SandwichShortOfAPicnic
Forum GOD!
I think I've done one, or maybe two live demos on local TV (or at Gourmet events), and in defence of those magnificent Chefs in Their Cooking Machines, doing something live definitely means "absolutely no hanging around". In other words, you have to have people's attention for every single second. If you can cut corners by stirring once (instead of about 50 times, which any normal human would do!), then you cut corners. No-one wants to watch you peel potatoes or chop carrots; they want ACTION!!!!
Same with the seasoning - as SSOAP quite rightly points out, seasoning doesn't just fix itself because some Michelin-starred diva tosses the spices in with a silver spoon. Seasoning works with taste, taste, taste and taste, which no-one probably wants to watch. However, it IS very important to point it out while cooking the dish.
I'm not a huge fan of JO, but he's a good teacher. Same goes for Ramsay, believe it or not. On the Food Channel, many years ago before it was filled with idiot competitions, David Rosengarten and Sarah Moulton were nothing short of phenomenal when explaining how to cook a dish.
Anyone with a bit of sense can walk you through a recipe, and if they've got "stage presence", then all the better; but those little secrets to a recipe make the difference.I never forget Sarah Moulton explaining how to remove the somewhat unpleasant tendon from a chicken tender. "Secure the end of the tendon firmly with a fingernail. Now gently push the blade of your knife along the tendon, pushing the meat away from you."
I do it to this day, and that must have been 25 years ago.
The very least they could do on tv progs is cut away and cut back so you know mixing went on for a bit or like you say you need to mix until it’s thoroughly incorporated.
The live stuff though I totally get that. Everyone can see everything is flying everywhere and it’s an approximation of what should happen
