What a silly and poorly thought-out piece! As a journalist -- although maybe we should be safe and stick to the word "writer" -- I would be extremely hestitant to break out the old "industrial food processing" chestnut, given that it's been bandied about for at least half a decade now. A Google search would have helped, or a cursory look at any of the debates on progressive cuisine on any number of food forums. Many chefs readily acknowledge that some of their techniques and food additives originated in industrial food, and they've been acknowledging it for a very long time now. That's where a lot of food science and research are concentrated; that's where the money is. We should welcome chefs appropriating this knowledge for their own ends, as well as Mr. Myhrvold approaching food scientifically from an enthusiast's perspective, as opposed to a conglomerate's.
As for the influence question, Mariani is just dead wrong. It takes a very willful ignorance to overlook that Ferran Adria is, at least arguably, the most influential chef of our time, alongside Michel Bras. Look at the San Pellegrino Top 50 Restaurants list, regardless of what you think of it: El Bulli is number 2 and the other top 7 are clearly in the progressive vein. Number 8 is Daniel. Mariani mentions Thomas Keller and his roast chicken. Is he aware that The French Laundry and Per Se use hydrocolloids? Transglutaminase? Sparingly, yes, but probaly more than you'd think. Corey Lee makes fake shark's fin -- with chemicals! He ran The French Laundry for four years. Manresa, Coi, all of the Momofukus, Corton, Eleven Madison Park, Providence, Blue Hill -- all of these restaurants, and many more, are at the very least informed by the progressive approach. Just because you're getting a pretty bowl of vegetables doesn't mean they're not sous-videing your lamb's neck or thickening your sauce with seaweed extracts. Even Michael White uses a thickener in his sauce for butter-poached lobster with root vegetables and vin jaune. And that's just in the US. What about in our own area? Oval Room, New Heights, RJ Cooper, Volt, Ashby Inn, Townhouse...
Mariani should know this; if he actually does, then he's being deliberately obtuse. If he doesn't, he's just inexcusably ignorant. I don't know which is worse.