Shankar Balasubramanian: ‘All chemists can cook, right?’

I started collecting wine few years ago. It’s become a bit of a hobby. When my wife and I travel we like to visit vineyards. Bordeaux wines are my favourites. Some Burgundy areas we’ve come to know quite well. These are places where we’ve met the families that make the wines and hear the stories of how they ended up doing what they do.

I also cook, although my wife would say not very often, because I’m slow. I like to take hours, and that’s not practical on a day-to-day basis. But all chemists can cook, right? For me, it’s actually a test for an organic chemist – how well they cook. Because I think organic chemistry in the lab is part science and part artistry.