The Food Program: Ivy Knight & Jasmine Baker

1. What makes this year’s Terroir Symposium food program stand out from those of previous years?

This year we're excited to do a plant based menu and to include Amanda Cohen from Dirty Candy NYC in our chef lineup. There is so much more to fruit and vegetables than just a regular vegan/vegetarian diet and we’re excited to see what kind of innovation could come from our lineup of chefs.

2. What parts of this year’s food program are you most looking forward to?

While we can't wait to try what omnivore chefs do with a plant-based menu, we have to confess that having ramen for breakfast is our absolute ideal, so having Hans Vogel and the Momofuku team take that on is going to be great. Also, we’re hotly anticipating hot dogs by Chef MIchele Forgione from Chez Tousignant in Montreal at Snack Break.

3. What was the most exciting part of curating this year's food program?

Ivy: For me, it was actually getting Jasmine on board. Having worked with her in past years at Field Trip and seeing what she accomplished at last summer's Way Home festival, I knew that having someone of her calibre and drive would push this year's program over the top.

Jasmine: Getting to work with Ivy & Terroir! As a long time lover of Terroir, I had always admired what Ivy did with the food program and hoped to one day join the team. The collaborative spirit that roots and propels this symposium is also what makes it so great and I’m just thrilled to be a part of it this year.

3. How does the food program tie into this year’s event theme of Art, Culture & Technology?  

Food is food and people just want to eat. We think this lineup will make people happy and satisfied, helping them fully immerse themselves in the incredible lineup of speakers and workshops that Arlene and her team have brought together this year -- also, that hot dog from Chez Tousignant is, IMHO, a work of art.

Check out the full food program here!

Esben Holmboe Bang: The Dane That’s Redefining Norwegian Cuisine

Esben Holmboe Bang is the chef and co-owner of the ground-breaking three Michelin-starred restaurant, Maaemo, located in Oslo, Norway. He was born and raised in Copenhagen, Denmark but has lived in Norway with his family for the past eleven years.

How would you describe Norwegian cuisine?

This is tricky. I feel like Norwegian cuisine is something that’s changed a lot and hasn't really found its way, yet. What I can do is talk about my idea of Norwegian cuisine, and what it used to be. Norway used to be a very poor country; it was occupied by Denmark, then Sweden, and then Denmark and Sweden again. Obviously, since the Kings and Queens were situated in the capital cities, all of the money went there, so, the cooking that was done here was really spartan; it was about getting cheap produce to last longer. In addition to that, the harsh winters made it that much more difficult. I would say Norwegian cuisine reflects a harsh upbringing; it’s a lot of salting, drying and preserving of food - not very extravagant. In Denmark, during Christmas you eat whole roasted ducks, different kinds of potatoes and gravy; along with a wide variety of produce. In contrast, in Norway you eat salted side of sheep with boiled potatoes and the fat - that’s it. So, even though the countries are so close, there’s a massive difference.

Tell us about the Norwegian pantry; what are the major ingredients?

Due to the geography of the place and the vast coastline, there’s an abundance of fish.

A large quantity is salted and then put into barrels, so that the natural juices of the fish will preserve it. It’s quite smelly and pungent, but it’s very good. Another method is salting it by the shore; they’ll take the fish and hang it, so that the salt of the coast will preserve it. It becomes bone dry, so you have to put it in water before you can use it. Then you have the bounty of the land; berries, mushrooms and a wide variety of magnificent herbs. All of these things can be preserved.

What’s the concept around your restaurant, Maaemo?

My idea of Maaemo is to create a cuisine that reflects the tradition of Norway. It’s a rich style of cooking, with a clear reference to the history of poverty in Norway, using the ingredients from those times. It’s important that the culture is not forgotten.

So, it’s not simply the past, but instead, a vision to the future?

In order to move forward, you must have a connection to the past. It sounds cliche, but if we just focus on creating some kind of hyper-modern cuisine, there is no soul, no substance. To be a successful restaurant, today, you have to communicate something; you have to have a voice and you have to connect to those stories of the past.

