Talk:Culinology

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I've tried to make this more of an article about culinology rather than the RCA, but I'm no expert so please let me know if I'm making mistakes. It may be that RCA needs to be more integrated into the article. But the way it was, the article said more about the RCA than about culinology itself!

There are a few things I think need some quick attention -

First - Few sources. This is clearly a big thing in the US. There are dozens and dozens of college courses, but I'm finding little to actually write a description from. There was a link in the original to a blog at foodproductdesign.com. I deleted the external link to the blog since blogs don't meet our guidelines for external links, but the site itself might well be a reliable source for good information. There was also mention of a magazine for the industry, CULINOLOGY magazine which might be appropriate as a source.

Secondly - What is it? How is it different from food science? There is mention of "culinary quality" in the article, but I honestly have no idea what that means. It sounds like a marketing phrase - all promise no substance! Can anyone re-word this so that a lay person could actually understand what it's about?

Thirdly - globalization - is this a phenomenon that is happening anywhere else in the world? Is it called something different there? Or integrated more closely into another food related discipline?

Thanks -- Siobhan Hansa 23:34, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

2/26/07 The RCA and culinology are directly connected. No other association in the world is completely dedicated to the study and discipline of culinology. I'm brand new to adding information to and editing pages on Wikipedia (read: I don't know how to integrate links, etc.), so please bear with me. I provided a link to my blog because I regularly discuss concepts related to culinology there (I'm the editor of CULINOLOGY magazine, but we currently lack an online home for the magazine; we only have a print edition), however, I understand if you cannot use that as a valid link.

I tried to better explain the "culinary quality" concept in my recent edit. In the food world, this means pretty much "taste better" or perhaps "taste more sophisticated." For example, some culinologists might have worked in fine dining in the past. Now they design menu items for Chili's Bar & Grill. They have taken fine dining experience and now translate that into items replicated in kitchens across America using the tools of food science (like ingredients and processes to make food more stable and consistant) while bringing new flavors to the foods.

This is primarly an American concept, although the molecular gastronomers in Europe (and here) espouse similar ideals--albeit on a more experimental level. Some people, like Wylie Dufresne of wd~50 in New York or Homaro Cantu of Moto in Chicago are often called molecular gastronomers but also have much to do with the RCA. Here are some links that might be of use for you.

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techinnovations/2005-08-14-culinology_x.htm http://www.foodproductdesign.com/archive/1999/0199cc.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molecular_gastronomy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wylie_Dufresne http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homaro_Cantu

Please let me know how I can be of more assistance in developing this entry to meet top Wikipedia standards.

Thanks.

--User PiekaDough (a.k.a., Doug Peckenpaugh, editor, CULINOLOGY magazine)

PiekaDough 01:34, 27 February 2007 (UTC)

Culinology was coined by Winston Riley, the first president and founder of the association. The original meaning of the word was not specifically restricted to only food science but was meant to be the convergence of culinary arts and technology. Technology includes many other disciplines, including communications, economics, chemistry, physiology and many others.

Culinology is a registered trade mark of the Research Chefs Association and is also the name of the magazine which is published on behalf of the association. There is also another meaning for Culinology, which is the name of accredited culinary programs which bring together the disciplines of culinary education and food science. Jeff Cousminer is the person who started the culinary education arm of the Research Chefs Association. There are presently a dozen or more accredited Culinology programs at leading universities. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Greenexec (talk • contribs) 17:17, 1 September 2007 (UTC)