Avant Garde In SF

[dragonflychef]

furthermore, i think the opposite of doc, i think diners cut hypermodern chefs more slack , because they might be more unfamiliar with the preparations, saying to themselves, maybe it is me that doesnt get this,. ......... the best steak and fries

, or even a hamburger, then you have everyone and their momma weighing in on what is wrong, or how they could do it better, you wont hear many home cooks say anytime soon , " my pea soil is so much better, "

[docsconz]

There is a difference between creativity and execution. The chef at a more traditional restaurant must execute the dishes that he makes at a consistently high level, but is not under the constant pressure of coming up with novel dishes, techniques and presentations. Executing at that level consistently is certainly difficult enough. Patrons go to traditional restaurants because they want foods that are recognizably familiar. Yes, there certainly is performance pressure to produce those dishes well and my admiration for chefs that do that well and consistently is boundless. Execution, though is no less important for a hypermodern restaurant if their dishes are to arrive on a consistent basis.

As for hypermodern chefs getting cut slack, perhaps it is harder to compare one dish against another, but the bottom line is whether the dish works to the patrons and on what level. If it does, it is a good dish. It can still be subjected to critical analysis though. I believe that it is a question of the diner's experience and confidence with the cuisine. Clearly not all hypermodern or innovative cuisine is great and not all cuisine is great because it is hypermodern or innovative. I have had cuisine that I haven't liked and have said so. I have mentioned ad nauseum on eGullet how disappointed I was with my meal at Pierre Gagnaire last summer. Certainly the creativity pressure is not limited to the hypermodern chef as most haute cuisine chefs, hypermodern or not, are subject to similar pressures. The story of Bernard Loiseau as written in The Perfectionist by Rudolph Chelminski provides a good example of these pressures.

I strongly wish to reiterate that this is not an either-or situation. I would certainly take a well made and delicious traditional meal any time over a mediocre hypermodern one, however, when the latter hits on all cylinders as I have experienced at El Bulli, Arzak, Alinea, WD-50 and elsewhere it is to me an experience without equal. There are also a number of restaurants, perhaps the majority of haute cuisine restaurants, that are located on the spectrum between fully traditional and "hypermodern" or experimental. It seems that most of the haute cuisine restaurants of the bay Area fit somewhere on this spectrum. Many of these restaurants are incorporating techniques taken from the hypermoderns or molecular gastronomists even as they have moved on to other things.

The real value of avant-garde is the development of elements that filter down to the rest of the world. Obviously not everything does, but the world would be a poorer place without them.

[docsconz]

It is harder to be a successful hypermodern chef, though, because people are expecting constant creativity.

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docsconz, I'm not completely convinced of that statement. People have always expected constant creativity. You should see all the trendy restaurants (and their copycats) that are popping up in Los Angeles. Rather, it is just plain hard to be a successful chef, period.

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russell, here here, doing anything at the top level is tough to achieve,and even harder to maintain and improve upon

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I will add to my previous statement, that Russell and dragonflychef, you are both correct, it is "just plain hard to be a successful chef, period." I did not and do not mean to imply otherwise. That makes the great innovators that much more exceptional.

The difference between the successful hypermodern chef and the "trendy" restaurants is where they fall on the spectrum I described above. "Trendy" restaurants are strictly derivative following styles that have become "hot". The hypermoderns and other innovators who do not neatly fit into that category are the ones who are making the styles "hot" in the first place. Trendy restaurants can still be excellent, fun places with great food and neede not be dismissed out of hand or scoffed at. They definitely have their place as well.