Learner reviews & feedback for The Science of Gastronomy

4.6789 reviews

About this course

This course introduces several basic scientific principles underpinning the methodology of cooking, food preparation, and the enjoyment of food. All topics covered have a strong basis in biology, chemistry, and physics application. Among others, they include the consumption of cooked food, the physiological and evolutionary implications of the senses, geographic and cultural influences on food, and the rationale behind food preparation. We will also discuss issues such as coupling of senses to improve sense stimulation; altering flavor by chemical means, and modification of the coloration to improve the appearance of dishes. Following the video demonstrations of the scientific principles of cooking, you will learn to recognize the key ingredients and their combinations for preparing good healthy food. You will also be asked to try out and practice specific cooking principles through the weekly assignments; analyze your data and make comparisons of your experiences with others.

At the end of this course, you will be able to: - appreciate the scientific basis of various recipes. - develop your own recipes by integrating some of the scientific principles into new dishes. - recognize the influence of the material world on human perception from the different senses. - appreciate the art of integrating science into cooking and dining. Important Note: This course is not designed for people with special dietary needs such as vegetarian, diabetic, and gluten-free diets. If you feel uncomfortable with any part of the assignments or activities of this course, you can substitute some of the ingredients or ask friends and family members to help with the tasting of your assignments. Alternatively, you may skip that specific assignment if you have fulfilled all other qualifying requirements to pass the course. Course Overview video: https://www.coursera.org/lecture/gastronomy/course-overview-43gyz

Featured reviews

5.0Reviewed Apr 5, 2019

If you enjoy cooking and also enjoy chemistry, this course is ideal. It taught me many techniques in the kitchen and why the food changes during the cooking process.

4.0Reviewed May 18, 2020

Very interactive and informative, great way to learn! I do think it could be condensed, but overall it was an enjoyable course.

5.0Reviewed Jan 9, 2023

This course provides different insights to cooking. Professor compares and relates various experiment which makes this course easy to learn and remember

4.0Reviewed Aug 25, 2020

Everything went well. I don't really like book in a sense, like reading but not exam, that's why I tried so many times. Taught me patience, ...spend time wisely...cook different fish in different ways

5.0Reviewed Sep 28, 2020

Thank you very much Professor Chow and Professor Yeung as well as to your student assistants. I find the topics, demonstrations and assignments very interesting and useful in my profession.

4.0Reviewed Jun 28, 2020

More demonstrations and more quizzes would have been better. But overall a very good course. I would love to attend version 2. :)

5.0Reviewed Jun 3, 2021

Very easy to understand even for someone new to food science like me. Learn a lot about the basic science of how our body works to see taste smell taste hear and touch food and how cooking works.

4.0Reviewed Jul 1, 2021

I learned a lot on cooking and the different ingredients that influence the texture and taste of food. Thank you.

5.0Reviewed Sep 24, 2023

The courses were very easy to follow and very informative. The teacher explained all the material in a very intuitive way and I really enjoyed the experiments.

5.0Reviewed Jul 7, 2018

Waiting for an extension to this course but at an advanced levelThis course is really valuable. It was presented in a simple and fun way I enjoyed studying with you thank you

5.0Reviewed Jul 16, 2024

Well presented but my only suggestion for future improvement is to have Question and Answer portion on every video can be done through chatting.

5.0Reviewed Feb 23, 2019

there should be a digital certificate in PDF for those who can not pay because everybody does a lot of effort and time to finish this course

All reviews

Showing: 20 of 196

Altin Joka Nutricionist

5.0

Reviewed Feb 24, 2019

there should be a digital certificate in PDF for those who can not pay because everybody does a lot of effort and time to finish this course

Josiah P. Ahern

5.0

Reviewed Nov 20, 2017

It was vary good gave me ideas on how to improve my cooking technique, and allowed me to use my imagination to make my dishes better!

Samar Akrami

5.0

Reviewed Apr 18, 2020

This course is amazing. I recommend everyone interested in cooking or studying in hospitality/ tourism degrees or even working in a restaurant environment to take this course and learn all the important techniques and the science behind the cooking process. I enjoyed this course very much

Afnan Saad

5.0

Reviewed Jul 8, 2018

Waiting for an extension to this course but at an advanced levelThis course is really valuable. It was presented in a simple and fun way I enjoyed studying with you thank you

farman ali

5.0

Reviewed Sep 12, 2020

Great course I learn many many things of this course I am chef

please also star some culinary course and food safety course for chefs

I really appreciate of this course

Shirley De Jesus

5.0

Reviewed Sep 29, 2020

Thank you very much Professor Chow and Professor Yeung as well as to your student assistants. I find the topics, demonstrations and assignments very interesting and useful in my profession.