You mentioned Norway’s history as a poor country, but of course, we’re all aware that since the 70’s and the discovery of Norway’s oil resources, that situation has changed entirely. At Maaemo, you are, without doubt, in the most modern part of Oslo and probably, of Norway. How has this huge cultural shift changed the way that people of Norway perceive their own cuisine, today?

After Norway struck oil, the economy boomed; unfortunately, many of the old traditions were quickly forgotten. However, I think there’s a push from the people to return to the old ways. I think that the “newly-rich” wave has washed over the Norwegian people and, now, we’re seeing a shift back towards these traditions. So, even though Norway is now a very rich country, they’re still serving the same salted lamb at Christmas.

You pointed out to me this fascinating idea of the juxtaposition between the very modern design of your restaurant and the nature that surrounds it. How and why did you choose this particular location for Maaemo?

The restaurant is located in the most modern part of Oslo and there are multiple reasons for opening here. The initial reason, was that I wanted the restaurant to be in a new part of Oslo. I didn’t want to be in an area where there was already a tradition of a certain type of restaurant; I wanted to be on new ground. Secondly, is the proximity to the docks, where our fish come in, and to the forests, where we forage for herbs and berries. The accessibility to all this produce makes it a perfect location. I also admire the juxtaposition of having ‘old Norway’ on the plate, whilst being surrounded by this new, modern environment.

You mentioned previously that, in the warmer seasons, your staff go and forage in the nearby fjord ge. What’s the inspiration behind this process?

As a restaurant that desires to have nature shine through on the plate, you have to look to nature for your produce. In the spring and summertime, we have two people completely committed to foraging. They go into the forest and pick herbs, berries and mushrooms - whatever is in season - they go out into the fjords, the extensive archipelagos, which each have these unique microclimates, where you find all kinds of ingredients that you can’t find anywhere else in the world.

How did you, personally, end up here, in Norway?

After becoming a chef in Denmark and working my way around, I met a woman and we fell in love. She brought me to Oslo and now we’re married with kids and I have my restaurant here. I quickly fell in love with the place; it was, for me, the dramatic nature of the country. Where Denmark can be quite flat, Norway has some of the most stunning scenery that I’ve ever seen and the produce here is amazing.

More amazing than Denmark’s?

It’s different - of course, a lot of things are amazing in Denmark but the fish and shellfish here, in particular, are incredible.

What would you say are Norway’s greatest culinary assets?

The greatest culinary assets here are the traditions of fermentation and food preservation. The coastline is key; the scallops, the langoustines, the cod --  it’s amazing.

Who cooks at home; you, or your wife?

We both do. She’s a cook by education and owns a small shop that sells organic vegetables, coffee and such, but we both cook at home.

What’s a typical family meal for you?

It can be whatever, but we always eat with the seasons. We try to eat a lot of vegetables, fish, and not so much meat. We focus on eating clean and organic -- that’s all.

As Norwegians, what do you hope for the future of your children here, in Norway?

That’s a very emotional question. Like any parent, I hope that they grow up to be whatever they want to be and have everything they want in life, in Norway, or anywhere else.

What are your hopes for the future; how do you want to be seen and recognized?

I don’t know how I want to be recognized, but I have a very clear plan of what I want to do. I want to make a difference in the culinary landscape; I want to continue down this path that we’re on, until I feel that Maaemo has nothing left to give, or that I have nothing left to give to Maaemo. I want to do what I do here, but take it more into the wild; maybe, get out of the city and do something in a cabin somewhere -- but, let’s see. Right now, I’m very focused on what we’re doing here.

And no plans to open up a burger joint anytime soon for fast cash?

No, the restaurant takes up more time than I have, already, so I couldn't see myself being able to give anything to another place. I give everything that I have here and I don’t want to be spread too thin.

