Marcel Vigneron (Marcel's Quantum Kitchen)

At just 30 years old Marcel Vigneron has already made a name for himself with his polarizing turn as the season two runner-up on Bravo's Emmy Award-winning Top Chef, as the Executive Sous Chef at Jose Andres’ Bazaar and as the head chef at Los Angeles' Bar 210. And now, he's back in a big way with the new Syfy reality series, Marcel's Quantum Kitchen.

Marcel's Quantum Kitchen premieres Tuesday, March 22 at 10:00 pm Eastern/Pacific

SHAKEFIRE: How did the show originally come about?

MARCEL VIGNERON: So this show has actually been maybe like three years in the making. And when I was living in Las Vegas I was approached by two different producers to start working on my own show, wrote up a couple of treatments and found a production company to help us create it.

And then I took a meeting with Syfy, who seemed very intrigued and decided to undergo the pilot making process, which we did. We re-cut the pilot a couple different times and shot some new footage.

They decided it was a show that they wanted to see made. And then the rest is history. We took the bull by the horns and made it reality.

SF: Syfy is not exactly known for cooking shows, so I'm wondering how it all came about that you even approached them for this show and how this show ended up on this channel.

MV: Well I know it seems kind of like an abstract fit. But once you actually see the show I feel like it's totally going to make sense.

And one of the ways we bridge that gap between Syfy and doing a cooking show and me being on it is the fact that, you know we focus in on a lot of the same things; Syfy is all about imagining greater, which is essentially what me and my culinary team is all about.

So we have the same basic philosophy. And we focus in on a lot of the scientific aspect of cooking as well. So you've got a lot of like science, and it's kind educational. But at the same time it's all about creativity and teamwork. So that's kind of how we (unintelligible) both roads together, so to speak.

SF: I've noticed liquid nitrogen was one of the things that you seem to use a lot. And I just wonder with that or any of the other techniques, have there ever been accidents?

MV: I've never had any accidents with - utilizing, working with liquid nitrogen. It is extremely cold. And whenever you're dealing with extremely cold or extremely hot elements, there's a level of danger involved. But I feel like cooking in and of itself is, you know a kitchen is a very dangerous place to begin with.

I mean think about it, you're constantly wielding knives which are extremely sharp. The floors can be slippery, you're dealing with hot oil, that's at 450 degrees sometimes. You've got ovens that are at 500 or 600 degrees. You have fire all around the place, which can instantly burn you.

And then, yes one of the new things that I - one of the ingredients that I utilize quite a bit inside of the kitchen is liquid nitrogen. And it's basically just like the same thing.

Any time you're cooking you have to make sure that you're taking great care and paying attention to what you're doing. And it's the same with liquid nitrogen. But I've never had any accidents with it.

And that's just because we - safety first. But it's basically just like any other piece of equipment inside the kitchen. Needs to be...

SF: Good. In a few of the clips you mentioned "Food porn." Can you please explain what you were referring to by that line?

MV: Food Porn is a term that's kind of been adopted when we're referring to what's "beauty shots." And Food Porn is just another term for describing these beauty shots.

And often times when we're doing a party - the same thing happens when,  whether we're doing Marcel's Quantum Kitchen or Top Chef or any sort of cooking show, often times you'll plate up one extra dish of whatever it is that you're making so that way you can get like a nice, tight, like close up shot of the dish for the viewers at home.

SF: Would you say what you're doing, fusing food with science, is the future of food?

MV: Good question. I think that food will constantly be evolving so you can't ever really put a tag on, like what the actual future of food is, because I don't think anybody really knows.

But at the same time we do utilize a lot of cutting-edge cooking techniques and equipment to create these dishes. So it is very avant-garde in nature.

But you know, can you say, "It is actually, you know, the future of food?" I mean, that's kind of a bold statement.

SF: How did you get interested in cooking in general, and at what point did molecular gastronomy became your passion?
MV: Okay. Yes, so I got interested in cooking at a early on at a very young age, and that was partially because my mom was cooking when I was growing up.

And she would take me into the kitchen with her. So I was kind of familiar with that whole environment. And then as I was growing up and I entered high school, it was time for me to get a job so I actually - it was a normal progression for me to start cooking.

And so I started cooking in high school. And then it wasn't until I went to Europe and did a lot of soul searching after I graduated high school, that I decided I wanted to pursue, like becoming a chef as a career.

