Chefs and scientists unite to discover recipe for success

SCIENTISTS have teamed up with renowned chefs including Heston Blumenthal in a bid to find the perfect dish.

Professor Pete Barham, who has worked "extensively" with Blumenthal, argues that the cooking style dubbed "molecular gastronomy" – in which chefs apply scientific principles to the kitchen – should be taken as a more serious discipline.

Prof Barham, from the University of Bristol, said: "To me, a kitchen is just like a science laboratory and cooking is just another experimental science.

"To understand what it is that makes one dish delicious and another not, we need to consider not only the choice of ingredients and how they were grown, the manner in which the food was cooked and presented, but also the environment in which it was served and the mood of the diners."

In the study, Prof Barham, along with colleagues from Denmark and South Africa, brought together strands of chemistry used increasingly in the kitchen to provide a basis for further developments in the area.

The study will involve understanding branches of the chemical sciences, including the use of agrochemicals in the way food is produced, chemical changes that occur during harvesting, packaging and transport to market, and during processing and cooking.