What Drives your cooking?

[paul o' vendange]

I think about this question a lot.  Often I want to create theatre on the plate and to reproduce things that I have seen in my travels for my guests.  I’m still a failure at getting that vertical salad presentation from Alfred Portale’s Gotham City Cookbook to work.

←

You may have tried it already, to no avail, but on many vertical preparations, the trick (I have heard, I'm strictly horizontal except for mashed potatoes) is to build the dish inside a length of fat PVC pipe, and then carefully remove the pipe.

+++++

Boy, you guys are way too intellectual for me. ....

←

I haven't posted on this, as I didn't want to say much more but rather hear from others...but I realize I convey an undue nod towards "emotionality." If most of my recipes, plate conceptions, menu/degustation conceptions will often start with some sort of "visceral" response to something, I must admit a very conscious intellectuality as well...if, for instance, I include the pomegranate glaze on a plate of venison rack, in drops and gently-stroked lines, as it sensually reminds me of pristine blood, I will also think very hard, strategically, on how I can best convey whatever impulse first brought me to something. Maybe, there is a triumvirate in place - an emotional or visceral impulse, an intellectual design, and a foundation of orthodoxy. Even these, though, are artificial distinctions. Many times, I will first consciously and intellectually wish to bring about something, and use other things to bear to flesh it out. On and on.

←

I understand that you as a professional have a lot less leisure to wander aimlessly through farmer's markets and a lot more pressure to turn out a variety of consistently excellent products night after night, and I respect the vision you bring to your craft.

I cook in a way that brings me the most pleasure, from the moment I wake up hungry until the time I'm munching leftovers while doing the dishes. I'm pretty sure it's not for everyone -- it's been known to drive my wife to distraction -- but it works for me.

←

I think what you do is fantastic and to the extent I am able, I never, never want to lose that...this is what drives it all, to me, after all. I simply want to share what floats my boat and get paid enough to keep doing that. If I could, I would invite every customer into the kitchen to smell the unique smell of veal stock, after everything is just fully wetted and the simmer is on...braised lamb, when the lid is first removed...the beauty of our local rainbow chard, still in water, as we pull it for service...the smell of cured duck breast, just before hanging it for a few weeks to turn it into prosciutto. Anytime anyone asked "how do you do that," I printed off the recipe, sat down with them, and talked about how they could do it at home. Babette's Feast, as much as we possibly could.

I just realized by your post how much I had talked about "emotionality," and don't think I was being fully straight as I do use my brains as much as I use my "heart," and in truth I think the distinctions between these two poles are a bit arbitrary. Your post helped me to clarify some things for myself.

Edited November 18, 2006 by paul o' vendange (log)

[paul o' vendange]

Of course there's always the mix and match from the fridge and cupboards method, too.

Take everything out, place all over the countertops, mix and match as desired, cook and devour.

Works pretty good.

←

Hahahaha. Yep - but name it afterwards, not beforehand. Then it's the "genius combination by design."

[C_Ruark]

Skimmed the thread... weighing with my approach.

Planning

Eating, by nature, is destructive, so my goal is to get you to enjoy completing the process. I think about what the plated dish will look like, but don't get too hung up on it. It has to taste good first and foremost. My basic philosophy on the elements of a good dish:

I - Taste - The taste obviously must line up with the ingredient(s). For instance, I just learned that I don't want walnut oil in my basic focaccia recipe because the low smoke point is adding a bad bitter taste to my bread. It’s like eating one big over-roasted nut. Very unpleasant.

II - Bite - The bite action should be appropriate for the food. Good bites are tender scallop, buttery marrow, silky panna cotta. Bad bites are rubbery squid, stale cake, tough steak. Certain cooking techniques work on certain foods.

III - Crispy/Crunchy - No matter what it is, most people like to feel something crack or disintegrate as they eat.

IV - Clean - No harsh lingering aftertastes or bad mouth feel. I never-again want a review with the phrase “that tasted very oily”.

V - Contrast – Some level of contrast is needed; whether is the texture of different ingredients, or simply changing how you plate. Most will agree that serving a scoop of homemade vanilla bean ice-cream with a sprig of mint is far more appealing than serving a naked scoop of mass-produced artificial vanilla.

Choosing ingredients and Cooking

1.) Look for a main ingredient.

2.) Pick one or two side items.

3.) Choose the flavor notes to impart

4.) Think about time management and select best method

5.) Cook

6.) Think about how to plate it.

Edited November 18, 2006 by C_Ruark (log)