In the Alchemist's Kitchen - Vol 2: The Origin Story

Stories should start at the beginning, and this blog is no exception.  The idea of The Alchemist's Kitchen began a decade ago with a conversation with two first year students, Xiao Xialo and Vivian Mac.  As Dean of First Years Students and a Professor of Chemistry at Amherst College, I had made a promise to ALL of the 500 first year residents to host a liquid nitrogen ice cream party in each of their seven residence halls. Vivian and Xiao were at one of these events - full of questions and commentary about the science behind the liquid nitrogen cryogen and the process of making ice cream.

A few days later, the two self proclaimed foodies, approached me to ask if I might sponsor a special topics with them in the spring semester to study Molecular Gastronomy.  "Not to worry" they reassured me, "it will be no work on your part except to meet with us once a week and let us tell you what we are learning."  The group grew to a half dozen students, and true to their word, by the end of that first semester, I had a pretty fully developed syllabus.  We located kitchens throughout campus, and the group of us tested up a variety of recipes and cooking techniques on a shoe string budget.

 Fast forward a decade: Xiao has gone on to a career in Geriatric Medicine whilst Vivian is a spiritual herbalist with her own business, Willow's Touch.  

Meanwhile, the special topics course they began in 2013 has morphed into a regular course offering at Amherst College, Molecular Gastronomy: From Test Tubes to Taste Buds with more than a hundred students competing for the precious 32 slots (OK, I squeezed in the 40 seniors and a few undergrads whose life would come to an end if they didn't get in this class.) This lab based science course for non-majors incorporates 3 weekly lectures and a three hour lab, visits by local chefs and food entrepreneurs, and an end of the semester Food Festival to which the campus is invited and at which students prepare food samples for the attendees and judges for the community award prizes for the best sweet and savory samples.

Beyond the course, I have been busy writing up and distributing a lab manual that I've shared with colleagues in at least a dozen different colleges and universities.