In the highly-competitive world of the California Institute of Technology, one of the most popular class is its cooking class where the final exam-meal is graded by a Nobel laureate. The whiz students say they enjoy the fun and relaxed atmosphere and amazing food.

"We have amazingly gifted people in science and engineering and they are viewed by many people as nerdy," said Caltech's president, Jean-Lou Chameau.

"But at the same time, they are still young people, they want to learn about life, they want to do different things," Chameau added.

The course, called "Cooking Basics" is handled the Caltech way with a great emphasis on the science of cooking.

The class had course professor Thomas Mannion talking about the "collagen breakdown" of barbecuing meat and mentioned the book "Molecular Gastronomy." The course textbook is called, "On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen," written by Caltech alumnus Harold McGee.

Mannion had launched the course for academic credit last year to round off "some of the brightest kids on earth" before they graduated to jobs and research grants.

The class is conducted at Mannion's home fitted with a professional kitchen, and well-stocked pantries.

"Many of them haven't had exposure to some of the things that lead to success, like how to open a bottle of wine or cook for someone at their home or host a dinner," said Mannion.

It is because Caltech students are too busy studying. "It is really high-intensity. There is a lot of demanding class work," said Sarah Stokes, a physics major.