A good show maybe, but yet another apparent triumph for Imperial Science. Next will they tell us that poetry is a science not an art?

Only the French think food an art.

And American blacks.

Not art--familial glue

I never miss an episode (if I can help it). But I do think there is an art to cooking.

Actually, I get the impression that it is some
of these basic chemical secrets which may be
more closely guarded by the culinary industrial complex than any old recipe which even when followed to the letter generally falls short of expectations.

On a related note I had a friend who's father was
a food scientist at Cadbury and was partly responsible for inventing that goo that's inside
the Cadbury Cream Egg. "Better living through
chemistry" indeed.

Isn't Bart a French name?

There can be an art to cooking, but baking and particularly pastry chefing is all science.

Ditto what David said. You can get all creative with your tuna casserole and flank steak recipes, but you gotta stick to the recipe EXACTLY with baking. You can still get artsy with the decorations, though...

There's definitely an art to ordering an Indian takeaway. Does that count?

Art and science are layered, not opposed. It's fun to complain that scientizing things is thwarting creativity, but in reality learning the techniques will liberate you to apply them creatively. That's true in cooking, or engineering, or warfare.

And if you actually understand the reason for the techniques you may be able to adapt as well as apply them. There's a Buddist proverb:

What is appropriate for the master is not appropriate for the student; when the building is complete, we take down the scaffolding.

Learning the underlying food science is an absolutely necessary precursor to culinary artistry, and not just for baking -- you can invent the best barbecue sauce in the world, but it won't compensate for overcooked, dried-out meat. There is room for infinite variety in sauces, seasonings, and food combinations, but there really are a very limited number of "right" ways to prepare your basic ingredients. I love Good Eats, not because of Alton's recipes -- I myself tend to improvise, except when baking -- but because the proper techniques for cooking, say, non-mushy vegetables apply no matter what I'm making. The focus is definitely on how to handle the raw materials, not on the right ingredients and proportions for any given dish.

Food science is like knowing how to properly prepare a canvas, mix pigments, or prepare a fresco surface -- ignore the basics, and all your creativity and artistry will go for naught.

David:

How hard is it to cut up a Pillsbury cookie dough log and spread them on a baking sheet?

Wife:

The artistry of a well placed fried onion ring atop my casserole is wasted on you.

OJ: You actually bake Pillsbury cookie dough? You know, there's a reason it comes in squeezable tubes.

Yes, but you need two cookies for a Brothers Judd sandwich--spread Pillsbury Vanilla Frosting between them and viola, as the French say.

The wife and I love AB.

Anyone who likes this show and wants to learn further will surely benefit by getting a copy of Harold McGee's "On Food and Cooking--The Science and Lore of the Kitchen."