Press

ALBANY, N.Y. – In celebration of the 201st anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth, the New York State Museum will present a series of three cooking demonstrations in February that highlight the extreme evolution of domestic food.

“Cooking the Tree of Life – Food as Extreme Evolution” will be presented on three successive Wednesdays, beginning February 3, at 7 p.m. in the Clark auditorium. The free program is based on the premise that the ingredients in our everyday food are extreme examples of evolution – ridiculously hot peppers, to super sweet grasses, to flightless birds. Each demonstration in the weekly series will pair a local chef with a biologist, and the two will prepare a meal, providing both the culinary and scientific perspective on the main ingredients.

The February demonstrations are:

• February 3, Some Like It Hot -- Peppers: Dr. Roland Kays, curator of mammals at the State Museum, will lay out the evolutionary history of peppers, as Food Network Chef David Britton whips up related dishes in the on-stage kitchen. The menu will highlight the diversity of peppers, created by humans selecting for extreme traits, and show why some of the most bizarre evolution has actually caused the mildest peppers.

• February 10, Some Like It Sweet -- Sugars: Dr. Jason Cryan, an evolutionary biologist at the State Museum, will discuss natural sources of sugars and the ways that humans and animals actively seek sweets. At the same time Chef Timothy Warnock, corporate chef for U.S. Foods, will prepare a variety of delectable, sugar-inspired dishes in the on-stage kitchen.

• February 17, Tastes Like Chicken -- Birds: Dr. Jeremy Kirchman, the State Museum’s curator of birds, will team up with Chef Tony Destratis of the Lake George Club to provide an avian evolution lesson and to prepare savory dishes featuring flavorful dinosaur descendants.

For more information, and to view You Tube videos on the “Cooking the Tree of Life” programs, visit the Museum website at http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/programs/treeoflife/.

The State Museum is a cultural program of the New York State Education Department’s Office of Cultural Education. Founded in 1836, the museum has the longest continuously operating state natural history research and collection survey in the U.S. The State Museum is located on Madison Avenue in Albany. It is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free. Further information can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the museum website.

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