Lillian Lindorff

5.0

Reviewed Jan 15, 2018

Great course. I learned a lot about food preparation and why we cook foods certain ways. The demonstrations were great and interesting. The instructors were very engaging and seemed excited about what they were teaching. The assignments were great in helping me to understand different things I learned in the lectures. I would highly recommend this course to anyone interested in food preparation.

Anzala Adli

5.0

Reviewed May 14, 2019

really help me to find all the material that I need. especially in my country, where there are no formal education about gastronomy. strongly recommended for those who want to learn the principle and philosophy behind foods and cooking science, not practice skills.

maria sita

5.0

Reviewed Mar 15, 2021

I recommend this course to all chefs and cooks everywhere, it really clarifies a lot of myths about cooking.

It helped me to understand the senses involved in the appreciation of a good dish.

I will definitely use this knowledge to create better dishes.

Fatema Baxa

5.0

Reviewed Oct 24, 2019

This was one of the most interesting subjects I have done so far.

The tutorials helped and taught me in abundance; they were very well explained and were focused on making one understand the science behind everything food related.

Jean Boutros

5.0

Reviewed Sep 25, 2016

This course changes our perception of food and what good or delicious food means. It sheds light on the scientific aspects that makes up the culinary experience from the inception of a dish till the digestion of the food.

Tamires Gonçalves

5.0

Reviewed Apr 6, 2019

If you enjoy cooking and also enjoy chemistry, this course is ideal. It taught me many techniques in the kitchen and why the food changes during the cooking process.

Rylee Izumo

4.0

Reviewed Aug 11, 2020

Great Course! The professors were great. There was a little bit of an accent making some words hard to understand, but a translation script was provided which was helpful. This course is super great for beginner chefs and works well for younger students as well. (Middle school+) The pacing was a little slower than expected but covered multiple areas of interest. Course professors seemed to have a great understanding of this topic. Overall very happy with this course. :)

Julianty

5.0

Reviewed Sep 20, 2017

Most interesting topic. Just what I have been looking for. A great subject, definitely recommended for everyone, not only those who loves food, but also to really everyone because eating is part of our daily life and this module really helps us to better understand what we consume, how it comes about and whether it is good or bad for us etc etc.

Рожкова Елена Евгеньевна

5.0

Reviewed Aug 11, 2016

Огромное спасибо за предоставленный курс! Это первый мой онлайн-курс в университетах мира. Я получила много полезной и интересной информации, мне очень понравились тесты-задания, которые я выполняла. Считаю, что курс "Наука Гастрономия" необходим и полезен, как для начинающего кулинара, так и уже специалиста в этой области.

Qurrota A'yun Mahros

5.0

Reviewed Mar 27, 2023

This course is quite challenging and fun at the same time as the students will learn by doing it and also some assignments to evaluate how well the students understand the course. It is about food science and how to make food better with science. I would recommend taking it day by day so the knowledge will be grasped well.

Angie M. Alquicira Salazar

5.0

Reviewed Apr 4, 2019

This course is the gastronomy part behind all of the delicious dishes we eat every day, at least for the first week, which is the only one available now. It seems to me the course is really new in coursera, but that doesn't affect the experience in learning. Very good Chinese school and great teachers too.

Deleted Account

5.0

Reviewed Mar 1, 2019

https://www.coursera.org/learn/gastronomy?ranMID=40328&ranEAID=ymSl0jCmTv0&ranSiteID=ymSl0jCmTv0-Bp.w3SWHwTB7F6m0tHfcMA&siteID=ymSl0jCmTv0-Bp.w3SWHwTB7F6m0tHfcMA&utm_content=15&utm_medium=partners&utm_source=linkshare&utm_campaign=ymSl0jCmTv0

I hope and wish If I can Get Certificate for that course :(

SANTHOSH THANI

5.0

Reviewed Sep 25, 2023

The courses were very easy to follow and very informative. The teacher explained all the material in a very intuitive way and I really enjoyed the experiments.

Nicole Vasconcelos

5.0

Reviewed Dec 28, 2023

The course is excellent on science in the field of gastronomy, I am a bachelor's student in gastronomy, and I can say how complete this course is, very good