Intellectualization of food

[JAZ]

Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions.

Although I have not eaten at your restaurant, the descriptions I've read sound really interesting. The interplay of taste and texture is something that fascinates me, and it seems to me that your dishes make your customers think in new ways about food, which is a great thing.

But I wonder if all the innovation and experimentation you and your staff do might make you lose sight of the primary purpose of food (i.e., sustenance and nourishment). Do you ever think your creations are so "out there" that your customers might feel that they are experiencing an art display rather than actually eating dinner? In other words, do you think that your innovation might ever become too intellectualized?

[chefg]

Jaz:

I believe people do not come to Trio for nourishment or sustanance. I doubt whether they come because they are hungry. People are making reservations long in advance, how do they know they will be hungry? In fact I would say people plan their schedule to become intentionally hungry to go to high end restaurants to eat. If you make a reso at TFL 2 months before you actually dine, I would think you will plan your meals the day of your reservation accordingly as to not spoil your dinner.

I hope I am not giving the wrong impression about the food served at Trio, it is not all vapors, and stamp sized pieces of paper. It is one of our goals that people leave satiated. And we do so with unique twists on fairly common ingredients, presented in an artistic manner.

I think the more we intellectulize, the closer to my goal we are. We are crossing the line of "a meal" or "dinner" and moving into the realm of entertainment: in the forms of theater, education, dicussion, visable art. The overall experience becomes so fullfilling on so many different levels it could become the ultimate form of recreation. OK, that might be a stretch, but you see what we are pushing towards.