Top Chef and Greatness
Smoked Salmon with Faux Caviar & White Chocolate Wasabi Sauce
Today’s Top Chef winning recipe by Andrew D’Ambrosi, Dale Talde and Richard Blais, here. While I won’t analyze the entire show, I’d like to touch on Zoe’s comment that was along the lines of this:
“If smoked salmon, white chocolate, wasabi and celery root is gonna win Top Chef, the I don’t want it.”
Argh. That kind of immaturity is the kind of stuff that irks me to no end. I mean, there are a lot of people who aren’t feeling the molecular biology thang (which is a term that’s starting to bloat with all the diverse techniques that are beginning to surface**) but honestly, don’t hate on someone’s food if you’re pissed ’cause you’re in danger of losing… it’s just ugly. It’s one thing to talk smack, but it’s another to belittle the entire judging process of what is essentially a glorified game to make yourself feel better. Plus, it’d be nice to hate on if you even TASTED the food.
Liana and I were talking about the quote afterwards and I suddenly switched on ramble-mode. Look, I know there are egos in the kitchen. I know there’s yelling, screaming, backstabbing, smack talking and what not… but to say that a flavor combination that’s quite unconventional wouldn’t work is just being close minded. There’s a reason why Grant Achatz can do what he does as a microbiologist – he was the sous chef under Thomas Keller at the French Laundry. Say what you will about Keller and his team, but they know their stuff – ingredients, their infinite preparations and what they pair well with. He has such a strong foundation that he has the luxury to explore food in every way, shape or form.
And honestly, that’s why I cook at home. I want to build a foundation as well – not as extensive by any means, but still. I want to know what a proper brunoise of shallot with Irish butter will taste like stuffed under the skin of a roasted chicken. I want to know how flour and butter make a roux which makes a Béchamel sauce which makes a sexy plate of mac and cheese. I want to know how different cans of tomatoes work in stews (domestic tomatoes are way too acidic, while Italian tomatoes are deep in flavor). I want to know if I have the capacity to set my internal clock for the exact moment that the cartilage and collagen breaks down in a beef stew. I want to know how much lemon juice is just right. I want to be able to taste a dish by just reading its recipe. I want to know that I can trust myself throwing sliced bread under a hot broiler to toast without burning the heck out of it and burning down the house and Xbox. And Wii. And uhh… hmm… my turntables (YES DEAR I’D SAVE YOU FIRST LOL).
It’s just like Michael Jordan and the free throw…
..Jet Li and the horse stance…
…Walt Whitman and the rhyming verse…
…Shigeru Miyamoto and Super Mario Bros…
…Mike Einziger and the “power chord…”
The basics are the key to greatness.
I would go on, but I totally just spilled ginger ale all over my desk and subsequently on my leg. I’ll just write that off and offer a toast to greatness. TO GREATNESS.
Cheers. 
~Spec
**read this interview with Heston Blumenth (Fat Duck) and Grant Achatz (Alinea) for more information
