Grr! TV Chefs!?!
Answers: Just watching a TV cooking show and its really made me mad! Who do these chefs think they are? They throw away perfectly good food because they think its not cooked 'perfectly'! What is perfect food? Some people like their steaks rare, some medium and some well done, some people like their veg quite firm and some quite soft - I don't think there is any wrong way - its all personal taste! But what sickens me is when they throw perfectly edible food into the bin when there are starving people all over the world - even this country there are people on the breadline who wouldn't say no to a well done steak. I'm angry at the way they try to tell us what is 'correct' to eat! Its like the "Kings New Clothes" all over again - what they say goes. But I say it all goes down the same hole so whats' the problem??!!??
I totally agree (and I'm a chef!).
Personally, I prefer my meat rare, my veg cooked firm and I prefer a jus ( an unthickened liquid made from the pan in , which my meat has been cooked, perhaps enhanced with a little Madeira and reduced) rather than a sauce or gravy. However, as a chef, I cook for my customers, and if someone wishes their steak to be burned to a crisp, then I'll cook it so. I simply make sure that my waiter has written 'overcooked' on his order pad in case the customer complains. I can resurrect and underdone steak, but I cant restore a borned offering, and steak is expensive, and my margins are small.
I repeat, as a chef, I cook for my customers, not for myself.
Us chefs are a funny breed, however. We can transform what the average domestic cook would dump in the bin (liver, kidneys, sweetbreads in general - even heart and brain) into mouthwatering cuisine,.and we are justified in being proud of our efforts. Where chef turns to prima donna is when the chef ceases to cook for his/her customer and only cooks for himself - to satisfy the ego of the chef rather than the appetite of the customer.
I don't dump meat, even leftovers. Leftover meat feeds the cat that keeps my yard behind my kitchen free of vermin, and meat rejected as overcooked is diced, cooled and used in stews to feed myself (it is not recycled to my customers).
If you order food from me, I will cook it as you want. I have to make a living from my food, not my image.
With you 100% on that one!
you are correct ....Who the hell do they think they are....one mans/women's meat is another mans/women poisen
I like your point. I annoys me too when you hear a waiter say that "the chef will not cook a steak well done", and I have heard it myself.
As you say, it is a matter of taste. The best I can think is that if you know that you liked your veggies and meats well cooked, then you have to avoid some of those "trendy,upscale" places. I do think that allot of down to earth people do avoid them for that very reason.
The waste in this country is appalling. What we throw away could feed a 3rd world country for ever. It's a shame.
I watched a special on teams getting ready for a cooking contest. This team they focused on was the Canadian team. They had certain things they had to make so after agreeing on their menu they had to practice to make sure that the things were done within the correct amount of time, the sauces for the plates had to be perfect so they wouldn't run, etc. Some of the dishes were partridges and this fish that they decorated and painted, etc. For six months or so, they practiced making these dishes every day. They never said what they did with them when they were done, whether they tossed them, ate them or gave them away. I often wondered about it. Also, how very boring making the same thing day in and day out. Now, times this by all the other teams out there doing the same thing.
Some chefs, like Rachael Ray, give you the recipe but tell you to change it around if you want to or give substitutions for certain things. These people know that not all tastes are alike.
On the bright side, I saw a Food Network (Canada) chef doing a report on something they're doing in DC. The organization is called D. C. Central Food Kitchen, and they're working with local chefs. The chefs there are sending unused foods (like if they only use lobster tails they send the claws, etc) and the program uses the unused food for meals for the needy.
you are right there is no wrong way and people need to understand that not everything is perfect
I'm panicking! Did I miss a cooking program? Watched "The Restaurant" and that has become more pretentious by the week. What upsets me is now knowing that restaurant need and want to "turn tables", i.e. they don't really like us too much, just our MONEY!!!! Horrible, truly horrible. I cook well and may do more once my new oven goes in and I don't need to be on one of those table they need to "turn"