Culinary art

To All My Readers

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Dear Friend’s
on LinkedIn, Facebook and other social networks.

I post in 50 different LinkedIn groups and a bunch of different social networks. The reason in the beginning was to expose my blog to fellow professionals and food lovers and gain an audience. To my dismay, I realize now that having spread out so much has helped the popularity of the blog tremendously, but has undermined one of the main goals of mine, which is to keep an ongoing conversation with food lovers about all things culinary. You see, most folks read and comment on ChefsOpinion on the linkedIn page or social network page where they receive it, which is of course a separate page for each separate group and network. So, while anywhere from none to a hundred people might comment or critique on a specific article or recipe, that comment or critique in turn will only be seen by members of this particular group or network. This of course drastically limits the scope of the conversation and exchange of ideas and opinion which would be so much more entertaining, educational and interesting if it would all happen on the same place of origin, ” www.ChefsOpinion.org ”
So, dear friends, since chefsopinion is a free and extremely secure blog (hosted by wordpress), I would like to ask all of you to please subscribe directly to Chefsopinion instead of receiving it through secondary sites. This not only makes it safer for you, it would also bring us closer together as a group of food lovers and cooking enthusiast’s and let us share all comments, ideas, critiques and criticism on the one place it was meant to be shared, “ChefsOpinion”

With best regards and many thank’s for your ongoing support,
Hans
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Below find a few of the hundreds of comments I received on the “Am I Obsolete ?” post.
The comments below are excerpts from the comments I received on the “American Culinary Federation Group” on “LinkedIn”

American Culinary Federation Discussion|Poll DiscussionsMembersPromotionsJobsSearchMore…

Am I Obsolete ? chefsopinion.org . . I love food.
I love food for the sake of food. Does that make me obsolete? Out of touch? Old fashioned? Removed? Aged? Antiquated? Archaic,? Bygone? A fossil? Moth-eaten? Out-of-date? Outm… 7 days ago Like CommentUnfollow Flag More Charles Huffman-Speech-Ai-Wed-Afternoon, Melinda Brown and 2 others like this 13 comments Giovanni

Giovanni Leopardi • Absolutely NOT…sometime i feel the same way, but then when I look in to the operations I am at the Helm of…I realize the importance of seasoned professionals in the field..you never will find a EXPERT…SEASONED YOUNG CHEF…sure we are able to find interesting and dedicated personnel but they always will need guidance support and direction to the way forward…it is the circle of life…

Larry Dann, C.F.B.E. • Good morning Hans, I could have not said it more eloquently. And absolutely NOT are you obsolete etc. I am 51 and with the exception of one cook and one dishwasher that I have working for me am the oldest person in my kitchens. I have four properties that I am responsible for and have several cooks, sous chefs, and chefs that are all younger than me. Like you I read incessantly and am always looking for great new ideas and trends but Food is Food, and Crap is Crap. When this whole Molecular Gastronomic revolution began I felt that it was a fad (and still feel that way). Although there are certainly a few pretty cool ideas that have come from it I feel a lot of it is just a waste of valuable time and effort. Mini plates are fine too but I don’t get the fascination with them. Thomas Kellar has surely done well with them. But then there is that congress of chefs who are very talented fine culinary artists who perhaps wouldn’t know what to do with a brisket of beef, a head of cabbage, and potatoes. I love all of my guys and gals. I treat them with respect and try to teach everyone at least one or two things every week. It is always great to see that light bulb go off when they realize they are learning something new and have that “Ah Hah” moment. Although you and I may have already been doing it for 30 years. In this field experience can not be underestimated or taken for granted. I also think that an very important thing is to surround yourself with young people and really watch what they are doing and what is important to them. Not only at work but in their private life. A genuine interest is so important. I also try to keep in shape so I can keep up with them…..lol. Okay, I’m out of breath here…LOL Have a great day!

Laura Anderson • As a young professional just starting off in the culinary world I don’t believe any seasoned, professional chef could be considered obsolete. If a chef must rely on molecular science to make food then they are not, in my mind, a chef. As you said on occasion sure I like to go outside the box and try something that looks fancier than it taste but for the most part I enjoy good home cooking. Real food for people with a real appetite for something delicious!! Any chef who doesn’t think they can and have learned from the generations before us are pretentious, it all comes down to learning the basics. I believe you learn from everyone you work with, even if you are learning how not to do things you have still taken away from that experience. I want to absorb every bit of knowledge I can from the “seasoned professionals” and then take that information and make it my own. I want to make food that will take people on journeys and the only way for a young professional to become a chef is to learn from those who have gone before us. Therefore you are never obsolete, your ability to pass on knowledge should always be held in high regards!

Beautifully said Laura 🙂 Wise and smart and surely on the right path. Cheers ! Life is Good !

James Filaroski • I love food as well. The world is moving to robotic food and service and theres a lost art of doing things well, with passion. My deal with the new world of culinary profesional is they dont want to put the time we did into learning the right way. There needs to be more decipline when it comes to the younger generation. You cannot teach passion that has to be in ones sole. We are not fossils, well made quality food will always compete in the market place. I know one one to re-create fads suck as gastronomic, big plates small plates etc. Like theme restaurants they have a 3-5 year shelf life until the next one comes along. Great fresh quality food with value will always come out on top. Keep the dream alive my friends.

