JAN 5 - 1:30-3:30 p.m. - Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream Social
JAN 19 - 5-9 p.m. - Cocktail Chemistry & Appetizer Alchemy reception
JAN 19 - Molecular Dinner & Auction - SOLD OUT

Sometimes it doesn't matter whether you're in a fine dining restaurant or a fish shack, how the lights blink down on you, or who sits at your side. When the food hits your tongue, you lose your rational self. Jarred by something eerily familiar or astonishingly strange, you are suddenly overcome by your senses - you taste and feel and smell instead of think. And after the rush subsides, you remember that life is erratic and full of surprises. For me, in those rare moments, I feel a little more excited to be alive.

This intense sensory experience is one aim of molecular gastronomy, what I once heard someone call "the science of deliciousness." Molecular gastronomy, or "scientific cooking," utilizes techniques, tools, and materials rarely found in the kitchen to create food that challenges our expectations and introduces us to new sensations. Despite its name, scientific cooking does not take creativity and personality out of the kitchen; it does the inverse, offering those with bravado and curiosity the opportunity to challenge culinary norms.

Most famously, scientific chefs wield esoteric contraptions (like the "anti-griddle," which freezes things on contact!) or hazardous chemicals (like liquid nitrogen, which also freezes things on contact!) to create Willy Wonka-like masterpieces. Once these foods reach our tongues, they melt or tingle, wiggle or pop. Always, the results shine light on the endless possibilities of food to please and frustrate us and to stimulate our minds and our memories.

This year, OMSI will challenge our notion of its annual fundraising gala as well. Instead of a predictable auction, with dinner and a wine bar as necessary accessories, the food and chefs will be the entertainment themselves.

Science in the Kitchen: an Evening with the Nation's Top Culinary Alchemists will take place on Saturday January 19th, 2008. First-class chefs from New York and Chicago, along with Portland's creme de la creme, will create an evening of sense-astonishing cocktails, appetizers, and entrees.