"No matter how much creativity goes into it, cooking is an art. Or perhaps I should say a craft. It abides by absolute rules, physics, chemistry, etc. and that means that unless you understand the science you cannot reach the art. We're not talking about painting here. Cooking's more like engineering. I happen to think that there is great beauty in great engineering."
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Source : "Alton Brown Answers, At Last". Slashdot Interview, interviews.slashdot.org. September 12, 2002.