Any other thoughts that you’d like to share?

It’s good to be alive!

Jackie Kai Ellis, Baker, Author, Creative Designer

Jackie Kai Ellis comes from a extensive and successful background as a designer, specializing in branding, at her own design firm. After devoting ten years to this field, she uprooted her life, entirely, on a mission to experience as many of her life goals as possible, and even accomplishing her dream of studying pastry in the heart of France. Returning from her adventures abroad, Ellis opened her own bakery, Beaucoup Bakery, in Vancouver, where she was able to continue her passion of baking and bringing a little piece of Paris back home. This career chameleon is just getting started, however she eagerly anticipates her next transformation.

What is your upcoming book about?

It’s basically a food memoir, a collection of short stories, inspired by MFK Fisher. They’re autobiographical stories, all woven together, with food. They’re mostly about what makes food so important to me, childhood things, as well as, my experiences going from design to travelling to Paris and studying pastry and then coming back and opening Beaucoup. It’ll be pretty intimate.

What else are you working on right now?

One of my other projects is a tour company that I’ve started called, The Paris Tours (www.theparistours.com). I get to inspire people to live their fullest and to take a moment out of their lives to just enjoy pastry. I’ve started travelling quite a bit and doing more travel writing, as well. In the beginning, people were asking me to write about myself and my story and then, eventually, editors would read that and realize that I really had something. That really snow-balled and now I write for a bunch of different publications, across Canada and a little bit in the States as well, mostly, about food, travel and a bit of lifestyle in general, such as fashion and adventure.

Throughout your work, you’ve gained much of your success from your overall mastery of multimedia resources. What importance does having a versatile understanding and ability to use media have, in our current industry?

It’s funny, because I never set out to make it a goal to be a “multimedia” personality, brand, or anything, but I think it’s just very intrinsic to who I am. I’ve been a brand person since the day I was born, but I’m also a very naturally creative and curious person and I never like doing the same thing twice. When someone asks me what I want to do next, I’m just going to try something else, whatever fancies me; I just think to myself, I might as well try. I think that’s how I ended up pursuing all of these different things that I’m very passionate about. What’s interesting is, what creates the thread that binds them all together. That’s where the brand comes in and, for me, it’s really just me, who I am, and what I love. There isn't a disconnect or any in-congruency between all of these things, because it’s all stuff that I’m truly passionate about. I think this approach can help members of the food industry because it’s what helps us to connect. If we look at our industry, internally, between chefs, as well as how we connect with consumers, the connection comes from people being able to see someone like me, who used to be a consumer, become apart of that interior of the food industry. I can create this bridge between the two spectrums, which helps the industry become more relatable and of interest to consumers. People become more motivated to involve themselves, and I think it’s been sort of a nice way to open up the industry, so that people don’t feel like there are so many barriers.

It’s quite remarkable how willing you are to dive head-first into practically anything, across such a wide spectrum of fields. This versatility is certainly no easy skill, and is not one that goes unrecognized in your work.

You were recently named, Emerging Culinary Artist of the Year, how does receiving a title like this feel?

I was so honoured to be given that nomination and to know that the culinary artist of the year, Eric Patmen, (owner of Edible Canada in Vancouver), who made the nomination, would even think of me that way. I’ve been cooking a lot for the past decade, but it’s still really new to me, so to be identified as a culinary artist is still so strange to me. In the beginning, I’d always tell my staff to not call me chef, because I’m not a chef and I know what it takes to become a chef.  In France, for example -- I would be considered an apprentice. Now, I’ve just come to accept whatever titles people give me because, otherwise, it gets super complicated and confusing for people and for myself, as well. I guess, I get a bit embarrassed or even shy about it.

What do you see yourself doing next?

I think I see another turn in my career. This book is going to be such a baring of my story that in becoming so vulnerable to the world, it’s going to be really difficult, but will also bring things to a point where it actually makes more sense for me to give other people the inspiration to do the same. I want to inspire people to honour the state that they’re in and to be less judgemental of themselves, and of others. My dream is to have this book really affect people and I communicate all of these ideas through food, because it’s the universal language.  

