Jacques Torres + David Linden
The Compass of Pleasure

Sunday April 17, 2011 @ 6:00 PM
Price: $25.00
Member Price: $22.50


Whether consuming chocolate, taking drugs, engaging in sex, or doing good deeds, the pursuit of pleasure is a central drive of the human animal. In The Compass of Pleasure Johns Hopkins neuroscientist David J. Linden explains how pleasure affects us at the most fundamental level: in our brain. The master chocolatier Jacques Torres provides the audience with samples of his most mouthwatering selections to allow participants to both experience pleasure while the process itself is being discussed.

The youngest-ever winner of the Meilleur Ouvrier de France (Best Pastry Chef of France) in history, Jacques Torres spent eleven inspired years as Executive Pastry Chef at Le Cirque, before leaving to open his renowned wholesale, retail, and e-commerce chocolate company, Jacques Torres Chocolate, in Brooklyn, NY. Torres has won numerous awards, including the James Beard Foundation Pastry Chef of the Year, the Chefs of America Pastry Chef of the Year, and Chartreuse Pastry Chef of the Year. He is a member of the Académie Culinaire de France, and in 2003 the James Beard Foundation inducted him into the Who's Who of Food and Beverage in America. He joined the French Culinary Institute in 1993 as Dean of Pastry Arts. Torres is the author of two Dessert Circus books, and many will remember him as host of the Food Network TV show Chocolate with Jacques Torres. The Jacques Torres Ice Cream Shop opened in 2009, right next door to the original chocolate shop in Dumbo, Brooklyn, NY.

As he did in his award-winning book, The Accidental Mind, David Linden combines cutting-edge science with entertaining anecdotes to illuminate the source of the behaviors that can lead us to ecstasy but that can easily become compulsive. Why are drugs like nicotine and heroin addictive while LSD is not? Why has the search for safe appetite suppressants been such a disappointment? The Compass of Pleasure concludes with a provocative consideration of pleasure in the future, when it may be possible to activate our pleasure circuits at will and in entirely novel patterns.

 

 

  • Directions
  • By Subway
  • A, C and E to 14th Street (8th Avenue)
  • 1 to 18th Street (7th Avenue)
  • 1, 2, 3 to 14th Street (7th Avenue)
  • F and M to 14th Street (6th Avenue)
  • L to 14th Street (6th Avenue)
  • N, R, Q, 4, 5 and 6 to 14th Street Union Square
  • By Bus
  • M6, M7, or M20 to the corner of 7th Avenue and 18th Street.
  • M5, M6, or M7 to the corner of 6th Avenue and 18th Street.
  • Parking
  • There is a 24-hour parking lot on the corner of 17th Street and 6th Avenue. In addition, there are parking garages along 17th Street going towards Union Square.
  • Hours
  • Monday: 11 a.m – 5 p.m.
  • Tuesday: Closed
  • Wednesday: 11 a.m – 7 p.m.
  • Thursday: 11 a.m – 5 p.m.
  • Friday: 11 a.m – 10 p.m.
  • Saturday and Sunday: 11 a.m – 6 p.m.

  • The museum is closed on Christmas, Thanksgiving, and New Year’s Day.

  • The Café and the Shop are open during the museum hours.

  • To find out more about our tours
    view our Tours page.
  • Accessibility
  • The Rubin Museum of Art strives to meet the needs of all visitors. For information about general accessibility and special programs at the museum, view our Accessibility page.
  • Admissions
  • Adults - $10.00
  • Seniors 65+ - $5.00
  • Students 13+ - $5.00
  • Children (12 and younger) - Free
  • Museum members - Free
  • Gallery admission is free every Friday from 6-10 p.m.
  • Gallery admission is free for seniors (65 and older) on the first Monday of every month.

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