Meet Nathan Myhrvold, the Founder of Modernist Cuisine

Today, Yahoo Food celebrates the modernists—those chefs, researchers, and big thinkers pushing culinary boundaries and exploring new ways of cooking and using ingredients. What they do is part science, part art, and, seemingly, part magic.

One of the most important names in the modern food movement is former Microsoft executive Nathan Myhrvold. As founder of Modernist Cuisine (MC), the think tank, research lab, and publishing house he operates out of Bellevue, Washington, Myhrvold dedicates a great deal of time and resources to studying and sharing information about modernist cooking techniques.

What “cooking” means in the Modernist Cuisine kitchen. Photo: Yahoo Studios

Myhrvold taught himself to cook as a child via borrowed cookbooks from the local library, but he didn’t immediately pursue a career in food. Instead, he focused on science and technology, entering college at the age of 14 and later studying under the brilliant Stephen Hawking. Myhrvold went on to work at Microsoft and retired as the company’s chief technology officer. But before leaving the technology giant, he fulfilled a longtime dream: He attended culinary school.

Did we mention he’s also a photographer and a dinosaur enthusiast? 

Yahoo Food stopped by the MC headquarters to chat with the charismatic Myhrvold and learn more about his appetite for knowledge. Make sure to check out the video above.

Myhrvold (right) with Italian modernist chef Massimo Bottura. Photo: Chris Hoover / Modernist Cuisine LLC

Learn more about the modernists:
Would You Eat a Balloon?
Massimo Bottura, Italy’s Most Cutting-Edge Chef
Lunch with Massimo Bottura

Myhrvold holds one of his favorite ingredients, a geoduck (pronounced gooey-duck) clam. 

Myhrvold demos liquid nitrogen to chefs Anita Lo of Annisa in New York and Joanne Chang of Flour in Boston.