The emergence of gastronomic engineering

Abstract

Modern consumers increasingly derive their foods from away-from-home sources. Rising incomes, the emergence of chefs as innovative actors in the food scene, and the growing consumer demand for culinary experiences, are the main driving forces behind haute cuisine. At the same time, food engineering is in urgent need to expand its scope and engage in new collaborations and partnerships. Gastronomic engineering (GE) means using the vast body of knowledge accumulated in food engineering and food materials science to propel the curiosity and creativity of chefs to what is technologically feasible and environmentally sustainable. GE opens new opportunities for food engineering, a discipline that has been mostly oriented to the food processing industry. This article describes the emergence of GE or a new branch of food engineering, as a space of co-creation between chefs and food engineers in a university set-up. Our GE unit consists of an experimental kitchen headed by a chef, a food engineering area and a materials science laboratory. The impact of GE on academic activities (teaching and research) and outreach experiences is discussed.