Even in your own career, food has been, in some ways, the common thread throughout it all.

Food is really the one thing that is a common experience with everyone -- we all have to eat. Everyone celebrates with food, mourns with food, has some issues with food; we all deal with it and it brings out a lot of different stories in life. Hopefully, I’ll be able to do a lot more speaking in the future about things like this, but what I’m really hoping for is to take it to the next level in trying to connect people with their own stories. 

Jane Rabinowicz, Program Director, Bauta Family Initiative on Canadian Seed Security

Growing up in Toronto, Canada, Jane Rabinowicz began her involvement in food security at an early age, working in community gardens and soup kitchens in her local community. For the past 20 years, she’s pursued her passion for food justice on a local and international scale. Now, living in Montreal, she works with the Bauta Initiative and USC Canada, both nationally and internationally, as the Program Director.

How did you begin your professional career?

When I moved to Montreal and went to McGill, I started volunteering with Santropol Roulant, as a way to get to know the city. They deliver meals by bike, all across the city; you see neighbourhoods that you never would’ve otherwise seen, going down hallways and you never know who’s going to open the door. For a lot of people, you may be the only person that they’re going to see in that day, so that interaction is really important. After I graduated from University, I decided that I wanted to work with this organization, Santropol Roulant. I went from being a volunteer, to an intern, to volunteer co-ordinator and then became an executive director, for the last five years that I was there. I feel like that was really my first love; it’s where I grew up, professionally.

As the Program Director, can you tell us a bit about the Bauta Family Initiative on Canadian Seed Security at USC Canada and it’s significance in the food world?

USC Canada is an international cooperation organization, based in Canada, with fundraising, communications and administration that work with partners in eleven countries around the world on biodiversity, conservation, agro-ecology, and farmers rights. I was hired by USC Canada, four years-ago, to develop a program to do all of this work with Canadian farmers.  I have developed the program, the Bauta Initiative, and secured funding from the W.Garfield Weston Foundation to launch the seed security initiative three years-ago. A lot of people don’t think about seeds, or the only thing they think about seed is Monsanto and GMO’s. The fact is that, nine out of ten bites of food that we take per-day start with seed -- it’s the foundation of our food system. The vast majority of vegetables grown here in Canada, are grown from imported seed; there’s basically no vegetable seed that’s produced in Canada. The grains that we grow are bred for conventional farming with synthetic influence; they’re not biodiverse and they’re not bred for ecological agriculture. We’re in a context of narrowing biodiversity and we don’t believe that the current seed system is supportive of the type of food system, a resilient one, that we want to be a part of. The goal of the Bauta Initiative is to help build a better food system for Canada.

What is seed security?

Seed security is a resilient seed system. It has biodiversity; varieties of crops that are adapted to the local environment; varieties that are bred by farmers; farmers that have the right to grow, save, exchange and sell their varieties; and it’s ever evolving. You’ve got the production system, the environment, and the seed, all evolving at the same time in a continuous process and you’ve got varieties that are productive in organic farming system. Fundamentally, seed security is having enough seeds, of enough varieties, to know that we have the genetic materials that we need to draw on, as conditions of change in the field over time. This is especially important when we think about climate change. We think of biodiversity as a climate adaptation strategy.

Is this adaptation of plant species happening in ways that may be perceived as unnatural -- for example, what people might imagine when they think about “GMO’s”?

