2014 Press Releases
Top chefs and food scientists to speak at UCC
UCC will host a one-day workshop on the intersecting worlds of the food scientist and the chef tomorrow (June 18).
The worlds of the food scientist and the chef, once very separate, are today becoming increasingly close, and it is clear that very exciting future opportunities in innovation and product development in food, whether in the kitchen or the factory, are likely to arise from this very vibrant interface.
Just as chefs are increasingly using scientific equipment, techniques and ingredients in their work, food companies are hiring chefs to work alongside scientists in research and product development, while artisanal food producers must often draw on both sets of knowledge and expertise.
This changing landscape presents novel challenges for those institutions that train and educate chefs and food scientists, and it is increasingly common internationally to develop new programmes that bridge these divides, accompanied by research programmes reflecting these new disciplines, such as molecular gastronomy and culinology.
To foster discussions in this regard, University College Cork will hold a one-day workshop on 18 June 2014. Speakers include:
- Darina Allan Ballymaloe Cookery School, Ross Lewis, Chapter One Restaurant and Martin Shanahan, Fishy Fishy Restaurant
- Jeff Cousminer, Stonewall Kitchen, USA
- Dr Michael Cheng, Southwest Minnesota State University, USA
- Dr Elke Scholten, Wageningen University, The Netherlands
- Colin Greensmith, Pallas Foods
- Fingal Ferguson, Gubbeen Smokehouse
The workshop will focus on:
- Bridging the industry-academia divide: a US perspective
- The development of culinology in US universities
- European programmes in molecular gastronomy
- The chef in the Irish food industry
- The artisan producers’ perspective
The workshop will be of interest to anyone in industry or other areas of the food sector in Ireland or beyond, as well as those involved in food and culinary education and research.
The organisers wish to gratefully acknowledge the support of Enterprise Ireland and Rural Food Skillnet for this workshop.
For further information about the workshop contact Mary McCarthy-Buckley, Food Industry Training Unit, College of Science, Engineering and Food Science, UCC tel 021-4903363 or email m.mccarthybuckley@ucc.ie