Modernist-Cuisine-Vol.-1-Small

4
THE HISTORY OF
Santi Santamaria Versus elBulli
Santi Santamaria is a successful and celebrated chef. His
restaurant Can Fabes, situated just north of Barcelona,
Spain, has held three Michelin stars for many years. It is by
any standard one of the best restaurants in the world.
Santamaria is part of the great Catalan/Spanish revolution
in food, to which several other Michelin three-star chefs,
including Joan Roca of Can Roca, Carme Ruscalleda of Sant
Pau, and Ferran Adrià of elBulli, have contributed. Together,
these chefs have made Catalan Spain one of the great food
destinations in the world.
So the food world was shocked when Santamaria made
angry and provocative denouncements of Modernist food
during a talk at the Madrid Fusion cooking conference in
January 2007. Then, in 2008, he criticized Adrià and elBulli
in particular. Some of Santamaria’s complaints were about
the aesthetic approach elBulli was taking in its dishes, and
such differences among chefs about style are understandable
We strongly believe that people
should eat what they want to eat; it
is a fundamental aspect of personal
freedom. If you want to eat
a certain way, then by all means go
ahead. Our goal in this chapter is to
relate the most current research
results so that you can make an
informed decision.
Eventually science will figure all this out, but
until it does, the safest thing to say is that proof
requires large, randomized clinical trials that take
many years. Until the results of those are in, one
can entertain lots of opinions but reach no genuine
scientific closure on the issues.
Of course, science isn’t the only measure by
which people make dietary decisions. Food
choices are intensely personal. Beyond palate and
health concerns, these matters involve cultural
and religious traditions. Often, discussing food
preferences makes people emotional; they see
themselves as protectors of the health of their
families or patrons.
Chefs and consumers thus must make judgments
based on the numerous parameters served
up by their personal experiences and the available
factswhich we hope you are now better able to
distinguish from hyperbole. Modernist ingredients
are frequently the subject of such hyperbole,
even though they’ve been used in mass food
production for decades and have withstood
intense regulatory scrutiny.
Perhaps the most modern thing about these
ingredients is that they are now “open source.”
Whereas once they were available only to industrial
chefs, now restaurant chefs and cooking
and not uncommon. But Santamaria’s criticisms went well
beyond matters of style. According to published reports, he
also accused Adrià of potentially poisoning his guests with
Modernist ingredients such as methylcellulose. Santamaria
said that the use of such ingredients was a “public health
issue” and called on authorities to intervene.
Although Santamaria’s avowed concern is public health, his
position is not scientifically defensible. Methylcellulose and
other Modernist ingredients have been rigorously tested and
are safe. Santamaria’s claims have not been substantiated by
any food authorities. Adrià has taken care to ensure that his
ingredients, though perhaps unfamiliar to some traditionalists,
meet the relevant European Community standards.
Some chefs in Spain have been quoted as saying that
Santamaria’s real motivation is simple jealousy. Certainly his
concerns about the public health hazards of Modernist
ingredients are unfounded.
enthusiasts can experiment with them as well.
As food enthusiasts and practitioners of Modernist
cuisine, we hope you feel more confident in
making choices about the food you eat and serve
while not begrudging yourself the pleasure of new
food experiences.
Further Reading
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of a High-Fiber Cereal Supplement on the Recurrence
of Colorectal Adenomas,” The New England
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Appel, L. J., T. J. Moore, et al. “A Clinical Trial of
the Effects of Dietary Patterns on Blood Pressure,”
The New England Journal of Medicine, 336:16,
1117–1124; 17 April 1997.
Beresford, S. A., K. C. Johnson, et al. “Low-Fat
Dietary Pattern and Risk of Colorectal Cancer:
The Women’s Health Initiative Randomized
Controlled Dietary Modification Trial,” JAMA,
295:6, 643–654; 8 February 2006.
Burr, M. L., A. M. Fehily, et al. “Effects of Changes
in Fat, Fish, and Fibre Intakes on Death and
Myocardial Reinfarction: Diet and Reinfarction
Trial (DART),” Lancet, 2:8666, 757–761; 30
September 1989.
Ettlinger, S. Twinkie, Deconstructed: My Journey to
Discover How the Ingredients Found in Processed
Foods Are Grown, Mined (Yes, Mined), and Manipulated
into What America Eats. Plume, 2008.
Frantz, I. D., Jr., E. A. Dawson, et al. “Test of Effect
of Lipid Lowering by Diet on Cardiovascular Risk,
The Minnesota Coronary Survey,” Arteriosclerosis,
9:1, 129–135; January/February 1989.
Howard, B. V., L. Van Horn, et al. “Low-Fat
Dietary Pattern and Risk of Cardiovascular
Disease: The Women’s Health Initiative Randomized
Controlled Dietary Modification Trial,”
JAMA, 295:6, 655–666; 8 February 2006.
