Instructions
As anyone who entertains regularly will know, there is a great pressure to be brilliant.
Put it down to our uniquely human desire for individual recognition. Put it down to the rapid pace and ever-changing nature of modern life. Put it down to those myriad cooking shows with their incessant retinue of complicated solutions to simple problems.
Whatever the cause, the feeling is real.
So what’s to be done? Well the answer depends on your mindset I guess. Which do you value higher? Excellence or creativity.
In part it’s a clear matter of vogue – fashions in food change almost as fast as they do in clothes, subject to the eccentricities of market leaders and the purse-strings of their hangers-on. Just at the moment, points of difference are widely considered to be the true hallmarks of greatness.
But this was not always so. Just ten years ago, in the midst of our most recent national obsession with the rusticated Italian life, we collectively bestowed the greatest honours on those chefs whose food was a true reflection of perfect flavour, regardless of appearance.
Form vs function. It’s an ancient and unresolvable quandary.
While I can’t speak for the artists, I can speak for the chefs and restaurateurs. A cursory scan across those eating houses with the longest pedigree reveals that those who last the distance are always driven by quality rather than ingenuity. For while fads come and go, delicious food remains enjoyable through time.
Food should be enjoyed with all our senses – the look, the feel, the sound of the dining room, as well as the smell and taste – but it is undoubtedly the last two that we as humans value most. So next time you’re out to dinner, take a moment to close your eyes and think. Don’t be fooled by the showy presence that can confuse your eyes, and instead trust your nose.
There are some chefs and some dishes that manage to combine true greatness of both fields, but they’re few, far-between, and always expensive. So for the home cook seeking adulation follow a few simple rules.
Choose the best quality ingredients. Choose simpler rather than more complicated techniques. Try to celebrate the flavour of one ingredient rather than trying to blend many. Remember that presentation is the finishing touch, not the defining characteristic. A simple dish done well always trumps complicated mediocrity.
Of all the meals you’ve eaten, you’ll remember the tasty ones first. Now that’s the brilliant way to entertain!
Ajo blanco de Malaga/