MC Wins Top Award for Print Quality

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The Benny AwardWe are proud to announce that Modernist Cuisine has won another best-in-the-world award, this time a coveted Benny (as in Ben Franklin), which is the top honor given in the prestigious Premier Print Award competition. The annual competition, run by the Printing Industry of America trade society, recognizes the highest-quality printed pieces in various categories from around the world. Modernist Cuisine took the highest prize in the cookbook category. Our printer, Artron Enterprise Group, also won Bennys for its work in art books, stochastic printing, and three other award categories.

The award will be formally presented in September at a gala in Chicago.

Drew Carey Is Winning Bidder for the Modernist Cuisine “Experience”

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Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo

Modernist Cuisine author Nathan Myhrvold and his wife, longtime benefactors of the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, donated a copy of the book, signed by all three of its authors, for the zoo’s annual fund-raising auction. To sweeten the deal, they also threw in a private guided tour of the culinary research laboratory in which the book was developed. The winner may bring up to five guests on the tour.

After active bidding, Drew Carey, the renowned actor, comedian, and host of “The Price Is Right,” won the prize with a bid of $7,000, all of which goes to support the zoo and its programs. The whole team at The Cooking Lab is looking forward to Mr. Carey’s visit.

Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo
Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo

Which Printing Do You Have?

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Now that copies of the second printing of Modernist Cuisine are shipping to customers, readers have been writing in to ask how they can determine whether their copy came from the first printing or the second. (Note that Modernist Cuisine is still in its first edition, so the differences are minor; see the Corrections and Clarifications page for details.)

The answer is simple: check the colophon, which appears near the back of volume 5 on page LIV. In the first printing, the colophon begins, “This first edition of Modernist Cuisine…”

In the second printing, the colophon starts, “This first edition, second printing of Modernist Cuisine…”

When we move on to a third printing, this will be reflected in an updated colophon as well.

Second Printing Has Begun to Arrive

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Last week, several readers who had back-ordered Modernist Cuisine sent us word that they had finally received their copies from the second printing. Most of these readers placed their orders with Amazon back in March.

So, where is your copy, you ask? Depending on when you ordered, it is probably on a truck or boat headed your way, and if not, it will be among the 1,000+ copies sailing weekly from our printer in China. We expect that everyone who has ordered to date will receive their copies by mid-August. And we anticipate that by the first week of September, retailers will be fully stocked and able to process new orders. Perhaps a few will even put copies out on shelves!

Nathan’s Modernist Cuisine TED Talk

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As enthusiastic as any proud parent, Nathan presents Modernist Cuisine during his TED Talk for TED University in March. This is one of the first times anyone saw a copy of Modernist Cuisine. Focusing on the major concepts of the book, as well as giving a few behind-the-scenes glimpses of how MC‘s iconic cutaway shots were made, Nathan reveals his passions for cooking, photography, and science. This TED Talk follows up on Nathan’s exploration of his varied interests, which he discussed in his 2008 talk.

Nathan also was a guest on NPR’s Science Friday with Ira Flatow on July 1, explaining some of the scientific aspects of barbeque. You can listen to the entire podcast here.

See Nathan’s Talk at Microsoft Research

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Last month, Modernist Cuisine author Nathan Myhrvold gave an hour-long presentation and Q&A session at Microsoft Research in Bellevue, Wash. In the presentation, he gives a quick tour of the massive book, talks a bit about how it was made, and focuses on some of the more technical aspects of this kind of cooking. To see the talk, use the embedded Silverlight player below, or visit the page at the Microsoft Research site for a rich-interface version.

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See Nathan in Toronto This Autumn

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On November 20, the cookbook store in Toronto will host a special event for Modernist Cuisine. Author Nathan Myhrvold will be giving a public presentation on the book and will be available to answer questions from attendees. All previous Modernist Cuisine events have sold out well in advance, so sign up early if you want to attend. For tickets, directions, and more information, call 800.268.6018 (416.920.2665 in Toronto), or email cooking@ican.net.

 

Thinking About Chemicals in Food

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Many people say they are uncomfortable with chemicals in their food. And Modernist chefs have been criticized occasionally for using some of the same modern ingredients that can be found in low-quality processed foods—even though the chefs use them for different reasons and in combination with ingredients of the highest quality. In a recent interview for Big Think, Modernist Cuisine coauthor Nathan Myhrvold explains why it’s important to avoid an overly simplistic view. All food consists of chemicals: they are the building blocks of life. But not all chemicals are equally good or bad for you. Check out the Big Think article and the video interview below.