Kastelein, J. J. P., P. T. Sager, et al. “Comparison of
Ezetimibe Plus Simvastatin Versus Simvastatin
Monotherapy on Atherosclerosis Progression in
Familial Hypercholesterolemia: Design and
Rationale of the Ezetimibe and Simvastatin in
Hypercholesterolemia Enhances Atherosclerosis
Regression (ENHANCE) Trial,” American Heart
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Kumanyika, S. K., P. R. Hebert, et al. “Feasibility
and Efficacy of Sodium Reduction in the Trials of
Hypertension Prevention, Phase I,” Hypertension,
22:4, 502–512; 1993.
Marchioli, R. “Treatment with N-3 Polyunsaturated
Fatty Acids after Myocardial Infarction: Results
of GISSI-Prevenzione Trial,” European Heart
Journal, 3:supplement D, D85–97; June 2001.
Ness, A. R., P. A. L. Ashfield-Watt, et al. “The
Long-Term Effect of Dietary Advice on the Diet of
Men with Angina: The Diet and Angina Randomized
Trial,” Journal of Human Nutrition and
Dietetics, 17:2,117–119; April 2004.
Pierce, J. P., L. Natarajan, et al. “Influence of a Diet
Very High in Vegetables, Fruit, and Fiber and Low
in Fat on Prognosis Following Treatment for
Breast Cancer: The Women’s Healthy Eating and
Living (WHEL) Randomized Trial,” JAMA
298:3, 289–298; 18 July 2007.
Pollan, M. The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural
History of Four Meals. Penguin, 2007.
Pollan, M. In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto.
Penguin, 2009.
Prentice, R. L., B. Caan, et al. “Low-Fat Dietary
Pattern and Risk of Invasive Breast Cancer: The
Women’s Health Initiative Randomized Controlled
Dietary Modification Trial,” JAMA 295:6,
629–642; 8 February 2006.
Prentice, R. L., C. A. Thomson, et al. “Low-Fat
Dietary Pattern and Cancer Incidence in the
Women’s Health Initiative Dietary Modification
Randomized Controlled Trial,” Journal of the
National Cancer Institute, 99:20, 1534–1543; 17
October 2007.
Rossebø, A. B., T. R. Pedersen, et al. “Intensive
Lipid Lowering with Simvastatin and Ezetimibe
in Aortic Stenosis,” The New England Journal of
Medicine, 359, 1343–1356; 25 September 2008.
Sacks, F. M., L. P. Svetkey, et al. “Effects on Blood
Pressure of Reduced Dietary Sodium and the
Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension
(DASH) Diet,” The New England Journal of
Medicine. 344, 3–10; 4 January 2001.
Schatzkin, A., E. Lanza, et al. “Lack of Effect of
a Low-Fat, High-Fiber Diet on the Recurrence of
Colorectal Adenomas, Polyp Prevention Trial
Study Group,” The New England Journal of Medicine
342:16, 1149–1155; 20 April 2000.
Shike, M., L. Latkany, et al. “Lack of Effect of
a Low-Fat, High-Fruit, -Vegetable, and -Fiber Diet
on Serum Prostate-Specific Antigen of Men
Without Prostate Cancer: Results from a Randomized
Trial,” Journal of Clinical Oncology 20:17,
3592–3598; 17 September 2002.
Stamler, J., D. Wentworth, et al. “Is Relationship
Between Serum Cholesterol and Risk of Premature
Death from Coronary Heart Disease Continuous
and Graded? Findings in 356,222 Primary
Screenees of the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention
Trial (MRFIT),” JAMA 256:20, 2823–2828; 28
November 1986.
Standage, T. An Edible History of Humanity.
Walker & Company, 2009.
Steingarten, J. “Salad the Silent Killer,” in The Man
Who Ate Everything, Vintage Books, 1997.
Steingarten, J. “Why Doesn’t Everybody in China
Have a Headache?” in It Must’ve Been Something
I Ate. Borzoi Books, 2002.
Taubes, G. Good Calories, Bad Calories. Borzoi
Books, 2007.
The Trials of Hypertension Prevention Collaborative
Research Group. “Effects of Weight Loss and
Sodium Reduction Intervention on Blood Pressure
and Hypertension Incidence in Overweight People
with High-Normal Blood Pressure, The Trials of
Hypertension Prevention, Phase II,” Archives of
Internal Medicine, 157:6, 657; 24 March 1997.
Wrangham, R. Catching Fire: How Cooking Made
Us Human. Basic Books, 2009.
258 VOLUME 1 · HISTORY AND FUNDAMENTALS
FOOD AND HEALTH 259