The food-obsessed crowd is consumed with the upcoming release of a revolutionary cookbook called Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking. This $625 six-volume tome is the work of Nathan Myhrvold, a physicist-turned-inventor-turned-food-geek and occasional competition barbecue-r. (I interviewed Myhrvold's co-author Chris Young for State of Q in December.)

When Myhrvold recently invited some of the country's most influential palates to a 30-course tasting of dishes from this epic work, one of the high-concept creations that got big raves was barbecue: ribs and brisket, cold smoked and then cooked sous vide in a slow-simmering water bath. Looking at the gorgeous photo on Serious Eats, I couldn't help wondering if any chef in Memphis had ever tried putting an upscale twist on barbecue.

I talked with Kelly English from Restaurant Iris and think he pretty much nailed the prevailing sentiment: Why do barbecue when so many other folks in Memphis are doing it so well? "It's really a matter of respect," he said.

While English does incorporate elements from the pit -- he loves infusing smoke in unexpected places -- he steers clear of cooking barbecue. Unless, it comes to watching and learning techniques from his father-in-law, a former engineer who has custom-built smokers and is a competition barbecue judge.

Those techniques helped guide English last year when he participated in Cochon 555 in Atlanta. This nationwide pig out designed to highlight the rewards of cooking with heritage breed pigs sparked some heated competition and though he didn't take away a trophy, English got his first taste of cooking whole hog. (Pictured here.)

"We cured a 200-pound Old Spot hog in coriander, fennel seed and sugar and then smoked it over peach and pecan wood while mopping it with sweet tea," he said. "That sweet tea gave turned it golden brown and made the skin so crunchy," he said.

He mixed the lard that was rendered with masa and made tamales with the pulled pork. Oh man. That sounds so delicious.

English also did another show-stopping style of barbecue at last fall's Southern Foodways Alliance symposium in Oxford, Miss., when he made true-blue barbacoa. For those unfamiliar with that Tex-Mex tradition, it involves burying cow's heads under a blanket of coals. The low-and-slow cooked meat is shredded and chopped and served with tortillas. I was lucky enough to try it and it was spectacular!

Come to think of it, my very first brush with barbecue in Memphis was at a fancy dinner. I didn't know any better and ordered ribs at Automatic Slim's way back in the sultry summer of 2003. They were good, but nothing special. The very next night, I ordered ribs at Rendezvous and it proved to be a life-changing experience. That meal helped convince me to move to Memphis.