103 | J. Kenji López-Alt on Cooking As and With Science

<p>Cooking is art, but it’s also very much science — mostly chemistry, but with important contributions from physics and biology. (Almost like a well-balanced recipe…) And I can’t think of anyone better to talk to about the intersection of these fields than Kenji López-Alt: professional chef and restauranteur, MIT graduate, and author of&nbsp;<em>The Food Lab</em>. We discuss how modern scientific ideas can improve your cooking, and more importantly, how to bring a scientific approach to cooking anything at all. Then we also get into the cultural and personal resonance of food, and offer a few practical tips.</p><p><em>Support Mindscape on&nbsp;</em><a href="https://www.patreon.com/seanmcarroll" target="_blank"><em>Patreon</em></a><em>.</em></p><p>James Kenji López-Alt received a bachelor’s degree in architecture from MIT. After working at several restaurants, he began writing the Food Lab column for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.seriouseats.com/" target="_blank">Serious Eats</a>, where he is now Chief Culinary Consultant. His first book,&nbsp;<em>The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking through Science</em>, won the 2016 James Beard Award for General Cooking and the International Association of Culinary Professionals Cookbook of the Year Award. He is co-owner of&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wursthall.com/" target="_blank">Wursthall Restaurant and Bierhaus</a>&nbsp;in San Mateo, California.</p><ul><li><a href="http://www.kenjilopezalt.com/" target="_blank">Web site</a></li><li><a href="https://www.seriouseats.com/the-food-lab" target="_blank">Food Lab column</a></li><li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/J.-Kenji-L%C3%B3pez-Alt/e/B012EBAGJW" target="_blank">Amazon author page</a></li><li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Kenji_L%C3%B3pez-Alt" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a></li><li><a href="https://twitter.com/kenjilopezalt" target="_blank">Twitter</a></li><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqqJQ_cXSat0KIAVfIfKkVA" target="_blank">YouTube</a></li><li><a href="https://www.seriouseats.com/2016/02/science-of