cooking q's

In an interesting conversation with a member recently, I was asked how I could possibly know how to cook so many different styles of cuisines. This was in reference to one of our specialty nights, where we feature authentic representations of different countries. It was interesting because the member just assumed that we simply bought prepared items and served them. He was astonished to find that we actually prepare from scratch.

To tell you the truth, it never occurred to me that anyone would take this perspective. From my side of the ball, I know that we prepare about 95% of everything on our menus. We butcher the meat and fish, make the stocks for soup and sauce, mix, proof and bake the French rolls and pizza shells, cut all the vegetables…everything from scratch. It’s the only way I know how to run a kitchen and I would not do it any other way. Of course, this can lead to some variations. An eggplant picked and cooked in August will taste different than one prepared in December to exactly the same recipe because of seasonality—that sort of thing. If that sounds odd, just think of wine: the exact same grapes on the same vines in the same place produce different tastes from year to year because of soil, wind and other conditions. And of course we all know how much better corn is later in the summer as opposed to early. That is one of the reasons we change the menu so often. Only commercially prepared foods have the same taste and consistency at all times, and that would never do.

As to the aforementioned multiple cuisine issue: cooking, as a profession is no different than other disciplines. A mechanic, for instance, typically can repair most anything on a car, whether it is brakes, drive train, fuel system, etc. And who would be comfortable going to a dentist who did not know all of the facets of dental care? Like anything else, cuisine, any cuisine, can be learned if you understand the basic tenants of cooking. My job as a professional chef affords me the luxury of exploring the world when it comes to food, and that, to borrow a famous title, is the joy of cooking.