[Implanteus Lectures] 18 janvier 2023 : « Bien manger »

[Implanteus Lectures] 18 janvier 2023 : « Bien manger – Is a delicious, safe, healthy, ethical, sustainable and affordable cuisine mission impossible? »

par Christophe Lavelle (CNRS/Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris)

Résumé

“Gastronomy is the knowledge and understanding of all that relates to man, as he eats. [It] pertains to natural history, by the classification of food substances, to physics, by the examination of their compositions and qualities, to chemistry, through various analyses and breakdowns it subjects them, and to cooking, through the art of preparing food and make it palatable”. Starting from these wise words by Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, we will provide an overview of the mechanisms and constraints behind the preparation and consumption of food. From agricultural practices to food behaviors, this conference will be an opportunity to discuss the cultural, ecological, economic and political issues we have to deal with to preserve the quantity, quality and variety of what we put in our plates.

Christophe Lavelle

Christophe Lavelle is a research scientist at the CNRS, working at the National Museum of Natural History / Sorbonne University in Paris. As a renowned food expert, he teaches in many universities and professional schools worldwild (including Sorbonne University, Le Cordon Bleu, Smith College, Basque Culinary Center,…) and is frequently asked for conferences for general public or professional audiences. He is also responsible for the scientific training of cooking teachers at the national level. He is the author of more than 50 research papers and 15 books on food, including Toute la chimie qu’il faut savoir pour devenir un chef! (Flammarion, 2017), Molécules. La science dans l’assiette (Les Ateliers d’Argol, 2021) and the Handbook of Molecular Gastronomy. Scientific Foundations, Educational Practices, and Culinary Applications (CRC Press 2021). Often solicited by the media (TV, radio, press) for his interdisciplinary expertise in food, he is a member of several scientific and food societies (including the French Microbiological Society, the American Biophysical Society, the Disciples d’Escoffier Society and the Association for the Study of Food and Society).