomes impossible and rather unnecessary.
From jellies to foams, or powders to purées, both of these young chefs continue to devote much of their time experimenting with tastes, structures, and textures, to ultimately find new ways to delight our sensitive palates. Others are quickly catching on, sometimes in more literal terms of science, such as Marc Veyrat from France, who supplements a sauce-filled syringe with his meal for the customer to inject into his/her meat! Now that’s a scientific way of handling your food!