May 02, 2011

Trends come, and go, but the one thing that will never change is high quality, and dedication to the craft, by chefs all over the world. For example, slow cooking has been around forever, but when “Comfort Foods” took to trend during the recent economy slowdown many chefs went back to braising, slow cooking, sourcing local, and the freshest ingredients, and the likes. If one reads Escoffier, they will see that these basic have been around since the art of cooking started to evolve.

A slow economy forces us all to look at what we do, and consider local, seasonal, and sustainable food ingredients. We chefs, have been taught to keep it simple, don’t over reach, and don’t over promise. Keeping food clean, and to the point, and not placing ingredients on a plate that either don’t make sense, or ones the customer removes before even beginning to consume the meal.

For years, all parts of an animal were utilized for specific cuts, and flavors , and its great to see chefs going back to these cuts, and to secondary cuts, to challenge chefs skills, and as well introduce new items to there customers.

Back to the basics has allowed chefs to not over think food, and present clean flavors, attractive presentations, and unique ways to prepare foods. Many chefs are keeping things simple but getting maximum flavors by putting family secrets into the foods or taking foods they saw as kids and then re inventing them into modern classics.

Keep it simple, keep it basic and use the ingredients to speak for your style of cooking.

Image: Pot Roast Bolognese