Experimental Gastronomy

If you had told me the phrase experimental gastronomy about a year ago I would have looked at you with bewilderment and confusion. If you had told me the phrase experimental gastronomy about six months ago, I would have looked at you with disdain and (probably) haughty-ness. Needless to say, the subject of experimental gastronomy is a recent and please-tread-lightly subject both in and out of the food world.

In the strictest sense, experimental gastronomy simply means being different/experimenting with food. These can range from being as docile as throwing some chilies into a chocolate ganache to as extreme as distilling the essence of pineapples into a liquid and then injecting them into vines to make grapes that taste tropical. As can be imagined, some of these experiments are more successful than others but all, at least on some level are interesting.

While most references to experimental gastronomy refer only to the act of cooking itself, I have recently stumbled across some pretty exciting 'experimental' designs in both restaurants service and design, which I felt could be justifiably included with little explanation. However, in order to not make this post ridiculously long, I have split up each section into its own post, which can be accessed by the links provided.

Enjoy:

Molecular Gastronomy

Experimental Service

Experimental Design