The idea of adapting seeds to changing climates is happening both naturally and unnaturally. I think that what reaches the public is this kind of romantic vision of heritage varieties and heirloom vegetables, but we’re also excited about developing new diversity. We work in partnerships with researchers and farmers to make crosses, using traditional breeding techniques, not genetic modification, to take, for example, great attributes from an old variety and the characteristics of a new variety, cross them, grow them in the farmers fields, and then the farmers select the traits that they like the most. One of our goals is to bridge the scientific expertise of researchers with the knowledge and reality of a farmer's system, to bring new diversity into the food system,  and to adapt to climate change. One of the reasons that people always talk about organic farms being not as productive as conventional farms -- which, by the way, isn't true -- is that organic farmers, for the most part, are planting seeds that are breed in conjunction with chemical inputs, so they’re not necessarily starting out with the materials that are most appropriate to their system. We’re breeding for organics, diversity, performance, flavour, nutrition -- all of these things.

What are the fundamental differences between organic plant breeding and GMO?

There are so many different types of plant breeding. There’s always that one extreme, where you’re in a lab and you’re distributing the seeds to farmers, as part of a package which also includes all of these chemicals. We have a participatory plant breeding program, in partnership with the University of Manitoba, Agriculture Canada, and ninety farmers across the country. The idea is to breed under the conditions that the crop will eventually be grown in, so we’re making the crosses, and they’re grown on organic farms where they’ll be selected for performance on organic farms. So, from the get go, there’s this idea of selecting in the environment in which the crop will eventually be grown.

And this whole process sort of demands the existence of regionally-based breeding.

Exactly, the whole notion of local adaptation is extremely important, especially, when we consider marginal growing environments such as, Cape Breton or Northern Manitoba, for example. Most farmers and producers want to eat the best, but if you’re a seed grower, you know to save the best and eat the rest. For years and years, if you keep selecting in your field the produce that ripens the latest, for example, over time, you’re going to change the genetics of those seeds as they co-evolve with that place and you will eventually end up with a whole field of produce that will ripen later because of the selection. We have partners in Honduras who have been doing this with beans. They had periods of the year where the food supply, in storage, would run out a few weeks before the new harvest was ready -- they called these the hunger periods -- but, through selection, they’ve shortened the hunger period by about three weeks, now.  Local adaptation is extremely powerful and important to maintaining food security.

In which ways can and should people show their support for seed security?

Starting with the awareness that most of the food we eat starts with a seed -- just making that connection is important. In order to save diversity, we have to eat diversity. The more that people are aware of the importance of seed, take an interest, and talk about it, the more awareness can build and support can grow for those of us who are really engaged in this work all-day, everyday. Eventually, we need to start supporting efforts to shift policy in a direction of being more supportive of biodiversity conservation, farmers’ rights and ecological agriculture, and I think that we may start to see more campaigns along those lines. Making a donation to organizations, such as USC Canada or others who are involved in supporting seed security, also makes a big difference.

Since starting your work in seed security, you’ve managed to remain heavily involved in your community-based work, in Montreal. For what reasons have you retained your commitment to your local work and what role does it play in your life?

I think you do what you’re passionate about, and all of the things that I do are based on relationships. For example, the Silver Dollar Foundation was something that I co-founded with a friend who I met while I was running Santropol Roulant. We launched this foundation to support organizations in investing in their space, as a means to further their mission and their work with their members. It’s like my baby; I love it and it’s all just emerged out of personal relationships. I guess I’m also just not good at giving stuff up, though! You can’t just keep on accumulating, of course, because then you’ll drive yourself crazy, but I do think you need to be anchored.

And, at the end of the day, do you feel like there’s a common thread between your work in both social and food justice?

Yeah, like I was saying earlier, what I do is a vocation, but at the same time, it’s so random that I choose to work in food, it could've been anything, really. I’ve worked on women’s rights, and Centraide is not focused on food either; that’s why I don’t think I’d describe myself as a food activist or something. It’s just that, part of life is the choices that you make proactively and part of it is what happens to you. I look at other organizations doing incredible things and I think that when you reduce any of this work down to it’s essence, it’s about love. You can relate this to anything.

What are you looking forward to sharing at this year’s Terroir Symposium?