And then I went to the Culinary Institute of America and got my Associate's and Bachelor's Degree in Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management. And I've just been cooking ever since.

And I originally got interested in modern gastronomy when I was at culinary school and started researching elBulli, and you know, a couple other chefs from around the world that were really just pushing the envelope and developing new techniques and creating food that was unlike anything else anybody was doing around the world. And it was just really inspirational for me.

And so I started to do research and development on my own and just really kind of like, you know tried to use cooking as a creative outlet and trying to use science as like a foundation for understanding the phenomenon that is cooking.

SF: In the series you said that, "You can't rush creativity." How does the science give you more options to get there quicker?

MV: Good question. So I think that, one I think that creativity obviously can't be rushed. But at the same time you usually have a deadline for these sorts of things.

And I think in that particular instance I was plating up a dish for the first time that I had had all of these components in front of me and I'd never actually - it was a dish that I frequently do, I'll conceive these dishes in my head, like ahead of time because a lot of the dishes we're actually creating for the first time specifically for a guest.

A lot of the dishes that we make on the show are specifically inspired by that particular client or you know, for that particular theme for that particular party. And when that happens, when you're doing these things for the first time, it's kind of challenging because like, I don't really know which component is going to go where or whatever the case may be.

And it's kind of like having to do a painting for the first time for a guest who's already bought the painting, like right in front of them as there's like a ticking clock. So it's kind of challenging.

And I try to utilize science and a lot of these avant-garde techniques to keep me grounded and to, and to also help me out with this. You have on one side you have like this creative, this whole like creative thing going on and then the science is actually concrete, you know? So it provides like stability to the whole situation, if that makes any sense.

SF: So tell me about putting olive oil in your hair.  Is that something I should be doing?

MV: I guess it's - when you're dealing - I'm constantly traveling so I'm going back and forth either between New York and LA. And I feel like often times we have these like drastic temperature changes, my scalp gets kind of dry. And occasionally a little drop of olive oil totally does wonders.

And apparently rosemary is supposed to be really good too I guess. But yes, I mean try it out, see if it works for you.

SF: Why do you think food television is always so successful and so popular?

MV: Well I think that food in general, not just television, is hotter now than it's kind of ever been.

And I think that that's partially because of Food Television, and people like Julia Child and people like Emeril and all the other celebrity chefs that are doing television that are not only educating the general public, but also creating this fascination.

And I think food is something that resonates with everybody so intimately, because we all have our own preconceived notions and we've all grown up with food. And like everybody eats all the time, everywhere. And it's something that everybody can relate to.

And so when you have something that is just this (unintelligible) that everybody can relate to it, I think it only makes sense that (unintelligible) in popularity because it's (unintelligible) something that resonates with everybody so intimately.

It's something that we've all been doing (unintelligible) and I think that that could partially have something to do with a little bit of the popularity.

And also it's fascinating -- food is so fascinating. It's one of the only occupations that requires - cooking is really one of the only occupation that requires you to utilize every single one of your senses. You have to use your sense of, your smell, taste, sight -- everything.

I mean cooking in and of itself is an amazing thing. And I think that that's why it's becoming so popular.

SF: What was your favorite experience from your time on Top Chef?

MV: So one of my most memorable experiences from Top Chef was flying into Waipio Valley on a helicopter and having like a traditional luau with the other contestants and with (Tom) and (Padma) and (Allen Wong).

And just to sit down in those beautiful kind of like, tarot farm in Waipio Valley. And seeing like the black sand beaches was just in and of itself was absolutely breathtaking.

And to be able to get that sort of traditional Hawaiian experience, was remarkable and something that I'll never forget. And so that was really incredible and definitely up there as one of my - with my top experiences. And that was during the finale of Season 2.

And then more recently, I really enjoyed fishing out at the lighthouse in Montauk Point. I thought that that was a really good, really fun challenge. I ended up catching three striped bass that day.

And any time that, as a chef any time that I get that close with my ingredients -- like if I'm actually procuring them myself, or if I'm foraging or harvesting the vegetables, or catching the fish, or slaughtering the animal, I instantaneously get like this very, sort of like intimate relationship with the dish that I'm creating. Because you're so closely connected to the ingredients, it's very inspirational.

And I get all emotional any time I'm that close to the ingredients for the dish that I'm trying to create. So and I love fishing. So that was a pretty remarkable experience.