Physics of Cooking
About the Lecture
Joined by acclaimed local chef Tai Lee and chocolatier Mitch Siegert, owner of Truman Chocolates.
Abstract
Do you want to understand how chefs make, and use foams? Do you want to understand how chefs make a drop liquid into a solid that bursts with flavor when you eat it? Did you know that eggs cook best at a temperature much less than the boiling point of water? Modern cuisine is filled with fascinating new dishes and this talk will explore some of the physics behind them. Two local chefs will team with a physics professor to demonstrate some of their favorite cooking techniques and to explain the science that underlies the cooking. The talk is based on a popular course offered at Harvard University that is a collaboration between science professors and chefs.
About David Weitz
David Weitz is a Canadian/American physicist and Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics & Applied Physics and professor of Systems Biology at Harvard University. He is the co-director of the BASF Advanced Research Initiative at Harvard, co-director of the Harvard Kavli Institute for Bionano Science & Technology, and director of the Harvard Materials Research Science & Engineering Center.
Dr. Weitz received his B.Sc. in Physics from the University of Waterloo and his PhD in superconductivity from Harvard. He worked as a research physicist at Exxon Research and Engineering for nearly 18 years. He then became a Professor of Physics at the University of Pennsylvania, before moving to Harvard in 1999. At Harvard Dr. Weitz teaches an extremely popular course “Physics or Cooking” that is collaboration between science professors and chefs.
About Tai Lee
Chef Tai Lee was born in South Korea and moved to the States to live with his grandparents and uncles at the age of 13. He moved to College Station to attend Texas A&M University, majoring in Business. While Chef Tai attended school, he started working in a local Japanese restaurant and finally realized that he had a true passion for the culinary arts and enough conviction to pursue a career in restaurant industry.
Chef Tai has established himself as one of the most prominent players on the College Station culinary stage with his renowned elegant cuisine of Veritas, the award winning Chef Tai’s Mobile Bistro food truck, and a taste of New York City with Paolo’s Italian Kitchen. Never settling, he continues to bring a unique culinary flair to the Brazos Valley with the infusion of several new dishes onto the menu of the popular Madden’s Casual Gourmet. Chef Tai is currently planning to open a new contemporary American restaurant called Urban Table, which should be available to our palettes this summer.
About Mitch Siegert
Mitch Siegert graduated from the Culinary Institute of America with two degrees: one in Culinary Arts and another in Baking & Pastry Arts. He has worked for many unique food establishments, including The Food Network and The Ritz Carlton, Naples. He moved back to Bryan/College Station to open Truman Chocolates. The chocolates he produces require a delicate and time-consuming process that take about days to complete. Truman Chocolates has won many awards and been featured in countless articles.
Documentation
David Weitz, Ph.D.
Tai Lee
