Harold McGee
The kitchen is a laboratory of applied science. Cooking has played a role in the development of science, and scientists have influenced everyday cooking--for better and for worse. Harold McGee will recount this little-known history and then report on some of his own research into such questions as: Why do French cooks insist on whipping egg whites in copper bowls? How many quarts of mayonnaise can you make with one egg yolk? Can thermocouples and computers help you grill a better steak? And why does the spatter from a frying pan end up on the INSIDE of a cook's eyeglasses?
Harold McGee is the author of two award-winning books that explain the chemistry of cooking and nutrition to the general reader: "On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen" (ScribnerUs and Collier Books), and "The Curious Cook: More Kitchen Science and Lore" (North Point and Collier Books). He has written for many publications, including Food & Wine, Fine Cooking, Health, Nature, and The World Book Encyclopedia, and currently has a twice-monthly column, "Curious Cook," in The New York Times. He has lectured on kitchen chemistry at cooking schools, universities, The Oxford Symposia on Food, the Denver Natural History Museum and the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. He is also a consultant to restaurants and manufacturers.