The Prahok Epiphany
Does one have to constantly be seeking out exotic, hard to source foods in order to be considered a "gourmand"???
Through the years I have come to appreciate and sometimes even tolerate many types of foods. Although I no longer have a viscerally violent reaction to prahok, in life there will be times when one must just come to accept certain things about one's self. I don't like prahok.
The prahok adventure is part of my work on writing a menu for my restaurant that will give people an experience they won't be able to replicate at home.
Living in LA there are great restaurants within a stone's throw of practically every corner. When I mentioned to my friends and family that I would like to open a restaurant there are all these suggestions on checking out the current trend and either follow it or top it. Some of these trends include serving offals such as heart, ears, brain, and apparently rotten fish or in more palatable terms, fish made by the art of fermentation.
A week of working with prahok, really made me think. In order to become a successful chef/restauranteur is it no longer enough to be able to make the perfect braised beef brisket with a fruit forward Merlot reduction? Or a consomme that is almost as clear as water yet so rich and deep in flavor and viscosity that without looking one might mistaken it for a cream soup?
One of the most exotic things I've come to appreciate is Cantonese clay pot rice. I have yet to find the perfect one. Because it seems so simple, most places don't serve it anymore and those that do can't seem to make it right. The elegance is in it's simplicity and that simplicity is the most difficult to perfect.
Here's my prahok epiphany: They only type of chef/restauranteur I've always wanted to be is one that serves great food that'll bring a smile to people's faces and for that hour or so they're at my restaurant, the food will hopefully take their minds off the day's turmoils. I want it to be a place for friends and family to gather and be joyful.
Therefore, I'm going to make and serve foods I like to eat. The foods I like to eat usually either takes hours or days to make. In today's fast pace, high technology society, most people don't have the time to spend hours or even days cooking so for me to do that for them is already giving people an experience they won't be able to replicate at home. Besides when I invite people over for dinner I just cook foods I like to eat and have received rave reviews so I'm going to take that and run with it.
The most successful people always say to do what you love and love what you do. In the end, it'll all sort itself out.
Does one have to constantly be seeking out exotic, hard to source foods in order to be considered a "gourmand"???
Through the years I have come to appreciate and sometimes even tolerate many types of foods. Although I no longer have a viscerally violent reaction to prahok, in life there will be times when one must just come to accept certain things about one's self. I don't like prahok.
The prahok adventure is part of my work on writing a menu for my restaurant that will give people an experience they won't be able to replicate at home.
Living in LA there are great restaurants within a stone's throw of practically every corner. When I mentioned to my friends and family that I would like to open a restaurant there are all these suggestions on checking out the current trend and either follow it or top it. Some of these trends include serving offals such as heart, ears, brain, and apparently rotten fish or in more palatable terms, fish made by the art of fermentation.
A week of working with prahok, really made me think. In order to become a successful chef/restauranteur is it no longer enough to be able to make the perfect braised beef brisket with a fruit forward Merlot reduction? Or a consomme that is almost as clear as water yet so rich and deep in flavor and viscosity that without looking one might mistaken it for a cream soup?
One of the most exotic things I've come to appreciate is Cantonese clay pot rice. I have yet to find the perfect one. Because it seems so simple, most places don't serve it anymore and those that do can't seem to make it right. The elegance is in it's simplicity and that simplicity is the most difficult to perfect.
Here's my prahok epiphany: They only type of chef/restauranteur I've always wanted to be is one that serves great food that'll bring a smile to people's faces and for that hour or so they're at my restaurant, the food will hopefully take their minds off the day's turmoils. I want it to be a place for friends and family to gather and be joyful.
Therefore, I'm going to make and serve foods I like to eat. The foods I like to eat usually either takes hours or days to make. In today's fast pace, high technology society, most people don't have the time to spend hours or even days cooking so for me to do that for them is already giving people an experience they won't be able to replicate at home. Besides when I invite people over for dinner I just cook foods I like to eat and have received rave reviews so I'm going to take that and run with it.
The most successful people always say to do what you love and love what you do. In the end, it'll all sort itself out.
