Do you ever feel like completely changing the way you cook?

[vernplum]

<whiskey-fueled post follows>

I felt it recently.

I was in an Italian restaurant and there were some meatballs (Polpette) and a Lasagne alla Bolognese - both things I've cooked before and to be honest, I think I can make a pretty mean Bolognese sauce and consequently, a Lasagne these days, but this one just blew me away. It tasted radically different to anything I've made before and I was left thinking after each forkful 'how on earth do they do it?'. Both the taste and texture were different, but well within the parameters to be recognisably a Lasagna. It was amazing.

And then the Polpette - mine were feeble supermarket (IKEA actually) analogs in comparison to these succulent and meaty spheres... the tomato sauce was multi-dimensional in taste.

Basically I had an existential cooking crisis, and while I was inspired to try to find out how to step up my game to the next level, TBH I was also a bit deflated that I felt that I'd done as much as I could on techniques and recipe research over a number of years only to find that these fairly commonplace dishes could stun me when made by someone else with the expertise and know-how which I didn't have. I admit I'm an amateur, but on the flip side, I have been cooking since the mid 1980s.

Then I got to thinking 'God. I make the same things over and over. I buy the same produce. I cut an onion in one of three ways each time. My seasoning sensibility just seems so basic. My repertoire seems stale. I always reach for the same side dishes when making X'.

Anyway; I want to up my game to the next level. I've been striving to cook restaurant quality food (at least in the taste department) for years and apart from a few flashes in the proverbial pan I realised at this meal that while cooking and eating makes me happy, I'm still very far away from where I want to be - taste, variety, presentation etc.. I feel like starting over and changing everything about the way I approach cooking. Do you ever feel it? Maybe I'm just in a funk. Is restaurant-level taste attainable consistently in the home kitchen or are they just very different things?

What am I doing? I dusted off some of my more technique-focused books - Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat and The Food Lab and intend to scour them this week for new and interesting things to do. I'm going to hit YouTube.. I'm going to find the winning recipes of all the CB challanges and examine those.


The 'offending' items. Meatball at left. Lasagne top right. It's a buffet lol, so there are random things on the plate. Restaurant: Basilico

 

[TastyReuben]

I feel like starting over and changing everything about the way I approach cooking. Do you ever feel it?

In a word, no.

There really is quite a lot to go over in your post, which means 90% of all the insights I’m having are going to be lost, but here goes:

I’ve never, ever tried to attain “restaurant quality” dishes…not even sure what that means, really, because there are some shit restaurants out there, and just because it’s served in a restaurant and someone pays money to eat it doesn’t mean it’s better than what I can make if I put my mind to it and have a good recipe to follow.

That’s not bragging on my part at all, just an acknowledgment that if a person has access to quality ingredients, some time, and even a little skill, they can turn out very good food.

Then I got to thinking 'God. I make the same things over and over. I buy the same produce. I cut an onion in one of three ways each time. My seasoning sensibility just seems so basic.

I’m pleased that I do that! It means I’ve found things I love to cook and we both love to eat (like that schnitzel and cabbage last night - dead easy, no recipe, no measuring, and MrsT must’ve told me six times how good it was).

“Comfort food” means two things to me…it’s something that comforts me when I need it, and it’s something that’s a comfort to make, because it doesn’t involve a lot of technique, 17 pans, artistry with a paring knife, a chef’s torch, and edible gold leaf.

What am I doing? I dusted off some of my more technique-focused books - Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat and The Food Lab and intend to scour them this week for new and interesting things to do. I'm going to hit YouTube.

It’ll be a fun exercise, no doubt, but don’t get too bogged down in technique and flash presentation and all that (unless that’s what you’re after, of course), and lose sight of the purpose of cooking…ending up with something delicious to eat. Technique and degree of difficulty are all well and good, but you’ve got to want to eat it when you’re done.

Did you ask the waitstaff to compliment the chef? They may have come out and revealed a secret or two!

Anyway, just have fun with it. Don’t beat yourself up over it.

 

[badjak]

I could be totally wrong, but I think a lot of us use certain flavour profiles because we like them.
So now, when someone uses a totally different approach, it might blow you away (initially).
I don't think it will last.

But go for it..
Use sice combinations you won't normally use and it could/will just broaden your horizon.
I figure this would be a good book to start off with. Follow her suggestions
About the Book - Niki Segnit

 

[Morning Glory]

I could be totally wrong, but I think a lot of us use certain flavour profiles because we like them.
So now, when someone uses a totally different approach, it might blow you away (initially).
I don't think it will last.

But go for it..
Use sice combinations you won't normally use and it could/will just broaden your horizon.
I figure this would be a good book to start off with. Follow her suggestions
About the Book - Niki Segnit

I also recommend that book if you don't have it vernplum.

