Tradition and innovation!
Once again, food and science met in Spain. The fourth Science & Cooking World Congress (SCWC) was held in Barcelona for three days from Nov. 13 to 15, where the connection between food and science was discussed by eminent scientists, food researchers, cultural heritage experts and chefs. The theme of the congress this year was “Tradition & Innovation” aimed at scrutinizing traditional cooking techniques and food preparation methods as an inspiration for the future, also presenting brand new techniques and inventions. Presenters and congress delegates discussed what can be learned from the past food traditions of the World holding round-table discussions to create a network of communication across the globe from Amazonia to the Galapagos Islands, from Brazil to Japan, and from Mexico to Türkiye.
The University of Barcelona has been a pioneer in Spain for its studies on the connection between food and science. For years, the university's scientists have worked with Spanish chefs to develop new techniques and methods such as spherification and foams from siphons, or untraditional kitchen equipment like using syringes and tweezers that have now become so commonplace that they are almost taken for granted in the world of international chefs. The groundbreaking chef had been Ferran Adrià, creating in his kitchen incredible plates like no other seen before. Intensely flavored liquids that exploded in the mouth in gel capsules like miniscule caviar-like beads or playful marbles amazed diners, foams were floating on plates packed with unexpected tastes. From then on, the restaurant place was more like a theatre show, maybe more like a circus that fascinates children, an experience to be cherished and remembered for a lifetime. Ferran and Albert Adrià brothers were not alone in stage setting this show. There was a tremendous amount of thought and science behind the creation of every single plate, and each idea. If their restaurant El Bulli, once a humble mini-golf eatery, became the hub of innovative gastronomy, there was a mad scientist behind the stage. Pere Castells, from the Department of Chemistry of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, is known for being the chemist who collaborated with the "Bulli," and helps the restaurant in all those creative miraculous tastes. El Bulli had a mission to introduce science in the restaurant kitchen, it was more like a project, and we all know that projects have a deadline to get finished. The story and mission of El Bulli were explained thoroughly in a big exhibition at the Somerset House in London in 2013, which was to be on permanent display in El Bulli Foundation, a center for culinary creativity established as the continuation of the restaurant which was closed in 2011.
Pere Castells still pursues his own mission of creating the bond between food and science stressing how science is already a great tool to bring the avant-garde to the kitchen. He started the SCWC Science & Cooking World Congress in 2019, just before the pandemic. Other contributors to the congress include famous scientists from across countries, such as Harold McGee and Danish scientist Pia Sõrensen, who runs the Science & Cooking program at Harvard University, and David Weitz, who joined the group this year. Mariana Koppmann and Heinz Wuth from Argentina, Florence Egal from the FAO in Rome, and Davide Cassi from the University of Parma, Italy, are also supporters of the congress. This year, there was also a significant number of participants from Japan. The reason I mention all these names is that there are researchers from all over the world who give ideas and show methods to chefs. In short, this congress is like a summit of scientists from all over the world who think and research about food and food production.
The tarhana connection
I was invited to the congress in 2021 at its second edition thanks to our mutual friend, chef Pere Planaguma. The passion for science must be contagious because I have been attending the congress as a delegate from Türkiye for three successive years now. The congress is not only made up of curious mad scientists. There are also chefs and food culture researchers like me. In 2021, chef Maksut Aşkar and Gastromasa founder Gökmen Sözen attended from Türkiye. In 2022, Fatih Tutak talked about his own cuisine. In my first year, I explained the gypsophila root as a vegan and natural alternative to the world, which is yet unknown elsewhere but has an important place in tahini halwa making and traditional confectionery in Turkish cuisine. In 2022, we made a panel on garum, the famous long-lost fish sauce of Roman times, together with Harold McGee and Spanish chefs Pere Planaguma and Ricard Camarena, discussing its revival. This year my presentation topic was tarhana, since it fits the theme “Tradition and Innovation” perfectly, and since the first year, I had defined my mission for the congress as messages and ideas from the past to the future. This year, in this context, I presented the tarhana tradition in all its dimensions, presenting tarhana as a sustainable idea rather than an ingredient, a way of thinking that can be adopted to any kitchen anywhere in the world. After the presentation, César Vega from Mexico, a world-renowned food scientist, came directly to me and said “You know, I know tarhana all very well!”. It turned out that he had broken up with his first love in Mexico when he was a student in the U.S. and was so upset that his Turkish housemate Akif made tarhana soup that his mother had put in his suitcase to console him to stop his incessant crying. Tarhana can be a difficult flavor for someone who has never tasted it in life, definitely an acquired taste. Therefore, his friend’s attempt to console him with tarhana could have actually backfired, but fortunately, César Vega loved it. So, half of the tarhana samples I carried with me went to him and the other half went to the Harvard lab. Thus, a tarhana brotherhood was established between scientists working on food.
Sferic Awards
At the SCWC Food and Science Congress, every year an award is given to chefs who have contributed or have the potential to contribute to scientific innovation. This year, the Sferic Award went to Disfrutar, the second-best restaurant in the World’s 50 Best list. Disfrutar was founded by Mateu Casañas, Oriol Castro and Eduard Xatruch, three chefs who were once on the El Bulli team. When El Bulli decided to close down, they came to Türkiye for a vacation to blow off steam, so to speak, and it was here that they decided to open Disfrutar. Today, there are occasional flashbacks in their kitchen from their several trips to our country, for example, don't be surprised if the classic tasting menu includes a walnut cracker from Antep.
