Arielle Johnson, Ph.D. ’14, knew she wanted to study food science after a research project on Turkish ice cream, a dessert made stretchy with orchid root. Now, Johnson is an established food scientist, advising restaurants and food manufacturers internationally. 

She graduated New York University in 2009 and applied to a variety of programs for food science, aiming to apply chemistry to gastronomy and cuisine. “Most of them said, ‘we don't really do that,’” she said. “There wasn’t really anyone doing exactly what I do 15 years ago.”

Johnson reached out to the Agricultural and Environmental Chemistry Graduate Group at UC Davis, applying for the doctorate program when they wrote back with open-ended permission to experiment in the Department of Viticulture and Enology.

During her time at UC Davis, Johnson was exposed to a wide range of chemistry applications outside her field of study, from soil to textile invention. “I think the most valuable thing was just being exposed constantly to this diversity of real-world applications for the stuff I was doing,” she said. 

Through the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science advisory board, she connected with Harold McGee, a food chemistry author with whom she became good friends. “That was really a super important push for me to keep doing the stuff that I'm doing,” she said. “Davis is a place that brings people like that together.”

Johnson, who has also spent time at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, said she found UC Davis to be a good mix of serious research and freedom. Johnson did her research on designing and applying new lab instrumentation to understand the fundamentals of flavor perception and also worked with local chefs to study the flavor chemistry of cocktails.

After earning her Ph.D. from UC Davis, she moved to Copenhagen for two and a half years, working at Noma, a world-renowned restaurant. She went on to advise several restaurants and write for food magazines and Good Eats, a show on Food Network.

Last year, she came out with her debut book, Flavorama, A Guide to Unlocking the Art and Science of Flavor, delving into what she learned from her time advising restaurants, studying at UC Davis and working on Good Eats. With her book, Johnson said she hopes to bridge culinary intuition and scientific knowledge for the reader, giving everyday chefs a toolbox for creative cooking. 

“If you understand why flavors work the way that they do, where they come from, and what's happening as you're cooking, you can become a more confident, happier and more creative cook,” she said. Johnson’s book, which is set to be translated internationally, covers the senses, individual flavors, recipes and a variety of techniques, from browning to fermentation, to create flavor on a molecular level.

Today, Johnson lives in New York City, where she works at distillery Empirical Spirits, writes, and works on a product development project. She is now a senior advisor at Noma, working in its fermentation lab, which she started at the restaurant. Johnson also co-founded Retro Nasal Industries, a company that consults on food innovation and product development. She spends a majority of her time finding papers, digging through everything from archeology to ethnobotany journals, extracting information to alter drinks or advise certain companies. 

“It’s a lot of looking at science, thinking about science, and then applying it,” she said. “I'm very happy in that space.” Johnson relays this information to chefs, distillers and bartenders, who apply the concepts to their product. “There's nothing like seeing the results of many, many rounds of iteration on a menu or on a shelf,” she said.

Johnson is experimenting with outreach at the moment, sharing her research and vast knowledge about flavor. “Whether that's a podcast or video, I think there's so much more to talk about, about flavor, to share with people,” she said. Johnson said she is considering becoming a professor in the future. “I love students and teaching and mentoring,” she said. “I’m waiting for the right thing to come along.”