"The Alchemy of Taste and Smell" is a weekend of events exploring the use of essential oils in cooking, at the Astor Center in New York City on November 12th and 13th. There are eight separate events; tickets can be purchased at the Astor Center website:

Friday, November 12 5:00 pm: Using Aroma in Cocktails ($55, "Dave Arnold and Audrey Saunders will demonstrate how they use aroma in cocktails, including distillations, essential oils and infusions.")

Friday, 7:00-10:00: Opening Party ($95, "The party will feature stations spread throughout the two rooms, with chefs and mixologists on display, making food and cocktails. There will be some passed food as well, and white and red wines will also be served.")

Saturday, November 13 11:30 am: New Flavor Combinations ($55, "[David] Chang and [Wylie] Dufresne will demonstrate some of the dishes that illustrate the strikingly original approach for which they have become famous.")

Saturday, 1:00 pm: Thinking about Flavor ($45, "[Harold] McGee will outline the chemical and biological nature of flavor. He will describe the molecules that stimulate our senses of taste and smell, how taste and smell work together to create the perception of flavor, and how that perception is influenced by past experience and by context.")

Saturday, 2:30: Demonstration - Flavor and Aroma ($55 " [Daniel] Patterson and [Johnny] Iuzzini will demonstrate dishes that focus on the interaction between taste and smell. They will each make dishes starting from the same flavor combinations, demonstrating a range of styles and techniques.")

Saturday, 3:45: Panel Discussion Creativity and Flavor ($35, "Five leading chefs will discuss the process by which they create new dishes. The discussion will include the role of ingredients and technique, and how childhood memories and historical and cultural contexts influence the chefs. Moderated by Harold McGee.")

Saturday, 5:00: Mandy Aftel Creating with Aromas ($35, "Aftel will demonstrate the process of how she creates with scent --- showing you how to orchestrate the interactions between pure and natural essences when blending a flavor or fragrance. The design concepts include register (top, middle, base), relative intensity, evolution, locking, and burying. This architecture of aroma will be illustrated graphically by smelling some unexpected combinations, over a range of concentration ratios. The goal is to produce beautiful and innovative aromas.")

Saturday, 7:00: Dinner ($300, "David Chang, Wylie Dufresne, George Mendes, Alexander Talbot and Aki Kamozawa, Nils Noren, Daniel Patterson, Bill Corbett. The chefs will each make one dish. Some of the dishes are in collaboration with perfumer Mandy Aftel using her essential oils. The price includes beverage and service.")

(via press release)