Like you, I strive to make restaurant quality dishes. But by that I mean high end dining or really good restaurant cooking. There are certainly a lot of of not very good or mediocre restaurants out there.

I experiment all the time and very rarely make the same dish more than once, so I don't ever feel like completely changing the way I cook because I'm always trying out new ideas. Its almost obsessional in my case! Its a complete adventure for me nearly every day, so long as I am able to cook.

 

[kaneohegirlinaz]

vernplum I think that alot of professional-book taught in an expensive school-for real chefs feel the way that you are feeling. Not a chef myself, I do have a good friend who is a for real owner/chef gal and she says that she's always learning, watching, trying that next dish that they just can't seem to get like so-and-so. To me, chefs are just like you and I.
To answer the question though: no, I'm good thanks.

 

[Rocklobster]

I rarely cook something the same twice. It drives my wife crazy. She'll love something I make, then it's different the next time. I will repeat certain dishes if I just want to be sure it is the way I intend, but many times I will try completely different recipes for the same thing.

 

[karadekoolaid]

I suppose that, over the past 20 years, my cooking style has undoubtedly changed. When I started my chutney/preserves/hot sauce company back in 2004, I was very much a "lets-run-it-up-the-flagpole-and-see-if -it-float-in-the-breeze" type of cook. Once I got my first contract with a local supermarket, I realised that every single jar of chutney I sold had to be exactly the same, so I started writing down recipes and, once I was satisfied with the result, sticking to that formula. Every concoction was meticulously measured out and tasted at various stages.
Then I got to know some local chefs (I mean, trained chefs, restaurant chefs, etc.) and started observing what they do. Some of the skills rubbed off, like "taste, taste, taste", and "seasoning" - which usually means more salt. I also noticed that a pro will never, ever let a dish out of his/her sight, and that seems to be a typical household error. "I'll just leave that pork chop there while I call my mum"; "I've added plenty of liquid to that risotto, so it should be good" and when you come back, it's burned to Hell and back. Then there were those little details that I picked up (very slowly, I might add) over the years. Baste your salmon with abundant amounts of butter, and it will taste better. Make sure your pasta is "al dente" and use a timer to ensure an exact cooking time.If you're making Indian food, never, ever use curry powder. A good burger doesn't need a thousand ingredients; just salt and pepper, then medium-rare - on the grill is best. DON'T, under any circumstances, overcook it.
I'm fairly traditional whe it comes to modifying classic recipes, so my Carbonara will have guanciale (or the closest thing to it), egg yolk, pecorino and pasta water; no bacon, no cream, no garlic, no red peppers. My Butter Chicken uses cream and fenugreek leaves; I'm not putting cardamom, or cinnamon sticks in it, because it just doesn't need them.
These days, I avoid Italian restaurants (unless someone invites me) because, without boasting, I think I can do a better job. I will, however, go to a Laotian restaurant, or a Georgian restaurant, simply because there's something new there that I may never have tried before.

 

[vernplum]

I’ve never, ever tried to attain “restaurant quality” dishes…not even sure what that means, really, because there are some shit restaurants out there, and just because it’s served in a restaurant and someone pays money to eat it doesn’t mean it’s better than what I can make if I put my mind to it and have a good recipe to follow.

That’s not bragging on my part at all, just an acknowledgment that if a person has access to quality ingredients, some time, and even a little skill, they can turn out very good food.

Right. I don't mean bad restaurants lol because I've been to my fair share where I've said 'I think I can cook this thing better than they can' but that is usually the exception rather than the rule especially as I try to research restaurants to avoid any real clunkers.

Maybe I should say I want to be able to consistently cook food as good as the best I've eaten in restaurants. They're the pros after all and speaking for myself, they should be able to turn out better food than me because that's their job and what they've been trained to do. I know this will be largely unrealistic, but it's an aspiration I suppose.

 

[vernplum]

I’m pleased that I do that! It means I’ve found things I love to cook and we both love to eat (like that schnitzel and cabbage last night - dead easy, no recipe, no measuring, and MrsT must’ve told me six times how good it was).

“Comfort food” means two things to me…it’s something that comforts me when I need it, and it’s something that’s a comfort to make, because it doesn’t involve a lot of technique, 17 pans, artistry with a paring knife, a chef’s torch, and edible gold leaf.

Don't get me wrong, there are a few things that I think I can do very well and if I was handed that plate in a restaurant I'd be fairly pleased to receive (and pay for) it and I'll keep on making those. But when you encounter a version of something you yourself can make well and you judge it to be superior, you have to go 'hmm' sometimes and wonder why.

