Looking To The Past For The Future

     The other day in a quiet seaside village on the Costa Brava a restaurant closed its doors. Most likely for good. Such news would not be publicized, but this restaurant was not your ordinary one. For close to three decades, a chef tinkered away in his kitchen. Dreaming, experimenting, perfecting his unique style of cuisine. This unassuming 55 seat restaurant in Roses, Spain was the domain of Chef Ferran Adria. El Bulli, the restaurant. Most noted for his molecular gastronomy approach to cooking. Is he a scientist, chemist, chef, or artist? He has been called the greatest chef in the world. Yet those accolades are almost beside the point. The real message of Chef Adria's food was and is that gastronomy is a dialogue between chef and diner.
     His approach to cuisine broke the, at times, burdensome classical constraint between chef and diner. The food had to be great, but it also made the diner ponder, remember, fantasize. Did it make the diner think? Did they react emotionally to the food?
     Yet in all of this, he his well grounded in the understanding of classical cuisine. The "foams" he is so famous for are reinterpretations of classical dishes such as souffle, whipped cream, mousses and sabayon. Without the knowledge of the classical, he could not have made the jump to "espuma." The concept is the same, but ingredients and how they are worked have changed. So many young chefs want to jump into the molecular gastronomy game, but when asked to bake an ordinary vanilla souffle. They fall flat(no pun intended!). Why? Creating a perfect classical souffle is much more difficult than  measuring out some ingredients, putting it in to an instant whipping siphon, charging it with CO2,  and pulling a trigger. 
      The chef needs to understand the simple, classical techniques, flavors, ingredients FIRST before making the leap into the future. Thus, looking to the past for the future.

The Menu for This Week:
Greek style Chickpea Salad
Corn and Basil Soup
Sweet and Sour Eggplant Stew
Thai Seafood Salad with Mango, Mint, and Chilies
Cauliflower Vichysoisse
Black bean and Corn Salsa with Cilantro and a Cinnamon Vinaigrette
Sicilian style Stuffed Tomatoes with CousCous
Chicken Salad
Steak "Tagliatta" Salad with Arugula and Lemon
Peach and Blackberry Crisp

Be Inspired By The Market: Taste Local Flavor