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The importance of taste
New Asian Cuisine Scene Mar/Apr 97
It is disturbing to see as so many hotels and restaurants begin to open -in this region, oying more and more local cooks and chefs to prepare Western ingredients in a Western style, that "TASTE" takes a backseat to the look of the ingredients we prepare for the plate.Taste - defined in the Webster's dictionary as one of the five senses that enables us to experience the wonders that make up so many of our daily activities - should be at the core of any dish we undertake to develop as cooks.
Travelling much of the world over the past 16 years has given me many opportunities to taste an array and variety of food produced in so many great kitchens, prepared by cooks and chefs who have that passion to excel in taste. The great cuisines of the world such as Italian, French and those in Asia - Thai, Chinese, pride themselves on taste first.
There are so many cooks who have opened my eyes to show that, to achieve good food, taste must be the first priority. Someone once told me that many people eat with their eyes, this is quite true. However, let me add to this by saying that if it doesn't pass the taste test, good looking food will not have a very long life.
In Australia now, so many chefs and cooks have been working with small producers to develop not only the look of the product we wish to use, it's size, colour and packaging, but also on its taste.
Illabo lamb, Saltbush Dija, seaweed-fed chickens, Aquatas Tasmanian salmon, Coffin Bay scallops, come to mind immediately. These ingredients take pride of place on the menu as the principal item, with the region, producer and style, highlighted by the chefs, on their menus. It is of the utmost importance in the Australian kitchen to have a product that will be of the highest quality, not only in the appearance, but at all times allowing the natural taste to show through from both the land and the sea.
Food cooked in a variety of ways and prepared by so many hands, must be done with a passion for what you do, and a genuine care in the selection of what you put on the plate. Cooking comes from the heart and nowhere else.
Today in Australia, this is evident in so many of the better kitchens. Chefs are allowing the natural taste of the product to come through, and rather than redirect the taste with creams and added ingredients, they took for items which enhance and compliment that natural taste.
A recent trip to Japan for a promotional event with the Hilton group in Nagoya, enabled me to have a rather interesting " taste " experience. At the completion of my visit to the Nagoya Hilton, I was treated to a seven course menu of "Fugu" or " Blowfish". Prepared in seven different styles, fried, steamed, poached, sushi and dried in saki, to name a few, this interesting fish (at $220 US dollars/kilo - live) had so many different tastes. It must also be prepared with passion, for as many know, the liver and blood of this little fellow is quite deadly. I entrusted my life into the hands of Gen'i Chef Yamaguchi and my host, executive chef Tanloka and survived to tell all. This meal was truly a highlight as it proved once again that in any cuisine, taste is the most important ingredient we put into in any creation.
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