This continues a series of guest columns on how technology is reshaping hobbies and passions – basket weaving, rugby – whatever.
This time it is William Mougayar, CEO of Eqentia. Between launching new products (Outsourcing, Cloud Computing) and companies he somehow finds time to pursue his gourmet food interests.
"I like to make bread and pizza dough from scratch. From scratch means that even the yeast is naturally leavened over several days in a jar. You may call me a food snob – I like to think of myself as a gourmet food fanatic, a passionate cook, a bread baker hobbyist, a local produce addict.
And I am a judicious, but early, adopter of food technology. You could say I have traveled to all three "poles" of cooking - low-tech, online social-tech and high-tech.
In the early days, online food forums were today’s social networks. In 2001, I jumped on Chowhound. It was “the” place where foodies came to discuss their recent experiences. It was as real-time as one could get. In an industry where your reputation is as good as the last meal, the premise was that standard reviews and restaurant guides were too stale to trust after they were published. Food aficionados wanted to hear recent experiences from other like-minded patrons. Soon after, I joined eGullet, and then Opinionated About. The vibrancy and user obsession of these online forums still rival many of the current social networks. But today's tools have given them fancier buzzwords.
In an online forum, user-generated content is the main content, so there was no need to call it “user-generated”. We went there to read other diners experiences, reports and arguments and to admire beautiful food pictures (aka “food porn”). There were no formal rankings of posts or users, but you could quickly gather who the experts were, based on the frequency and details of their contributions. Loosely coupled Friend of a Friend (FOAF) networks would emerge. Users visited these forums to get or give advice, decide which restaurants to go to, and stay updated on the latest ups and downs of establishments, chef’s openings, and food trends. You could receive notifications when others commented on posts they are interested in, and I can attest to the fact that these forums were very addictive, especially prior to planning a trip to a restaurant. I’ve been active on these 3 forums, and without them, my culinary experiences would have been a lot less well guided. I’ve made new friends there and shared meals with them
At home, when it comes to cooking, frankly no technology can replace a most basic compulsion for locating the best quality food products or ingredients. Since I live in Toronto, we can only source fresh local produce from April to October. Although, super-optimized global food supply chains and preservation techniques have allowed us to receive grapes from Chile in April, or fresh beans from Africa in the middle of winter, nothing replaces locally produced fruit and vegetables that have not traveled for weeks.
Back to my love of bread baking. The photo on right is that of a Rustic Baguette, made by a long fermentation method (including 24 hrs of refrigeration), following a version of Philippe Gosselin's pain a l'ancienne which Peter Reinhart popularized. It yields excellent results of improved flavor, very close to the "old methods" of Parisian bakers. Break bread and you will notice irregular holes which indicate it was made by hand, the old-fashioned way. Too much technology and the holes would be perfect looking - a giveaway sign it was made by machine and in large quantities.
For both the dough and yeast, the key parameters to watch for are the temperature and humidity of the room. The ideal temperature range for the dough to rise is 75F-85F. A digital Springfield meter does the trick wonderfully. It has allowed me to vary the hydration levels and fermentation cycles slightly in order to reach optimal results. Another parameter is the hardness of the water. Medium soft water (50 to 100 ppm) is ideal, and since our home has a reverse osmosis (RO) water purification system which yields 15-20 ppm water, I mix that water with non-RO water in order to achieve the right levels.
There is however a gadget that I’d like on my gift wish list: an infrared temperature meter, which allows you to point at the food, oven, or barbeque to determine the precise temperature. The one I need is the Raytek industrial model, which can measure up to temperatures of 999F- that’s because real Neapolitan pizza needs to bake at 950F.
Bordering on the technology of science, a current hot food trend is “molecular gastronomy” which consists of pushing the envelope of food science by altering what we traditionally know about food textures, and cooking techniques. The results produce a mind-bending, taste-surprising experience of culinary fireworks. I can’t say that molecular gastronomy has made it into the homes of aficionados due to the difficulty it takes and the cost of specialized equipment such as freeze-drying machines, centrifuges, rotary evaporators or Vacuum sealers. However, three of my favourite chefs are at the top of this trend: Ferrán Adrià of El Bulli in Spain, Heston Blumenthal of The Fat Duck in the UK, and Grant Achatz of Alinea in Chicago. In the words of Chef Achatz, molecular gastronomy allows them to “turn oil into powder, serve a gelled liquid hot, or thicken an infusion by simply blending in a magical white substance”,- all of these exploits being out of reach for most home cooks. The video below shows off Chef Achatz’s magic.
What’s next for gastronomy-minded consumers? I think that Twitter is the next frontier. Real “real-time” comments while having a meal is where food reviewers will go. Previously, we used to take laborious notes during a meal, snap a few pictures then go home and spend 2 to 3 hours to write a review. Today, you can Tweet your remarks and SnapTweet a photograph of the dish you are describing, instantaneously. I carry an iPhone, ready to take food pictures anytime, anywhere, and I’m able to post them via my food Twitter account which is separate from the personal one and anonymous for privacy reasons.
On the business side, we will soon open an Eqentia Semantic knowledge space grouping the top culinary blogs, sites and forums, and I’m working on a yet to be announced Twitter-related initiative for foodies.
Less technology is the right balance for food - do not want those perfect holes in the bread - but I expect more online social networking and Tweeting will be in vogue. “
Comments