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How do you dream up new dishes for the best restaurant in the world? Can small cheese makers produce their fare safely? Why do we like our fat, sugar and salt in bland junk food rather than in an exotic Indian curry? Is there a smart way to stop us eating ourselves to death? Bob Holmes quizzed Harold McGee, the man every chef, food grower and health minister wants to talk to.

Many people love food and cooking, but you turned it into a science. What happened?

It was the 1980s and my girlfriend – soon…

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