Kim Bisk • I also love Food… And Good Food is Good Food… No matter what the concept is… Small Plate, Traditional, Gourmet, Family Style, etc. etc… When you find the right combination of Flavors… It is Good!!! There is nothing Obsolete when the flavors are there!!!

Gerard Campione • We have finally found the true cuisine…and it is in honor of your style of dedication to good food. It is a cuisine of natural ingredients from locally sourced producers. Local farmers, ranchers, artisans using raw ingredients without preservatives, artificial colors and flavorings. To eliminate processed foods with more chemicals than essence. Your many years of using fresh, nutrient rich vegetables and animals with the knowledge of using all the parts without waste. What a unique quality in cooks that only recently has become fashionable…again. Your gifts of knowlege are much appreciated now that we finally know what you were talking about. Never stop teaching. We will eventually learn from your true cuisine.
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Arrogance & Narcissism Of The Highest Order ?

.Michel Bras’ gargouillou, which René Redzepi has called one of the most copied

Michel Bras’ gargouillou, which René Redzepi has called one of the most copied dishes of all time [Photo: Entre Les Bras/Facebook]

Dear Friend’s
If you think the picture above shows a pretty presentation and is worth to pay a few bucks for in a nice restaurant, so that you have something to nibble on until the real food arrives, then we speak the same language.
If, on the other hand, you think this represents culinary art, innovation, and groundbreaking plating technique, we might not be from the same planet.

Here is what has started to tick me off lately:
A spectacle is being made by a bunch of chef’s about copy protecting recipes, cooking techniques, plating details, and styles. One recent headline on “Eater” read:

” Inspiration and Attribution in Cooking:
How and When Should Chefs Credit Their Sources? ”

What a tremendous load of bullcrap !
It is one thing to credit your sources for a “unique” recipe, technique, idea and/or influence out of respect and good manners.
It is a whole other story to, as some donkey’s now do, “demand” credit for something that has been around for years, decades or even centuries.
Lot’s of chef’s nowadays call themselves innovators, visionaries, inventors, when all they do is change, grow, and, hopefully, refine established ideas, techniques, method’s and ingredient’s.

– Fried Hollandaise ? Hollandaise has been around for a long time, folks. Frying , too !
– Foraging for food ? Come on guys, even my great great great great great… grandfather was foraging for food.
– Food trucks ? Been around for decades in Europe, (See also food carts in other parts of the world)
– Elaborate presentations? Medieval cuisines started that trend.
– Use of the whole animal? Come on, really?
– Sprinkle a few leaves, herbs and edible flours on a plate “painted” with a sauce or coulis? Ask your twelve-year-old to give you a hand.

While there are without a doubt a few (very few) chefs’s out there who are true innovators, artist’s and culinary visionaries, the majority of dishes, techniques, presentation, ingredients, and combinations, have been around forever. Some have come and gone, some have looked and tasted a bit different, some have not been as popular and many have come from other parts of the world and simple been introduced to an unknowing group of people who did not travel or frequent ethnic restaurants (or food trucks) and were therefore never introduced to stuff which was already well established elsewhere.

Now, just imagine to take this nonsense a step further and contemplate the following:

Every time you write a menu, you give credit to the creator of the tomato soup, baked potato, grilled steak, poached fish, lemon wedge, compound butter, turning spaghetti with a fork, sprinkling cheese on top of pasta, a ham & cheese sandwich, blanching and shocking in ice water, decorating your pudding with whipped cream (EXTRA credit if you add vanilla, extra-extra credit if you add sugar, extra extra extra credit if you call it Chantilly) Where would it start? I certainly could never end and be nothing but a pointless exercise. Professional chefs are well aware of the names of the creators of certain dishes, techniques, even garnishes (Melba, Célestine, Grand-Mère, Café de Paris), but in my humble opinion the names of these creators and innovators are still alive today because what the have created was worthwhile to cherish, admire, look at and most of all, eat, eat and eat again !

Ahhh, a little venting does one good 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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50.000 Hits In Just Four Months Of ChefsOpinion. Thank You All !

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Dear Friends,

Thank you all for your continuous interest and support of ChefsOpinion.
It makes me happy and proud that I can share my dishes and my culinary views with so many fine folk’s. Even if we are not always of the same opinion about a specific dish, style, recipe, or method, you and I share a never ending love and passion for all things culinary and appreciate an open dialog about it.
I would highly appreciate any suggestions and / or requests to shape ChefsOpinion even more to your liking. If not, I will just continue to do what I love to do and hope that we, as a community of culinary enthusiasts, will grow even larger and that we can enjoy many more dishes, opinions and ideas to come 🙂
Friend’s, if you can find it in your hard and if you think my blog deserves it, please be so kind and help me spread the word amongst your friends, colleagues and family. Thank you.

With best regards,
Hans.
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Life is Good !

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