This article was taken from the March 2012 issue of Wired
magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before
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Molecular gastronomy emphasises physics and chemistry, but it's
missing a crucial ingredient: biology.
the former head of clinical neurology at the Polyclinic of Valles
near Barcelona, combined neurology with gastronomy at his first
restaurant, the Michelin-starred L'Esguard. Now he's taken the
concept to Manhattan with new destination Romera. He knows that
taste is only one way our brains make sense of food.
"Before we take a single bite, sight and smell combine to tell
us what we will eat and how it will taste," says Romera, 55. "Taste
is nothing more than empirical recognition of what we already
know." Romera turns plates of food into works of art, sometimes
with squares of spice laid out in symmetrical mosaics, a graphic
look that he says conditions the brain to have high expectations.
"I wondered what would happen if you could stimulate the taste buds
without ingesting calories or fat. The olfactory aspect lasts
longest, even though you believe that you are experiencing the
vegetables with your taste buds."
1. Cubes of butter spiked with spices cue the taste buds for
what is to follow.
2. Spice and sugar "candies" remind the diner of childhood.
3. Smoke-flavoured water accompanies the dish to make the brain
believe the squab has been open-flame cooked, not grilled.