I want to get people thinking about seed in a different way. I don’t think that people have had much exposure to these kinds of ideas, but I think that it makes sense to bring them now, because there is already such a growing amount of support for local food and for ecological agriculture. There’s a certain readiness and it’s time for seed. We can work with the breeders and the producers, but it won’t go anywhere if no-one eats what being bred, what’s being grown. That’s why we need to be opening the dialogue with chefs and consumers. We’re breeding oats, potatoes, maize and wheat and, because it can take between 7-10 years to develop a new variety, we’re only going to have enough material out of our breeding program to do our first real taste tests, this year. You can talk about this stuff but, ultimately, we need to taste it to develop a connection. It’s only now that we’re ready to share these new varieties, and I’m excited to start these conversations. 

Anissa Helou, Chef, Food Writer, Journalist, Broadcaster & Consultant

Anissa focuses on the cuisines and culinary heritage of the Middle East, Mediterranean and North Africa. Born and raised between Beirut, Lebanon, and Mashta el-Helou, Syria, she knows the Mediterranean as only a well-traveled native can.

How did you get started on this career path?

It was kind of a coincidence. I used to be in the art world and wanted to write a book about collecting, as I had accumulated a huge collection with relatively little money. I was concentrating in fields that were considered unfashionable and I wanted to write about other collectors that were doing, or that had done, something similar. My newly acquired agent invited me to meet a friend of hers, who was Lebanese, and they started talking about cookbooks. As I listened, I realized there wasn't a Lebanese cookbook that was user-friendly for a Western audience or for people who don’t know anything about Lebanese food. It was the Civil War and I was thinking about all the young people who didn't have the opportunities that I had, to see what was going on in other countries. For those people, a cookbook that represented a foreign culture would be very useful. So, in spite of not knowing anything about cookbooks, I threw the idea out there and my agent mentioned she had a publisher who was looking for somebody to write a Lebanese cookbook. I told her immediately that she had found her person.

It was a kind of rash decision, but she knew everybody in the food world and quickly introduced me. Along with a few mentors I had a boyfriend who was absolutely obsessed with cooking and cookbooks, he had a huge collection, which was very helpful. I originally predicted that it would take me three months to write, but I got seriously into it and it ended up taking about three years.

What is the value in sharing Lebanese food culture with a Western audience?

It’s always interesting to introduce an audience to a culinary tradition that it’s unfamiliar with. It’s rewarding because then, if they love it, you’re sharing a love for the same food. It’s also rewarding to see how proud Lebanese people are to have their cuisine better and more widely-known by the rest of the world. These recipes will become adapted over time, and that’s how new food develops.

Have the flavours and dishes of Lebanese cuisine been well-received by audiences?

It certainly took time. When I first released my Lebanese cookbook, just over twenty years-ago, we tried to convince a very elegant food store to stock Freekeh* and they were completely uninterested. Now it’s the latest “in” ingredient. Basically, what happens with cookbooks is that they expose readers to a cuisine, then it’s up to a chef to adopt the ingredients and adapt the recipes to make them trendy. Everybody then latches on and wants to use these new ingredients and cook the same recipes, although they’re quite different.

*Freekeh is a cereal grain that’s been, for centuries, a staple of Middle Eastern diets.

Have you found that your background in art and design has served as an advantage to what you do now?

I’m always very conscious of the aesthetic of the food, whether it’s in the preparation, the presentation or the cooking. There’s a certain aesthetic to eating, like art; everything is beautiful and everything is sophisticated. My approach to food is more elegant than that of a typical Lebanese grandmother; although, I have to say that both my mother and grandmother are very sophisticated in the kitchen as well! Lebanese cuisine is not quite as aesthetically pleasing as Japanese cuisine, it lacks that emphasis on appearance, but it still holds value to presentation.

Throughout your career you’ve received many accolades and awards for your work in a variety of fields, one of the most impressive of these being your distinction, in 2013, as being one of the 100 most powerful Arab women in the world - what does this title mean to you?

