RMI Spring Lectureship features 'The Curious Cook' columnist

Author and New York Times columnist Harold McGee, an authority on the chemistry of foods and cooking, is due to give a talk at this year's Spring Lectureship at the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science.

The April 15 Spring Lectureship program, free and open to the public, also includes a roundtable discussion with food anthropologist Melissa Caldwell, wine chemist Susan Ebeler and sensory scientist Jean Xavier Guinard, all of the UC Davis faculty.

The day's events are set to begin with McGee's talk, "Science and the Experience of Eating and Drinking," at 2 p.m. in the ballroom of the new UC Davis Conference Center, at the campus's south entry. Doors are scheduled to open at 2 p.m.

The roundtable comes next, and a reception comes after that, from 5:30 to 7 p.m.

People wishing to attend are asked to register in advance; this can be accomplished online, or by contacting Kim Bannister, (530) 754-6349 or kbannister@ucdavis.edu.

McGee, whose Times column is titled "The Curious Cook," studied science and literature at the California Institute of Technology and Yale University, where he wrote a doctoral thesis titled “Keats and the Progress of Taste.”

After teaching literature and writing for several years at Yale, he decided to write a book about what he refers to as “the science of everyday life.” Subsequently, a Time magazine reviewer hailed McGee's 1984 volume, On Food & Cooking: The Science & Lore of the Kitchen, as a “minor masterpiece.” The book later won the Andre Simon Memorial Book Award in Britain.

For his 1990 book, The Curious Cook: More Kitchen Science and Lore, McGee attempted to solve common kitchen puzzles, such as how much oil can be emulsified into mayonnaise with one egg yolk or how oil spatter from a frying pan winds up on the inside of the cook’s glasses. He also sought to explain the scientific basis for links between diet and disease.

A completely revised edition of On Food & Cooking came out in 2004. Chef and restaurateur Bobby Flay said of the updated version: “Harold McGee has once again done the work and research for us all. ... It's virtually the 'tell me why' for adults in the kitchen."

McGee has written for a broad range of publications ranging from the scientific journal Nature to Fine Cooking magazine, and he has lectured at universities, scientific meetings and culinary schools.

He was elected in 1995 to the James Beard Foundation’s Who’s Who in American Food, and he was named food writer of the year by Bon Appétit magazine in 2005.

More food and wine

Sixth annual Wine Tasting Benefit and Auction — Hosted by MBA Challenge for Charity, a student organization at the Graduate School of Management. Benefiting the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Sacramento and the Special Olympics of Northern California. Cocktail attire requested. Reservations and more information: c4c-ucdavis.org. 6-10 p.m. Feb. 27, Buehler Alumni and Visitors Center.

Wednesday Night Wine Flight — Monthly event sponsored by the Gunrock Pub and the California Aggie Alumni Association’s Vintage Aggies Wine Club. 5-6:30 p.m. March 3, Gunrock Pub, Silo. $10; reservations are not needed. Retired UC Davis enologist Walter Winton serves as “resident wine expert,” and, in fact, his selections will be featured during the March 3 tasting.

Workshops

Your Sustainable Back Yard: Edible Landscaping — With Rosalind Creasy, the “Mother of Edible Landscaping.” Her books include Edible Landscaping: Now You Can Have Your Gorgeous Garden and Eat It, Too! Workshop sponsored by the California Center for Urban Horticulture and the Master Gardeners program. 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. March 6, Ballroom B, Activities and Recreation Center. $45, including morning coffee, and lunch. Registration: ccuh.ucdavis.edu/public. For more information, contact Missy Borel, (530) 752-6642 or mjborel@ucdavis.edu.

Cheese Loves Beer: Mastering the Marriage — With Charlie Bamforth, Anheuser-Busch Endowed Professor of Malting and Brewing Sciences, and Moshe Rosenberg, professor and specialist, Dairy Engineering and Technology. 1-5:30 p.m. March 6, Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science. Advance cost $45 for UC Davis affiliates and $55 for others; $65 the day of the event. RSVPs due by today (Feb. 26) to Kim Bannister, (530) 754-6349 or kbannister@ucdavis.edu.