The rise of the self proclaimed foodie has had an adverse effect on the service industry. Everyone with a blog and an instagram account has the potential to be a critic of influence and while I do not agree with it there is something admirable about someone with no formal ties to food service taking that much time to pretty much idolise and/or condemn what we do.
The interesting thing about the foodie discussed before is that they eat professionally. Think about that chefs. This is is the anti-image of everything we do. We cook professionally and often hate it...while they (often but also rarely) make a living out of it. Where did we go wrong? Well…. It starts with the fact that most of us cook so much that we are tired of food and rarely take the time to eat properly as a necessity let alone as a semi-professional pastime. That’s horribly disappointing if you ask me.
I love eating almost as much as I love cooking. Or the other way around. Not sure. Either way when I am not cooking some kinda offal or poultry disguised as a vegetable then you could find me either tucked away in a cafe hawking espressos and inhaling vegan shortbread, or walking out of a polish butcher with my hand buried in a paper bag searching for a slice of jellied pig tongue to nibble on while I walk to a smokehouse for some hot wings and kimchi slaw. I’m the kind of guy that's likely to book a table for one at a 3 rosette place and stroll in perfectly dressed for the occasion if you can overlook the quaver crumbs in my beard and kinder bueno stain on my socks. In other words….I am a hobby eater. So...what's the difference between me and the pro’s?
The difference is that as a chef I learn more from eating than someone who doesn't cook professionally. I see food very differently and when I go out to eat I think about things they don’t and they are not expected to. How can someone who has never worked in kitchen wonder about the prep list on the larder section for a restaurant with 7 cold starters each containing 6 or more elements in a restaurant that seats 80? The answer is simple. They don't. They might just wonder if they make the pigeon heart parfait to order. I am grossly assaulting what they do but let's be fair here...they have a pretty sweet deal.
With that being said I wanna talk about four things we can learn by eating more as chefs and it starts with
1. Foreign food culture
I have never been to Indonesia and it is not in my immediate plans. It still doesn't mean that I can't experience what Indonesia tastes like. There are authentic eateries in for almost any prominent region in most metropolitan cities and with London being the closest one to me I have a wide selection at my disposal. I do not have to go to japan to experience the finest sushi I can when there is a 3 michelin star Japanese restaurant in London. Yes, it may cost me £300 but that is significantly cheaper than a trip to the home of sashimi and Mr. Miyagi.
2. Flavour combinations
You will never know if something goes well together unless you try it. Simple as that. I like to think of the old debate of pineapple on pizza. Some say yay while other nay, To be honest… it is not the strangest thing I have ever had on pizza. Pizza is an amazing thing to eat for that exact reason. You can literally put almost anything on it and it's okay. The best pizza I have ever had was made by a Sicilian pizza chef in a small village….outside of Cambridge. I never thought that potatoes belonged on pizza until he made me a pie with rosemary roasted potatoes, fungi, and nduja. So from that it only makes sense to me that I can make tartiflette with similar ingredients? That's the way it works sometimes. And yes…. Pineapple on pizza is fair game in my books :)
3. Timing
In the back of the kitchen we are always against the wall sending things out at an almost neck breaking pace so this is something so many of us do not pay enough attention to. I used to hear that 5 minutes in the kitchen is 30 to a guest and I often wondered how true that is… Well it can be but it isn't always the case which is why I am a huge fan of tasting menus. Imagine sitting down and after 3 minutes having some water poured for you. Another couple of minutes and your drink order is taken. It has already been what, 7 to 10 minutes before your food is ordered and if you are having a tasting menu then you might be greeted with bread at this point. While it may take 10 minutes for your initial course to be ready you won't notice because there is usually a snack to break up the wait time. It is unannounced to intensify its impact but then you scarf it and a few minutes later your first course arrives. Without noticing you have been sitting for about 30 minutes before getting your starter. It feels soooo different in the kitchen. Sigh.
4. Value
I always like to say when you get something for free you are guaranteed your money’s worth. With that logic it makes sense that when you forage for your food and/or are given something at no cost you are less inclined to be critical of the offer. This is the basic premise of value dining and sometimes we have a threshold for how far we are willing to spend without being inherently underwhelmed. How much is a loaf of bread where you are from? For this example we will assume it costs £/$1. While one of those can sustain you for a designated period of time there is not much excitement going on there but this is the baseline we will establish for survival with no luxury. Luxury is cool and I would gladly exchange 5 loaves for a hefty portion of char sui fried rice from The golden wok up the road from where I live. I wouldn’t think twice on a Thursday night. Would I trade 21 of them for a steak dinner from an eatery? No. I DO NOT order steaks in a restaurant. Ever. It is poor value in my opinion...especially when I can exchange 4 or 5 of them at the supermarket to do it myself at home. Yet I do not think much about exchanging 50 or more loaves for a tasting menu at an acclaimed venue wherever. Why? Because I pay for an experience and/or the luxury of having a meal that meets or hopefully exceeds my expectations as a foodie. Can I replicate the same results at home? More than often the answer is no. On the occasion where the answer is yes then I have to invest a lot of time to duplicate similar results…..and my time is equal to a considerable quantity of loaves. Value is all about how much ‘bread’ you are willing to trade.
In closing, I encourage you guys ALL to eat more and be more adventurous. Do not let past experiences or current trends be the deciding factor in how you eat. Be cautious and knowledgeable but by all means GO OUT AND EAT! Supporting sustainable and ethical blue collar food producers. It does not have to be expensive and more than likely the best thing you can get from venturing out and gorging on someone’s honest offer is priceless. E4TE. Eat 4 The Experience. How many loaves of bread is that worth in your opinion?
~brokedinner
