Food and Science in Barcelona

Once upon a time, Spain was a cheap travel destination in Europe, where tourists would happily dine with fried seafood or potatoes and gulp down pitches of Sangria, but at some point, there was a sharp change. The country made a big breakthrough in the field of gastronomy and became one of the most important gastronomy destinations in the world. Talented and creative star chefs have a big share in this. But there is also research and science behind their success.

Last week, two big events on food were hand in hand in Barcelona, the first one “Science & Cooking World Congress,” and the second “Gastronomic Forum Barcelona,” which showed once again that science is an essential and crucial part of cooking, and by understanding the science behind what we do in the kitchen can lead to new creations and open new horizons in the field of gastronomy.

This is exactly what happened decades ago in the kitchens of the legendary El Bulli restaurant, which is undoubtedly one of the pioneers of Spain’s big move in gastronomy.

Behind the magical creations of Ferran and Albert Adrià brothers, the person who made their wildest imaginations come to life was a scientist, Pere Castells, who developed the formulas and techniques that make chefs’ designs possible. It is hard to imagine that a laboratory of the University of Barcelona and a kitchen miles away were interconnecting, but that was the case. Thanks to Castells and his team, olives flowing with olive oil, fruit droplets that look like caviar, and foams floating like clouds were created one after another; it was the mad scientist and the crazy chef combination that left the customers in amazement when experiencing the astonishing plates. Eventually, silicone molds were started to be used in a zillion different ways in the kitchen of Spanish chefs, they became as basic kitchen equipment as pots and pans. Products that usually belong to industrial food production lines such as cellulase, dextrose, pectinase, lecithin and inulin have become as normal as granulated sugar and flour on kitchen shelves. Many new utensils were introduced to kitchens, sous-vide cooking becoming a usual application, or a centrifuge apparatus becoming a piece of essential kitchen equipment. Even the usual microwave in our homes has witnessed unimaginable uses, just as the chefs of the restaurant Disfrutar in Barcelona demonstrated recently in one of their presentations. Behind all these novelties in the kitchen are university laboratories and scientists, who often don’t get the credit they deserve.

I am proud to say that there was a Turkish representation also at the two events. I attended the third year of the “Science & Cooking World Congress” for the second time as a delegate from Türkiye and participated in three different panels. Turkish chefs Fatih Tutak and Ebru Baybara Demir took part as presenters in the two events, Tutak at the science-centric congress and Baybara at the gastronomic forum. The first and only two Michelin-starred chef from Türkiye, Fatih Tutak, explained his own culinary voyage, starting from Türkiye, apprenticing in famed restaurants from Copenhagen to Tokyo, and across Asia, landing on his own kitchen in Bangkok, and eventually coming back to Türkiye to start his new take on Turkish cuisine using only local ingredients and products. In his speech, which he supported with striking videos, Fatih Tutak talked about the inspiration behind the signature plates he created and the techniques he applied in creating his dishes. He concluded his presentation with the Chicken Breast Pudding video that caused some controversy in Türkiye, the Picasso reference at the end was a cute touch.

The second event was the Gastronomic Forum Barcelona, the arena of producers and chefs. The forum, held in a large fairground, consists of a series of parallel events. Ebru Baybara Demir was the only Turkish chef who attended the auditorium where the chefs made presentations. Enriching her presentation with a fast-paced film, Baybara made a striking presentation with her work with migrant women and the power of women’s solidarity in improving agriculture. An extremely effective example from Türkiye of what dimensions can be achieved by chefs in terms of social responsibility has been exhibited.

At the other event, the Gastronomic Forum Barcelona, a big arena of producers and chefs, Ebru Baybara Demir was the only Turkish chef who participated in the auditorium. The forum, held in a large fairground, consists of a series of parallel events. Enriching her presentation with a fast-paced film, Baybara made a striking presentation on her work collaborating with migrant women demonstrating the power of women’s solidarity in improving agriculture. Her dedicated work is an extremely powerful example of how effective can be such projects led by chefs in terms of social responsibility, and how chefs can initiate change in agriculture, improving the soil, safeguarding heirloom seeds and grains, making sustainability possible, and also supporting refugee women collaborating with local women creating bonds between communities. As always, Ebru Baybara Demir is the pride of the Turkish women’s force, her dedication will hopefully be inspirational to other women across the globe.

Two events arm in arm

In all the food events I have attended in Spain, one thing keeps amazing me: The dedication to collaboration. At all events, chefs and researchers, journalists and opinion leaders, they all collaborate acknowledging each other with respect and giving credit to each other’s fields. The recent two Barcelona events proved to demonstrate the same. The two very different events held at different locations were combined at one point on the last day. As a group of congress participants, we also held a series of panels in the Gastronomic Forum area. The first panel I attended was on the revival of the ancient lost fish sauce Garum. In the panel we held with the famous scientist Harold McGee and two Michelin-starred Spanish chefs, Pere Planaguma and Ricard Camarena, we looked at this flavor from the perspective of science, its voyage from the past to the future, from the long-lost pages of history to the contemporary chefs’ table.

In another panel we held at the forum, the issue of diversity in food culture was discussed with panelists from Brazil to China, and from Cuba to Taiwan. In the delegates meeting that I attended on behalf of Türkiye, steps were taken to establish a communication network with countries that participated in the congress for the first time this year, such as China, Taiwan, Cuba, Mexico and Colombia, in addition to the countries that participated in the congress last year.

It is very important that a trade fair and a scientific congress that seem to be opposite to each other come together, showing how science and culinary issues are intertwined, and that two very different events can actually support each other. The fact that every cooking or food production process includes science and recognizing this fact has made a difference in the kitchens of chefs in Spain. This is how Spain made its revolution in gastronomy and made its transition from selling fried calamari and sangria to the world of star chefs decorated with Michelin stars. This phenomenon is truly inspirational for world chefs, and it is the intention of the World Congress to spread the idea and create a global network. The Spanish example was indeed inspirational for Ana Ros, the Sferic Award winner this year at the congress, an award given to chefs who brings science into their kitchens. It was no coincidence. Ana Ros, who single-handedly has put Slovenia on the world gastronomic map with Hisa Franko restaurant, admitted that her visit to El Bulli, and the magical experience she had there influenced her cuisine and completely changed her perspective on Hisa Franko. While Pere Castells closed the congress holding up the symbolic green pea, which represented the theme of ingredients this year, he also announced the next year’s theme: Production and Innovation. My presentation idea is already fixed, cannot wait to go back to Barcelona!