And of course at home I've got to be practical too. After all I'm usually cooking for a family of 5 so I have to quickly turn out something that they can all find palatable and not too esoteric, so yes this will come back to comfortable classics that they've 'reviewed' well in the past lol.

 

[vernplum]

It’ll be a fun exercise, no doubt, but don’t get too bogged down in technique and flash presentation and all that (unless that’s what you’re after, of course), and lose sight of the purpose of cooking…ending up with something delicious to eat. Technique and degree of difficulty are all well and good, but you’ve got to want to eat it when you’re done.

Did you ask the waitstaff to compliment the chef? They may have come out and revealed a secret or two!

You're right and usually I can produce something that's pleasant to eat with just the odd day per month where I'll make something really disappointing, but I do feel an urge to get off my current plateau too. I do think it's time for some change though which i'll go about incrementally.

Re: the ol' 'complements to the chef' - I didn't, no, but I've done that in the past and even talked to chefs who came out of the kitchen but in the couple of minutes you can get talking to them they never reveal some magic ingredients, usually because there isn't one. It seems the difference (at least what I've concluded) remains in the quality of ingredients and the way they cook it - their technique.

 

[vernplum]

I could be totally wrong, but I think a lot of us use certain flavour profiles because we like them.
So now, when someone uses a totally different approach, it might blow you away (initially).
I don't think it will last.

But go for it..
Use sice combinations you won't normally use and it could/will just broaden your horizon.
I figure this would be a good book to start off with. Follow her suggestions
About the Book - Niki Segnit

That is a great point. We gravitate towards things we're accustomed to liking. I think part of what I need to do in order to change my cooking habits is to change my EATING habits. For example my approach is very much oriented around the meat with vegetable usually being an afterthought. This will be part of my approach.

And this is aimed at your (and Morning Glory 's) remarks about the book recommendation. I mean, I'll definitely check that out, but what I don't think I need right now is another cookbook (recipe or how-to) precisely because I gravitate towards the bits that will (how shall I say) confirm my biases and skip over other bits that contain useful things I'd benefit and grow from. Thus, hitting my extant book library again.

 

[vernplum]

Like you, I strive to make restaurant quality dishes. But by that I mean high end dining or really good restaurant cooking. There are certainly a lot of of not very good or mediocre restaurants out there.

At the end of the day, I think it comes down to we want to eat well: (good) restaurants produce good food, ergo if I can produce dishes like them, I'll also be eating well (or better).

 

[vernplum]

vernplum I think that alot of professional-book taught in an expensive school-for real chefs feel the way that you are feeling. Not a chef myself, I do have a good friend who is a for real owner/chef gal and she says that she's always learning, watching, trying that next dish that they just can't seem to get like so-and-so. To me, chefs are just like you and I.
To answer the question though: no, I'm good thanks.

Maybe so. I don't know any lol. One of my best friends owns a chain of 7 restaurants though, except he can't cook at all!

I've been lurking around some chef-y conversations on Reddit to see what the chef psyche is like.

 

[vernplum]

I rarely cook something the same twice. It drives my wife crazy. She'll love something I make, then it's different the next time. I will repeat certain dishes if I just want to be sure it is the way I intend, but many times I will try completely different recipes for the same thing.

At outset when I'm cooking something new I will research multiple versions and settle on one. I seldom go further after that and I think that's what I need to do.

 

[vernplum]

Then I got to know some local chefs (I mean, trained chefs, restaurant chefs, etc.) and started observing what they do. Some of the skills rubbed off, like "taste, taste, taste", and "seasoning" - which usually means more salt. I also noticed that a pro will never, ever let a dish out of his/her sight, and that seems to be a typical household error. "I'll just leave that pork chop there while I call my mum"; "I've added plenty of liquid to that risotto, so it should be good" and when you come back, it's burned to Hell and back. Then there were those little details that I picked up (very slowly, I might add) over the years. Baste your salmon with abundant amounts of butter, and it will taste better. Make sure your pasta is "al dente" and use a timer to ensure an exact cooking time.If you're making Indian food, never, ever use curry powder. A good burger doesn't need a thousand ingredients; just salt and pepper, then medium-rare - on the grill is best. DON'T, under any circumstances, overcook it.

Yeah these are some of the little things that can add up to a big difference and hanging out here I've picked up quite a few useful tips, as well as from places like Reddit. Pro chefs/cooks aren't magicians any more than we are - well, I'll speak for myself here again - they know more than me and they do it repeatedly daily, perhaps often in a very narrow niche where they'll be great, but elsewhere, not so much. As patrons of a wide range of restaurants though, we get the illusion they can all do everything well perhaps.