It was flattering, but at the end of the day, it doesn't really mean much. One day you’re on a list like that and the next you’re not. I’m happy to be recognized for my work, it speaks for what I’m doing much better. The meaningful part of what I do is my research and recording of food traditions and cultural practices that are, in some cases, at risk of disappearing. Many of them need to be recorded for the next generation who may otherwise not have the opportunity to get to know them as I have. When I started writing about food, there was little about food history, it wasn't considered a serious field of research. Today, this has changed, which is great because food is such a major part of culture.

Why has food history gained such an increased amount of interest today?

People realized how important it is. It’s such an important part of all of our lives, as a part of social-exchange and our general history. Everybody eats, and the exchange of food between people is so much more than just that. It represents tradition, hospitality, culture, how we relate to one another and how we receive each other. It’s crucial to understand the culture of a certain people. It’s also a wonderful way to become introduced to a culture.

While I was working in art and travelling, it was a glamourous world but I didn't get to know people as well, and certainly not so easily as I get to know them now. When I used to go to Syria, I could stop any lady in the street and talk to her about certain dishes and she would be totally happy to talk to me. That experience is almost across the board in all countries around the world. You start talking about food and everybody wants to join in.

What projects are you currently working on?  

I’m working on a new book that should be finished by the end of the year. I’m also building my house in Sicily, where I’m hoping to have my teaching kitchen.  I want people to come here to learn my cuisine; from the Middle East and North Africa, as well as Sicilian with Arab influences.

What are you looking forward to sharing at this year’s Terroir 10?

I’d like to share my research in food history, talking about the Middle East in terms of what was - as in cases such as Syria - and what still is, and how culinary traditions in this region have and continue to develop. I want to inspire people to learn more about my part of the world. 

Francois Chartier, Flavour Match Maker

I’ve been a sommelier for 30 years, I’ve always tried to understand cooking and cuisine because you cannot be a sommelier if you don’t know how to cook. When I took my sommelier course in 1999, we didn't learn about cooking or cuisine, it was just about matching wine and food. I then travelled the world to discover food - from street food to high-end - to meet and work with chefs, to learn cuisine and to improve my work as a sommelier. Near the end of the 90’s, I discovered that the aromatic compounds of food and wine were more important than the acidity, bitterness, sweetness and taste - everything that the world of gastronomy had been founded upon and communicated through, between chefs, winemakers and sommeliers. I started turning to science to try to understand, for example, why black olive went so well with Syrah wine; mint with Sauvignon Blanc; and ginger with Gewurztraminer. When you put certain ingredients together, that share the same aromatic components, you create an aromatic synergia and like harmonies in music, the sounds are amplified. Since then I published Taste Buds and Molecules in 2009 and I’ve continued to work with scientists in Montreal, Barcelona and Bordeaux.

So, who am I? I’m a sommelier, a cook, a writer, a researcher and a scientist but most of all I am a Creator d’Harmonie - I’m a matchmaker.

What is aromatic science and what purpose can it serve to members of the culinary community?

Aroma is everything. When you have a cold in the morning, you wake up and can’t taste anything. Without smell, we can’t appreciate food and we can’t determine the quality because it’s missing its most important component: the aroma.

When I worked with Ferran Adria, creating over 60 dishes together, we never once spoke about matching wine and food. After explaining my theory, he understood that I could help him discover a new feel for creativity. I don’t combine flavours because I want to be creative, but because they belong together. We are able to magnify foods that share the same aromatic compounds, through combination. I work on the scientific side of food and wine, asking the question - what are the dominant molecules in ingredients? The research I do, trying to discover the dominant aromatic molecules in every ingredient, is very complicated, but the results of this research show that it’s actually very easy for everyone to apply.

I just finished my 26th book L’Essentiel de Chartier; essentially volume two of Taste Buds and Molecules. There’ve been five books in between but they were all inspired by Taste Bubs and Molecules. This one is the real masterpiece; it’s my combined research of the last six years with each page dedicated to one ingredient, listing other ingredients that share the same aromatic compounds as well as ideas for recipes showing how these ingredients can be paired together. I always have millions of ideas for potential recipes in my head.

