In my To Do list with all of you kind enough to read me in this little corner of mine, I still had to share a bit of my library. For those of of you whom I have not been lucky enough to meet in person I share with you a bit about myself. For those who already know me, you might know some of these statements about my person.
Reading has been a constant in my life since I was quite young. My mother used to be a school teacher, therefore, she always inspired and promoted reading. She always had a book with her, therefore, rarely did I come out of the bookstore without one for me as well. It is also true, that I almost never read what my teachers would assign, for masterpieces such as Fortunata and Jacinta or the Lazarillo de Tormes from Latin American literature were not among my favorites. My tastes weren’t as elevated, to say the least. Nonetheless, receiving books as gifts for my birthday or Christmas, even today, isn’t rare.
Chemistry was probably one of my worst subjects in Junior High School and High School. Both times I took it, I failed and had to retake my exam at the end of the summer. Yes, I did learn -by heart- how to write the chemical formula of Potassium Permanganate (KMnO₄), though I still don’t know what it is or what it’s useful for. But I confess I recently learned what free radicals are.
Let us fast forward in our timeline and go to 2019 when I decided to go back to the classroom and sat before Mr. Christophe Lavelle, Ph.D., a research scientist at the CNRS (France’s National Center for Science Research) whose lecture I attended regarding molecular cuisine, science in the kitchen, the exhibit he had just curated at the Humankind Museum in Paris “I eat, therefore I am” with its allusion to Descartes, and of course, his latest work “Toute la Chimie qu’il Faut Savoir pour Devenir un Chef” and which I dare translate as “Every bit of Chemistry you should Learn to become a Chef”. Please note that this is not an official translation of said title, but my interpretation of it. While he was explaining different culinary phenomena from the scientific point of view, the book was being glanced through by all of my classmates. One by one, they all took their time while still paying attention to Dr. Lavelle’s masterclass. When I finally had the book in my hands, I honestly glanced through it quite quickly. I didn’t want to miss anything that was being said. I thought I could always go and look for it afterwards.
Now, let me make it evident that through my culinary career I have come to realize and understand why it was so important to learn the basics of science. I mean, all ingredients suffer either physically or chemically when they are used, however, I ought to underline that my classes in grade school were a lot more theoretical than practical and therefore many of the phenomena I could have learned were merely class notes for me and it hasn’t been but until my forties when I have become conscious and understood them. I have also learned that in pastry one realizes mistakes once the product is baked and it comes out from the oven, or even worse, when one is tasting it. Anywho, that was a side comment, I guess.
But let us go back to the book. Oh, dear… so distracted. Anyhow, I ran between one class and the next, and time flies, so, my last visit during the trip to France before coming home was the exhibit in question. A couple of classmates had already shared with me that it was a very good summary of the professor’s lecture. The visit was great and should the exhibit travel and I could go see it again, I would. There was a lot of information I might have already known, but which I had not reflected upon. At the end of my walkthrough I stopped at the museum’s gift shop and I looked for the book. I saw it once more, although this time I took my time, I read and I thought about buying it, but I had no more space in my luggage, so I decided to come back home empty handed and regretting about it for months.
About one month ago, I found a new bookstore near home on my way to the post office. I told Guillermo I wanted to go and asked him if he wanted to tag along and go see what they had. Bonjour Books DC is a small independent bookstore that Jennifer opened right before the SARS-CoV2 pandemic arose a bit more than a year ago. She was very helpful and gladly accepted ordering the books I felt I urgently needed to read. In my list, I had “the chemistry book” -that’s my nickname for it- in my list. I have to say that I haven’t been able to put it down since it arrived. It has recipes from multi-accoladed French chefs, but it also has this scientific aspect explaining why egg whites coagulate or why crustaceans change colors when they get cooked… curious aspects that only science allows us to put in practice chemical phenomena. Also, there are wine pairing suggestions. All in all, it is a great book that not only allows people to practice French if you are learning it, or if you want to carry on practicing it if you’re already competent, but to understand what goes from the scientific viewpoint in our food when we transform ingredients for them to become the dishes we fancy. The best of it is that Jennifer has (at least up to now) several copies in her bookstore if you are in the Washington DC Metro area. Visit her, I’m sure you’ll find something to read, even if it’s got nothing to do with cooking.
