That was the title of the latest Commonwealth Club program I attended on Monday night. The esteemed panel included:
DAVID KINCH, Chef/Owner, Manresa (as well as Love Apple Farms, his biodynamic back yard)
HAROLD MCGEE, Food Science Writer (author of the chefs' Bible, On Food and Cooking)
DANIEL PATTERSON, Chef/Owner, Coi (scene of my "could be my last night on Earth" meal)
JING TIO, Proprietor, Le Sanctuaire (where any chef worth his or her salt buys his or her salt -- and other spices, tools and toys)
It was expertly moderated by AMANDA BERNE, Senior Editor of Ten Speed Press. She obviously does her homework (she even gave us a packet of related reading), knows her panelists well and gets them engaged in the topics at hand.
She did so right off the bat, by having Kinch and Patterson react to the recent comment by Grant Achatz, chef of Alinea: "It's not dinner anymore, it's something else." Both felt strongly that he's dead wrong, that it should still very much be about dinner rather than Alinea's signature outlandish serving pieces and preparations. Instead, Patterson says it's about the connection to the place and the people you're sharing your food with an making your meal. Kinch says it's about the total package -- cooking to make people happy. You have to strike the delicate balance between cooking for yourself and making people happy so that they come back to your restaurant.
On molecular gastronomy (MG): First, a round of groans. The entire panel agreed that this is a term popularized by the media. The only people trying to learn it are new young chefs brought up in the world of Top Chef. McGee explained that MG began as a marketing term in a conference program, and what it's truly about is cooking better by understanding how things work, how ingredients react in the cooking process and creating things people haven't experienced. The media has latched on to the mad scientist aspect of it all, when really what chefs should want to do is focus on making better food. Kinch added, "You can't pack the house night after night doing this food." Once you know the secret or gimmick, there's nothing special about it the second time around. There are chefs who know the precise measurements of hydrocoloids you need to make a certain gelee, but they don't know how to roast a chicken. Speaking of hydrocoloids, Tio, who sells them, hates MG because it makes chefs forget about the basics. Why does water boil at this temperature? The more you understand, the better you'll be. Also, a chef has to be able to communicate to the diners what his inspiration was and how he came up with a dish, and the reason has to be something better than wanting to use the latest gelling agent.
Examples of MG gone wild:
-- At Heston Blumenthal's The Fat Duck, near London, diners are given iPods to listen to the sounds of waves crashing on a beach, to accompany a dish that's made to look like a beach (food resembling sand, water, etc.) While Berne commented that a Stanford study revealed people experience greater depth of flavor after listening to wave sounds, McGee said, "it's manipulation."
-- Blue Hill Chef Dan Barber is so passionate about what he does, and understanding the cooking process (MG by the traditional definition) that he came to Tio in search of "an ultrasound for cows" so that he could go inside them and see which have the best marbling.
-- Tio believes we should be using MG techniques as agents for good. For example, edible paper is being created for developing countries in Africa, so that children not accustomed to eating food can slowly incorporate it.
-- Back here in America, food samples made of edible paper are being developed so that moms can have their kids taste before they commit to buying something their little brats won't eat.
What's natural vs. unnatural:
-- Patterson says what's natural differs by culture and time, morphs with technology, and occasionally races ahead of people's understanding (for example, mesquite ovens back in the day).
-- Kinch commented that everything is based on the quality of the ingredients. Start with the best and grow it if you have to. You cross the line when you manipulate the rareness out of the ingredient (for example so much so that you couldn't tell if the carrot in a dish was organic or bought at Safeway).
On sous vide (Sous vide literally means "under vacuum" and refers to the method of cooking food by vacuum packing it in plastic and immersing it in hot water.)
-- McGee attributed the rise in popularity to the fact that sous vide gives chefs more control. The can now control the heat, in addition to the control they have over the type and quantity of their ingredients.
-- Berne told us that Thomas Keller has been known to sous vide his shoes when he travels so they're nice and soft. Seriously?
At Patterson's restaurant, Coi, he uses essential oils to reinforce ingredients. He's entranced by essential oils, and co-authored Aroma: The Magic of Essential Oils in Foods and Fragrance with Mandy Aftel (who happens to live in Chez Panisse's back yard -- literally). Essential oils allow you to experience an ingredient in a way that you didn't think possible, (which is also why he loves Tio's spices). He's created a perfume at Coi that incorporates the ingredients of the dish, so that people can more fully experience it -- since feeling and remembering are located in the same place in your brain as your smell and taste centers.
Last but not least...what's the future of food? Patterson believes that since the world is flat, any ingredient can be gotten anywhere, and chefs can learn techniques from all over the world. Over time, that will become less and less special, and will lead back to a focus on regional specialties.
Prepare for a goat cheese renaissance, people!
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