An appetising science

Friday 16 September7.00pm

Pierre Gagnaire and Hervé This

The Royal Institution

Imagine the not-too-distant future and ask yourself ‘what shall I eat?’: the answer might range from ‘indulge in a gourmet meal’ to simply ‘pop a pill’. But there is more to what we eat and why, and all cooking has three vital ingredients that no pill-popping can possibly emulate: technique, art and perhaps most crucially, love. Join Hervé as he introduces us to the wonders and delights of ‘molecular gastronomy’, the culinary discipline developed by Hervé and the late Nicholas Kurti that has taken the world by storm. Did you know that all recipes comprise two parts - a definition and additions that cover the old wives’ tales, proverbs and tips that all cooks pick up along the way? Using experiments and demonstrations, Hervé and Michelin-starred chef Pierre Gagnaire will show how art can make direct use of science to create a wonderful marriage of science et cuisine. This lecture is in memoriam of Nicholas Kurti and Michael Faraday, and a dish named after this ‘prince of experimentalists’ will be revealed on the night! Sir John Krebs, former Chair of the Food standards Agency, current Principal of Jesus College Oxford and this year’s Christmas Lecturer will chair this event.

Pierre Gagnaire is the proud possessor of three Michelin stars, and owner of the acclaimed restaurants Pierre Gagnaire (Paris) and Sketch (London; co-owned with Mourad Mazouz). Pierre is the author of several books, including Sucré-salé, which won the Best Cookbook Award at the ninth Gourmand World Cookbook Awards.

Hervé This is a chemist at the Institut National de laRecherche Agronomique (INRA), both at the Laboratory of Chemical Interactions at the Collège de France and at the Institut National Agronomique Paris-Grignon. Since 2004, he has been running free public courses on molecular gastronomy in Paris.

This event is in association with the French Embassy.

Tickets cost £8, £5 for Ri Members and concessions and can be booked online at www.rigb.org or by phone on 020 7409 2992.

The closest tube station to the Royal Institution is Green Park on the Jubilee, Victoria and Piccadilly lines. The Royal Institution is a five-minute walk from the station. Also within a ten minute walking distance is Piccadilly Circus tube station, on the Piccadilly and Bakerloo lines. There are numerous bus stops along Piccadilly which runs along the entrance to Albemarle Street. Bus Numbers: 8. 9, 14, 19, 22 and 38.