David Arnold | New York City | French Culinary Institute

In talking to all these geek-gourmet enthusiasts, I am excited but also a little depressed. Isn't there any way that these techniques could enter my daily life? Are centrifuges, immersion baths, and test tubes a necessity to taste the fruits of applied science in the kitchen? I took my question to one of New York City's preeminent geek-gourmet gurus, David Arnold of the French Culinary Institute. Arnold is a boyish-looking man in his thirties who calls to mind a high school science nerd from general casting, right down to his short haircut and mismatched shirt and tie. He is intensely energetic, curious, and enthusiastic about everything. And it is in Arnold's home that I finally see geek gourmet in action in a seminormal setting. Arnold's home kitchen, though not large even by New York City apartment standards, has been completely refitted, modified, and customized. But, for the most part, it's an ordinary kitchen - only far more efficient.

There's a six-gallon deep fryer and a mortar and pestle. A restaurant broiler, bought at a going-out-of-business sale, is hooked up to the oven; the range has a double-valve system for better control. The sink is six feet long, covered with sliding cutting boards and equipped with double-powered cleanup jets that are powered by foot pedals with an extralong cord to give complete free play. Carbon dioxide tanks power a seltzer fountain. But the most conspicuous piece of equipment here is Arnold's espresso machine, to which he evinces an almost fanatical devotion.