L’Essentiel de Chartier was just recently awarded in the category of “Best Cookbook in the World - Innovation Category” for Canada at this year’s Gourmand World Cookbook Awards in Paris. How do you feel about your new work being presented with such a recognition of excellence?

I was both happy and surprised because on receiving the award I realized they understood that, beyond sommellerie and my personal professional experience, how fabulous this theory is for creating excellent food. Sometimes, I feel I have the title ‘sommelier’ written across my forehead when I think I’m more than that - not better, just much more. My work is so diverse, and I’m somewhere else now than where I once was.

What in particular do you think is so innovating about this book?

Innovating is a big word. In my case, innovating is to take advantage of science, and to understand my own work. At the end of the 90’s I felt very stuck, which led me to take a break in the early 2000’s, to take a step back and put myself in a danger zone, to be more free and to have time to do some reflection on where I had come from and who I was. I was very challenged by molecular gastronomy - and when I say this I’m not talking about restaurants but instead about the scientists who went into food to understand and discover the answers to why certain cooking practices exist. For example, why do we wait five minutes after taking a roast out of the oven before cutting into it? The answer seems so simple to us, but there’s always a scientific reason. Chefs then take advantage of those discoveries of science and utilize them to develop new ways of cooking and serving food. As a sommelier this was challenging, the changing techniques of preparing the same ingredients was actually altering and expanding their flavour and aroma characteristics. I had to learn to completely change my way of thinking around matching wine and food. This was the beginning, my goal at that time was a bit heavy - to redefine the matching of wine and food for the 21st century. That was the original long title of my work, but I realized who I was and what was most important to me: aromatic components. I needed to understand them, that was innovation in my work and my way of thinking. I’ve been innovative because I need it, not because I’m better than anyone else; I’m just a curious man.

You’re very clear in your distinguishment between molecular harmony and sommellerie, and that of molecular gastronomy. What are their fundamental differences, and why are they important for us to understand?

Molecular gastronomy doesn't exist and at the same time, it’s existed since the cavemen decided to cook red meat in the fire. That was molecular gastronomy because through fire, man changed the molecular compounds and state of the meat. Today’s molecular gastronomy is more about the techniques of cooking. It’s new techniques, adapted from the old to create new food out of the same ingredients. It’s not the show, however. There’s been great confusion recently about the “show” of food - with nitrogen and bubbles it resembles a performance on your plate - but it has to be much more than that too. If there’s nothing behind the show, it will be no good. It’s easier to make a show, to distract from the food, but if you taste, you see through it.

What I call molecular harmony and sommellerie - the word molecular is revering specifically to aromatic compounds. They are linked, but the difference between the two terms is that one is addressing a technique, and the other the molecular compounds of ingredients. If I think of someone like Albert Adria, chefs have changed my brain totally. Since reading the books, I have completely changed the way I approach my work. They have influenced me along with molecular gastronomy, so I owe them a lot. It’s very important and I continue to be inspired but I am also doing something that is really my own.

Based on your theory, that each ingredient belongs together with a finite number of others, it’s really up to chefs and the manipulation of technical approaches through molecular gastronomy to create new and infinite possibilities for creating combinations of these ingredients.

Creativity and inspiration is everywhere. When I bring my information and research to a chef, they use their creativity to constantly develop new ideas. For example, working with Ferran Adria on the matching combination of parmesan cheese and coffee, we looked at what had been done before and what we could then do differently. We played with the state of the ingredients; freezing, defrosting, frying, everything. Once we know that two ingredients share the same aromatic components, that they create synergy, we use this sensibility like a musician to create.

To sit and be in the kitchen, working with the chefs, is the best time of my life. That’s where my science takes form. That’s what I’d really like to communicate at Terroir.