Modernist vs. Traditional Cooking with Chefs Dufresne and Ripert

Chef, author and television personality Eric Ripert's episode of "On The Table." with molecular gastronomy Chef Wylie Dufresne is phenomenal. While they cook a poached egg with centrifuged sherry consommé, they share their perspectives on modernist cuisine vs traditional cooking. Modernist Chef Dufresne says "We're just trying to understand things a little bit better so we can make better decisions when we cook something. And some of these pieces of equipment allow us to be very precise". Chef Eric Ripert, being a traditional cook, replies "If you bring too much discipline for me in a scientific way, my ADD kicks and I cannot cook".

Chef Wylie Dufresne also talks about how he became a chef, how he got into molecular gastronomy working with scientists and his new restaurant Alder in NY, a more casual place than his famous WD-50.  Both chefs also discuss the importance of creativity and what inspires them to come up with a new dish.

Watch the episode below, it is about 20 minutes long.