When
you attend a concert (and pay good money for the
privilege), you expect the artist to pour his soul
into the work. When you want merely to be
entertained, you switch on the TV or go to
Disneyland. There is a huge difference.
Dining
experiences are no different ... not at all. When
participating in a proper sort of culinary
experience, you are part of an artistic expression
that includes the chef, the waiter, the restaurant
management, and you. If you "just wanna eat," go to
Mickey Dee's, Denny's, or Applebee's. Sure the stuff
might "taste good," but that isn't what a bona-fide
dining experience is about. True dining experiences
are more akin to other forms of significant
artistic expression.
 Foodini
-- 3D Food Printing
We
need to make something very clear about this series: This
is is
NOT a source of recipes! This is about serious cooking and
operating a successful kitchen. The goal is to fire your imagination
and passion for the profession. (If you need a recipe for sugar
cookies or Boston baked beans, you will find other places on the web
are far more in line with what you want. Google them ... and enjoy).
Now for a brief word from our
sponsors ...
Creative
Cooking
 I've never pretended to be a chef or culinary artists
of sort. I have far too much respect for the knowledge
and skills that culinary professionals develop over
their lifetime. But I am a dabbler, and not shy about
trying some new things, especially where there is
opportunity to encourage others to share the excitement
of my journeys. So there was this period of time when I
took a shot at doing some original creative cooking.
I didn't learn to cook at home. Well, maybe I learned
some things by watching my mom, but I didn't really take
it seriously until I was nominated the official chef of
my college-days apartment. A decade or so later, I won
some prizes for my chili (every wannabe chef has to win
a chili contest) and a unique "Land Lubber's
Bouillabaisse." The latter was created in the true
spirit of creative cooking. I was crazy about this
Mediterranean fish stew, but lacked the fresh
ingredients, living in the American Midwest of the
1970s. I found it challenging and very exciting to
build my stew from frozen and canned items that were
available. I think the mastery of that particular stew
was every bit as exciting as my science experiments or
getting some U.S.
Patents for things I invented in my little
private laboratory.
Culinary work in this lifelong learning department is
portrayed as an artistic expression.
And if creating new dishes isn't your idea of
excitement, you might consider writing about food,
compiling recipes, or doing food photography. You might
have noticed there seems to be an insatiable market
for such things. For a short time, I went just a
bit over the top with my concept of radical
self-learning and maintained a weekly creative cooking
column in the local metro newspaper. Yes, I got paid for
making up stuff and showing readers how they might do
the same. |
