Chef Dave Arnold of Museum of Food and Drink - Biography

Dave Arnold’s long-standing love of food, combined with a masters degree from Columbia University, led to a serious penchant for tinkering with restaurant equipment. After meeting fellow “tinkerer” Wylie Dufresne, Arnold became even more passionate about all things culinary, focusing in on the high-tech cooking movement in particular.

Arnold’s ardent hobby became a profession in 2005 when The French Culinary Institute tapped him to head its new Culinary Technology department. As director, Arnold dedicated himself to helping young student chefs achieve their most ambitious cooking goals, using new technologies, techniques, and ingredients. He taught tech classes about sous vide, low-temperature cooking, hydrocolloids, and beyond. He also played with culinary and mixology tools. More than the techniques, Arnold imparts a passion for innovation—the kind of tireless curiosity that drives cuisine to greater creativity, efficiency, and diversity. He brought that innovation, and technical acumen, to the craft cocktail list with the opening of Booker and Dax in 2012.

Arnold’s work has been covered in publications, including Food & Wine, Time, The Economist, and Popular Science, and his own high-tech kitchen was featured in New York Magazine. He also contributes to Food Arts and frequently lectures at leading industry conferences. Arnold has participated in think-tanks for companies such as Unilever, offering his insights on the future of cooking. In his most recent project, as founder and president of the Museum of Food and Drink, Arnold aims to bring his revolutionary way of thinking to a larger scale.