Culinology - December 2011 - (Page 30)

Q&A INTERVIEW Keith Nunes knunes@sosland.com Harnessing inspiration Wylie Dufresne describes how he and his staff ideate and create new menu items Wylie Dufresne is the chef and owner of wd~50, a restaurant in Manhattan that is known for its menu items that blend cutting-edge culinary techniques with food science technologies in ways few may have considered. The results of Mr. Dufresne’s efforts have earned him notoriety, and he is a proponent of the molecular gastronomy movement that seeks to incorporate science and new techniques in the preparation and presentation of food. In this interview, Mr. Dufresne discusses where he and his staff find inspiration and how it is channeled into the restaurant’s menu items. Wylie Dufresne Photo: Travis Huggett CULINOLOGY I DECEMBER 2011 To start, let’s talk about how you approach product development. Wylie Dufresne: We don’t study trends. People ask me all the time, “Tell us, what sort of trends do you see?” We are part of making the trends; we don’t sit and ponder trends. We don’t say, “Let’s go look for trends.” We try to do our own thing in an effort to be original. Where do you find inspiration? You know, it comes from a couple of different places. We really use the Socratic Method. It’s not just me coming in and saying, “We’re going to do this and we’re going to do that.” It is more like us coming to the realization we need to change the fish dish. It might be time, or the fish we are using may not be in season. OK, 30 I

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Culinology - December 2011

Culinology - December, 2011
Contents
President's Letter
Convention Preview
Upcoming Events
Profile - Frankly speaking
Meat Cuts - Beef: The next generation
Product Development
Flavors - Culinary collision course
Q&A Interview - Harnessing inspiration
Petits fours
Ad Index

Culinology - December 2011