Although he has been tipped possibly the world's greatest chef, or at least the owner of the world's greatest restaurant, Ferran Adria of El Bulli in Spain has had to defend his cooking after a rival Spanish chef has accused him of "poisoning" his diners.

Too many chemicals, not enough real food
Santi Santamaria who has earned himself three Michelin stars as owner and head chef at the Can Fabes Restaurant in Barcelona, laid into Adria over his prolific use of the gelling agent methylcellulose, as well as other gelling agents and emulsifiers. Santamaria admits that it is his roots as the son of a farmer which give him a deep respect for traditional cooking practices, and he sees this future of "molecular gastronomy" wildly unhealthy and irresponsible on the part of his fellow Catalan chef.

Are chefs in the business of art or nourishment?
The additive E461 which is used in one of Adria's signature dishes to create warm ice cream, is, worryingly, also used as a laxative. Facts like this put traditionalist chefs like Santamaria on edge:

"I fear that recipes made popular by Ferran Adria and his court of followers are putting people at risk... Cooks should not be preoccupied with creating sculptures or painting pictures with their work. A table is not an art gallery."

Technical innovation good for cooking
A great many other chefs would disagree, and Ferran Adria was the first to come to up the plate to defend his innovative cooking style. As head of the Alicia Foundation for Nutrition and Science, Adria spoke with conviction that he was doing good for the world of cooking and dining, insisting that his food wasn't unhealthy. His foundation works to explore further the world of molecular gastronomy, provide education on the matter and to establish the Catalan region as a vanguard in the world of molecular gastronomy, however it reiterates that this is with the aim to "promote good nourishment through technical innovation in kitchen science".

Let's just hope, for the diners' sake, that kitchen science doesn't take over from the nourishment element. It would somewhat spoil the 'wow-factor' of the dishes created at El Bulli, Amador in Frankfurt and many more who are embracing this new 'experimental' line of cooking.