DUSTIN SELVAGGIO PART 1: OG OF KOJI

July 28, 2025·51 min·5 clips

The speaker starts with the long road into food work. He talks about classical culinary school, Italian and French kitchens, and the brigade system he came up through. He does not dress up that era. The abuse was part of the culture, and everyone understood it. From there, the conversation moves into what came next. He describes being exposed to food science in a big way, which opened a new lane in his work. He became highly specialized in food science and food technology while working in a major food lab. The episode then turns to the period when modernist cooking was spreading everywhere. Foams, caviars, bubbles, vapors, and essences all come up as part of that wave. He argues the movement mattered because it taught chefs things that had been mysterious for a long time. At the same time, he is clear that the trend could get annoying. Too many plates were loaded up with techniques just because they were fashionable. The show keeps bringing the conversation back to practical reality. He remembers a kitchen where a chef treated one wooden spoon like a magic object. That story lands because it shows how superstition and craft can sit right next to each other in food. He also talks about teaching students and about the evolution of the dining and food service industry, using that to help them understand possible career paths. The episode keeps circling back to where food service has been and where it is headed. It is interested in the systems around the meal as much as the meal itself. The tone stays casual and direct. It sounds like someone who has worked around kitchens and labs speaking honestly about what changed. The result is a grounded look at how a chef’s career can move from classical discipline into food science, education, and a more modern understanding of craft.

As heard by us

A food-science conversation that keeps one foot in the line and one in the lab.

This episode traces a line from classical culinary training into the odd, useful overlap between kitchen work and food science. It moves through brigade kitchens, the abuse that was once accepted there, and the later turn toward food labs, food technology, and modernist cooking.

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Why you'd press play

If you want the story behind modernist food without the jargon haze.

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