November 21, 2008
The trendy New York restaurant wd-50 is a destination for foodies, thanks to chef Wylie Dufresne. Dufresne is a leader in the culinary movement called molecular gastronomy. Using surprising chemicals like liquid nitrogen, Dufresne invents dishes that both charm and confound. Kurt Andersen visits wd-50’s kitchen laboratory, where Dufresne begins to make our dish du jour: Eggs Benedict.
Knoll Krest Farm, in New York’s Dutchess County, supplies organic cage-free eggs to wd-50 and many other fine restaurants. Kurt and agricultural scientist Cynthia Shelley pay a visit to the farm. Kurt learns that life isn’t so easy for chickens, especially when a fox gets in the henhouse.
Wylie Dufresne makes his unique Eggs Benedict, featuring a strange creation all his own: deep-fried hollandaise sauce. Food scientist John Coupland explains how the inventions of cutting-edge chefs sometimes find their way to the frozen food aisle of your supermarket.
Kurt sits down for our meal du jour with two eating experts: biopsychologist Marcia Pelchat, of the Monell Chemical Senses Center, and John Willoughby, the Executive Editor of Gourmet Magazine. Dr. Pelchat identifies secret ingredients of Dufresne’s dishes: emotion, memory and nostalgia.
Wylie Dufresne loves state-of-the-art equipment, but his favorite kitchen tool is modest: the whisk. We asked an expert, Gourmet Magazine’s style director Corky Pollan, what makes a whisk really mix and beat.
Michael Pollan is a food journalist who's made waves criticizing America's eating habits. His latest book is In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto. Kurt spoke with Pollan about the lures and hazards of the organic bandwagon.
The accumulation of radioactive waste at Nevada's Yucca Mountain storage site poses a challenge: how do you permanently label it? Engineers like Patrick Charton are trying to solve that problem. Produced by Sarah Lilley.
What if all the pop culture about radiation creating mutants – from Them! to Spider-Man – were true, and scientists wanted to unlock the secrets? In this satirical piece, Eric Molinsky imagines the scenario in a laboratory near you.
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