Meet Muffie Fulton, founder of Bold Food, which offers classes in the science of cooking and curated culinary tours all over the planet.
Muffin Fulton grew up in a food-centric Colorado family where trying out a new recipe or restaurant was a favorite past-time.
After studying science and embarking on a career in the biotech industry, Muffie then pursued neuroscience, obtaining a Masters degree from Stanford. She went on to work for companies such as Deloitte consulting, 23andMe, and Genentech, where she took a role in global supply and operations.
Traveling for business afforded Muffie the opportunity to try local cuisine. But it wasn’t until she discovered molecular cooking that the connection between her two passions—food and science—delivered an epiphany.
When was the idea for Bold Food born?
I’ve always been a voracious cookbook reader and picked up a copy of Chef Ferran Adria’s celebrated A Day at el Bulli about ten years ago. I was surprised by how much overlap there was between what high-end chefs were doing and my own scientific training.
At the time, no one was teaching non-professionals the foundations of modernist cooking, so I took it upon myself to learn these techniques.
In 2015, I began teaching classes in Los Altos, California to demonstrate to other cooks how to use modernist techniques like sous vide, spherification, hydrocolloids, foams, smoking guns, and fluid gels, to make food look and taste as good as possible.
You’re based in the Bay Area, a Mecca for foodies.
We have all of the produce California has to offer, and the climate is mild enough that we have it all year round. Most farmers markets here are open every month of the year.
The Bay Area has always been known for innovation and creativity, and we have huge immigrant populations, especially from Asia and Latin America. All of those things together offer a tremendous variety, and people like to try new things here.