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Collin Flatt chats with the smartest man in Philadelphia not cooking for you, Shola of Studiokitchen. Croissant Soup. Bloodless Mary. All this and more in the most interesting Q&A we’ve ever had. Pics and foodgasm after the jump.

‘Staring into the eyes of madness’ is a phrase filled with connotations of dread. That shouldn’t be, as madness often stems from genius that has expanded it’s focus beyond one application. Jazz musicians were seen to be mad, beat writers as well. Studiokitchen straddles that fine line of madness and genius successfully, becoming a jazz musician in the kitchen: innovation, improvisation, and superior technical talent. Messing Around to him is Creation to us.

A foodie social experiment in his past life, Studiokitchen now exists as the daily work of one man, Shola Olunloya. A tireless journey through the celebration of eats hasn’t affected his priorities, as he agreed to do this piece only if we focused on the food and philosophy, not the man. His blog is peerless, visit it often.

Collin Flatt: What is Studiokitchen?

Studiokitchen: Studiokitchen is my tradename.

CF: Where’d you cut those absurdly sharp teeth?

SK: My training is a summation of some formal education, travel and
eating experiences all over the world. I dont get into names and pedigrees because that really means nothing, it’s the focus and commitment to wanting to be a better cook that drives me. At the end of the day, it isn’t about who taught me what, it was about my will to learn and capacity to retain information. Suffice to say I have cooked for any one worth working for in Philadelphia.

CF: How is Studiokitchen today related to what existed in West Philly a few years back? Will it make a return?

SK: The West Philly thing was purely a social experiment. The point was to create a forum in which people had to remove all pre-dispositions for silly requests and open their minds to creative food. In many ways, it was simply a training dinner. There is no longer a Studiokitchen. I would not bring it back in it’s past form. Sometimes, it’s best to let good memories die happy.

CF: Fair enough. We’re not happy about that, but what can we do about getting the goods right now?

SK:  I work in Philadelphia, New York, Los Angeles, Miami, and Palm Beach. I orchestrate dinner parties in my client’s homes. Unless you hire me to come cook at your house, you would have to wait for one of my guest chef events. Currently I have 2 in the works for the next few weeks. One with Chip Roman at Blackfish and the other with my friend, Munish, who owns Tiffin. We are doing a modernized Indian dinner at Tiffin soon. Date undetermined as of yet. Stay tuned.

CF: We will be there. Do you consult for any restaurants in Philly currently?

SK: I consult for several restaurants in and outside of Philadelphia, but
that is all covered by multiple confidentiality clauses.

CF: Your food is visually stunning with an absurd array of textures. It’s thoughtful and your problem solving is well documented on your blog. What’s your process?

SK:  The process of creating a dish is to be guided by the seasons and
then follow one of several paths of flavor combinations which could be
tangential, sequential, or antithetical. At the end of the day, the synergy
of the completed dish needs to work.

I prefer to keep the actual processes very transparent. The goal at the end is always deliciousness. When I say ‘deliciousness’, I mean food that outside of being solidly trained as a professional cook with a vision and technical skill, is impossible to reproduce at home.

My overarching philosophy is the food just has to taste good and make a profound statement to that effect within 3 bites. I have always said if you are not planning a return trip to a restaurant during your current meal, all things considered, the food is not that good.

CF: I see foams and gelatin in your work. Molecular Gastronomy is a hotbutton issue around these parts. So, is it an industry fad or legitimate practice in cooking?

SK: Molecular gastronomy is neither legit nor fad. It’s just plain silly. ALL cooking is considered “molecular gastronomy”. If you blindfolded your 10 year old sister and told her to drop an egg in boiling water, everything that happens after that egg hits the water is “molecular gastronomy”. My point is that the term itself is meaningless.

Attaching it to hypermodern cuisine with challenging or jarring combinations does not legitimize the definition. 85% of the time, most things that have had that term actively attached to it just don’t taste that good. Interesting yes, creative definitely, but delicious mostly not. In many ways, it ends up being like not seeing the forest for the trees. Liquid nitrogen does not make you a better cook, its just pandering for attention.

CF: So what will we see in the next five years? What’s the evolution of Studiokitchen going forward?

SK: I will have a restaurant within the next 6 months, It may not be
in Philadelphia however, that depends on the best deal for me. I am not a kid anymore and I have a long term vision that will come to fruition. I just need to start by re-inserting myself into the mainstream and then it’s going to flow.

CF: We can’t wait. Thanks for your time, we look forward to the next step in the process. We’ll check the blog regularly.

SK: Thank you, please do.

There you have it. I want to hire this man to just TALK to me about food, he doesn’t even have to cook. Be on the lookout for his upcoming dinners and by the sound of it, a restaurant opening. We want to keep this man for ourselves in the suddenly superchic dining environment Philly has to offer, but we can only hope. Read his blog, send him emails, tell him you like it, you love it. Until then, stick with us to find out details on his latest adventures that we can all experience together. Madness.

- Collin Flatt

[Photos courtesy of Studiokitchen. All rights reserved.]