Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/39104
FROM THE eDitoR Creativity Run Amok When I was a kid and my parents took me out to dinner, the menu was usually fairly predictable. It was a meat-and-potatoes age and creativity was relegated to art museums. We knew what we were going to eat before we walked into the restaurant. But things changed. Creativity arrived in the kitchen. Menus blossomed with new, exciting dishes. Classically trained chefs began to take a few tentative steps into uncharted waters. Dishes began to become personal expressions. Then nouvelle cuisine, with its Asian sensibili- ties, arrived. Artful and inven- tive presentation became a part of the culinary lexicon. A new generation of chefs who had honed their skills in the great kitchens of Europe combined their skill sets with new, innovative ideas. Wolfgang Puck, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Thomas Keller and others injected different ethnic and individual ideas into their cooking, creating vibrant personal styles. Up to that point, things were evolving in a logical and positive manner. New ideas and techniques were being absorbed, expanded, re-worked and re-invented. It was an orderly chaos of creation. But somewhere along the way the creativity movement went off the tracks. Example: A few years ago I went to a Michelin-starred restaurant in Provence. The nine-course tasting menu featured foam on every dish. Whatever happened to moderation, fi nesse and balance in a meal. Not at this place. Just dump foam on every dish; everyone will think you’re a creative genius. Right? People who have never heard of beurre blanc, much less being able to make one, are creating “molecular” master- pieces. Ferran Adrià is a great creator as well as a brilliant technician. You’re no Ferran Adrià, pal—and by the way, foam is so ten years ago. Some of the most egregious culinary train wrecks I have experienced have been at the hands of “creative” chefs whose career paths have zoomed from pancake griddle to pan-Asian monstrosities. Trying to run before you can walk is a rampant scenario in many of today’s kitchens. Even in the current creative atmosphere, there is still no substitute for experience and proper training. Restaurateurs should be mindful of the fact that there are lots of fl ashy, half-baked poseurs out there. All the investment and the hard work that goes into a restaurant can be wasted if you bet on the wrong horse. 4 / the tasting panel / august 201 1 PHOTO: CATHY TWIGG-BLUMEL