Bilet helped shake up the culinary world with his contribution to the six-volume Modernist Cuisine, a visual, encyclopedic guide to laboratory-inspired cooking. Bilet coauthored the book with Nathan Myhrvold, CEO of Intellectual Ventures and the first chief technology officer at Microsoft, and Chris Young, founder of the experimental kitchen The Fat Duck.
Bastyr University's nutrition programs are renowned for a distinctive whole-food philosophy that emphasizes eating a diversity of natural foods in their least-processed forms. The University's holistic approach to health, encompassing physical, mental and spiritual well-being, has contributed to high enrollment for nutrition graduate and undergraduate programs in recent years.
"Our students showed intense interest during a tour of Intellectual Ventures’ labs last year," says Doris Piccinin, MS, RD, CDE, CD, director of Bastyr's Didactic Program in Dietetics. "We're all learning how 'molecular gastronomy' and whole-food nutrition can work together, and our workshop with Maxime promises to be a fruitful conversation."
Bilet's approach brings the fields of chemistry and physics to bear on cooking techniques, and Modernist Cuisine was recently awarded the Cookbook of the Year award from the James Beard Foundation. In 2011, Bilet was named to Forbes Magazine’s 30 Under 30 list in the category of food and wine.
Bilet’s presentation will take place at noon on May 23 in the Bastyr University auditorium. The event is closed to the public, but media are welcome to attend.
Photos from Modernist Cuisine can be found here: http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2011/03/09/dining/20110309-MODERNIST.html
About Bastyr University
Bastyr University, located near Seattle, Washington, is internationally recognized as a pioneer in natural medicine. As the largest accredited university for natural health arts and sciences in the U.S., Bastyr offers more than 17 degree and certificate programs in fields such as naturopathic medicine, acupuncture & Oriental medicine, and whole-food nutrition. Founded in 1978, the University now includes a leading-edge research facility (the Bastyr University Research Institute) and outstanding clinical training at Bastyr Center for Natural Health. The University’s second campus, Bastyr University California, opened in San Diego, California, in fall 2012, becoming the state’s first and only accredited school of naturopathic medicine.