Arielle Johnson

Arielle Johnson co-founded the original Noma fermentation lab, as in-house scientist at Rene Redzepi’s famously best-restaurant-in-the-world in Copenhagen, Denmark. Later, she helped Alton Brown reboot his beloved Food Network show Good Eats as chief science officer; and advises some of the world's top restaurants and food brands on flavor and innovation. Arielle’s accessible and irreverent take on the science of food and flavor has appeared in the LA Times, Bon Appétit Video, and magazines like Lucky Peach, Mold, and Apartamento—and now, in the book Flavorama: a guide to unlocking the art and science of flavor (which does what it says on the tin, with 99 home-cook-friendly recipes and hundreds of illustrations and infographics.) Arielle completed a PhD in flavor chemistry at the Robert Mondavi Institute at UC Davis, one of the world’s foremost centers for the science of food and wine. As an expert in the many scientific and creative aspects of flavor, she was a director’s fellow at MIT, advised NASA, and was named one of the 50 people shaping the future of gastronomy. Arielle currently serves as the science director for Noma Projects, and cofounder of Retronasal Industries, a flavor design agency for restaurants, startups, and food and beverage brands.