Molecular Gastronomy- Ivanna Diaz

MOLECULAR GASTRONOMY

* What do you know about “molecular gastronomy”?

* Watch this video before reading the article:

   

WARMING UP:

MY COUNTRY’S FOOD: Which are the three most delicious dishes in your country? Describe the dishes in terms of:

ingredients flavour presentation history cultural importance

difficulty of preparation / cooking eating style your history with this food price availability

AGREED: What do you think?

a.     British food is _______________________.

b.     The best cuisine in the world is _______________________.

c.      The most delicious dessert is _______________________.

d.     Egg and bacon ice cream sounds _______________________.

e.      Microwave dinners are _______________________.

f.       Vegetarian fare is _______________________.

g.     The best drink to accompany a meal is _______________________.

h.     Dining out is _______________________.

i.       McDonalds hamburgers are _______________________.

j.       Life without restaurants would be _______________________.

PRE READING IDEAS:

TRUE / FALSE: Look at the article’s headline and guess whether these sentences are true or false:

a.     A British restaurant serves bacon and egg ice cream.  T / F

b.     A British restaurant won the title of best restaurant in the world.  T / F

c.      The head chef loves cooking traditional English dishes.  T / F

d.     The head chef studied at a French cooking school.  T / F

e.      All of the judges that participated in the poll were British.  T / F

f.       Britain is the home of fish and chips.  T / F

g.     French people love English food.  T / F

h.     London was named as the gourmet capital of the world.  T / F

Now…let´s read the article!

British food best in the world

A British restaurant that serves bacon and egg ice cream has been voted the best place in the world to eat inRestaurant magazine’s list of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants. The Fat Duck restaurant, which was runner-up last year, claimed the coveted top spot. Owner and head chef Heston Blumenthal opened his restaurant ten years ago and soon developed a reputation for highly experimental and unorthodox dishes. The menu includes leather, oak and tobacco chocolates, sardine on toast sorbet, snail porridge, and mousse dipped in liquid nitrogen. He is self-taught and has pioneered the art of “molecular gastronomy” - experiments with chemistry, physics, food and flavour that result in unique and unusual taste combinations.

Nearly 600 international restaurant owners, chefs and journalists participated in the poll to rank the best restaurants worldwide. A further thirteen British restaurants made it onto the elite eateries list, four in the top ten. This gives the home of fish and chips an unusual reputation as a culinary paradise. Britain is infamous for its bland and uninspiring food, which is scoffed at by the more sophisticated palates of its French neighbours. However, it seems the tide is turning: France had only eight restaurants in the top fifty and London was named in March by Gourmet magazine as the Gourmet Capital of the World. Ella Johnston, editor of Restaurant magazine, said British people are now “becoming more adventurous eaters”.

Top ten world restaurants:

1. The Fat Duck, Bray, Berkshire, UK
2. El Bulli Montjoi, Spain
3. The French Laundry, Yountville, California
4. Tetsuya’s, Sydney, Australia
5. Gordon Ramsay, London
6. Pierre Gagnaire, Paris
7. Per Se, New York
8. Tom Aikens, London
9. Jean Georges, New York
10. St John, London

POST READING IDEAS:

DISCUSSION:

a.     Do you believe this headline?

b.     Was there anything in the story you cannot accept?

c.      What do you think of British food?

d.     What do you think of “The Best…” lists?

e.      Do you think your country’s food is the tastiest in the world?

f.       Do you prefer home cooking or restaurant food?

g.     Where is the culinary centre of the world?

h.     Are you an adventurous eater?

i.       What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever eaten?

j.       Is there a food in your country that foreigners generally dislike?

k.     What do you think of haute cuisine?

l.       Would you like to eat at the Fat Duck restaurant?

m.  What is your favourite restaurant and why do you like it?

n.     How important is ambience in a restaurant?

o.     Do you think “molecular gastronomy” will catch on worldwide?

HOMEWORK

Look up in the Internet some more information on MOLECULAR GASTRONOMISTS and prepare something delicious to share with your English teacher!

      

Ivanna Diaz

English and Spanish teacher at E-Learning For All