Dining versus Eating

[Gary Soup]

slate.com has an amusing piece about "Foaming Chefs" posted. It makes the interesting point that Ferran Adria and his imitators, now matter how fresh and natural the raw ingredients they start out with, are turning out products that are more highly processed and refined than the mass market products we all like to decry.

Are high-end restaurants selling the spritz instead of the soda? Is there an increasing disconnect between "fine dining" and quality eating? Where will this trend go?

[Susan in FL]

I didn't follow that very well. I'm going to track this and see what it's about. It looks interesting.

[Marian Burros]

I don't think at all there is a disconnect. So many chefs are now doing the simplest things - think Craft - as well as the few who really like to play with their food.

In the end I would say that you judge whether it works or not based on how it taste.

There's one new restaurant in New York where the chef plays with his food so much that it is cold when it gets to the table and it has no flavor. The dishes are more a set piece than for eating

Others, like Michel Richard at Citronelle in Washinton, are unbelievably creative, but to him, the most important thing is how it tastes. He's a genius.

When this creativity works I see nothing wrong with it but I think you probably already know that all the creativity at El Buli doesn't.

[Gary Soup]

At this moment I can hear moms who want their infants to grow up to be chefs saying: "Go ahead, play with your food, dear."

But I can't forget Julia Child's comment about Nouvelle Cuisine: "You can tell somebdy's fingers have been all over it."

[Marian Burros]

thanks to all for a fascinating week talking to a lot of very smart people