12 th  International Workshop   on Molecular and Physical Gastronomy  (IWMPG 12)

AgroParisTech, 22 place de l’agronomie, 91120 Palaiseau (France)
email:  icmg@agroparistech.fr 

11-12 May 2023

Organized by:
AgroParisTech-INRAE International Centre for Molecular Gastronomy
Under the patronage of  the Académie d’agriculture de France

 Flavours through cooking: the chemical and physical transformations
Organization Committee:  Pr Róisín Burke (Technological University Dublin, Ireland), Pr Alan Kelly (University College Cork, Ireland), Christophe Lavelle (CNRS/MNHN, France), Pr Hervé This vo Kientza (AgroParisTech-INRAE, France), Pr Dan Vodnar (UAVSM of Cluj-Napoca, Romania)
Director:  Hervé This  vo Kientza

What you will find in these pages:

1. A report

2.  The presentations

Purpose of the Workshop

« La  gastronomie est la connaissance raisonnée de tout ce qui se rapporte à l'homme en tant qu'il se nourrit» (Gastronomy is the reasoned knowledge about man's nourishment)
Jean Anthelme Brillat Savarin (1755-1826)
Writing about the application of the chemistry to the art of cookery:
« In what art or science could improvements be made that could more powerfully contribute to increase the comforts and enjoyments of mankind »
Sir Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford, (1753-1814)
“Molecular gastronomy is the scientific activity consisting in exploring the mechanisms of phenomena occurring during dishes preparation and consumption.”
Hervé This and Nicholas Kurti, (1988)

The above quotations from the writings of two founders of Molecular and Physical Gastronomy express in a nutshell the spirit and the objectives of the Workshop: the emphasis will be on gastronomy rather than nutrition, on domestic and restaurant cooking rather than industry.
The object of this workshop will be to bring together a group of scientists to discuss collectively the science behind the practices carried out in the kitchen.

 What is a workshop?

The Oxford English Dictionary defines a workshop as “a meeting at which a group of people engage in intensive discussion and activity on a particular subject or project”.
Workshops, similar to seminars, are usually much smaller than conferences – a workshop can be an element of the conference structure.
Workshops typically tend to be:
Interactive
Educational
Conversational
May we also point out that, as the name IWMPG « N. Kurti » indicates, this is a workshop and that participants are encouraged to show experiments.
Talks should never been more than 30 min, so that discussion is promoted (of course, one can have more slides in order to be ready for the discussion).
The primary goal is not to make speeches, but to give the information that can make a basis for active discussion in all scientific directions: materials and methods, results, interpretations, consequences, scientific strategy.
Also, as workshops are more informal than conferences, we could keep the  visio links open during the break and lunches, so that discussions can go on, and one could discuss other questions than suspensions during such times. 

Mind that the texts from some talks can be submitted as manuscripts for the International Journal of Molecular and Physical Gastronomy.

Schedule

Thursday May 11: 

Opening session :
Hervé This: Introduction (MPG, the IWMPG, active workshops)
Roisin Burke:. A brief overview of the presentation topics.
Dan Vodnar: Organization of the workshop
Alan Kelly: Discussing the Handbook of Molecular Gastronomy
Christophe Lavelle

Session 1: Flavour created by chemical processes (glycation, hydrolysis, oxidation, etc.)
Chairperson: Hervé This

Session 2: Flavour created by physical processes (the release of compounds by grinding, heating (no chemistry, but phase transition, i.e. flavour release) or chewing
Chairperson: Jose Miguel Aguilera

Session 3: Flavours of drinks  (infusions, macerations, decoctions, fermentations...)
Chairperson: Christophe Lavelle

Friday May 12: 

Session 4: Flavour created by biological processes: fermentation, enzymes
Chairperson: Alan Kelly

Session 5: Flavour and sensory analysis
Chairperson: Roisin Burke

Session 6: Flavour and cooking: the educational issue
Chairperson: Roisin Burke

Session 7: About the International Contest on Note by Note Cooking: food waste and losses; what about flavour?
Chairperson: To be defined

Session 8: General discussion about:
- next workshops,
- International Journal of Molecular and Physical Gastronomy, with members of the Editorial Board
Chairpersons: Hervé This vo Kientza, Dan Vodnar, Roisin Burke, Alan Kelly, Christophe Lavelle