Gourmet Scientist - Random Musings

Starting afresh -- Finally

nospam@example.com (Crystal Cheng) — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 11:15:24 -0500

After a long enough break, I think it really is high-time that I restart my blogging. I've finally moved most of the entries from my previous blog to here. Apologies to all for letting it slip. I admit there were a few times I intended to write, but thinking of all that needed catching up, the effort disappeared. But thanks to an unexpected Christmas present (this website!!), I've been pushed--both forcibly and not--to start again. Of course, I do have my PhD dissertation to finish by August/September amongst a host of other things, but such is life, and I think I can manage (or at least I hope so).

Kitchen Confidential: Who Cooks?

nospam@example.com (Crystal Cheng) — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 20:35:25 -0400

"What most people don't get about professional-level cooking is that it is not at all about the best recipe, the most innovative presentation, the most creative marriage of ingredients, flavors and textures; that, presumably, was all arranged long before you sat down to dinner. Line cooking -- the real business of preparing the food you eat -- is more about consistency, about mindless, unvarying repetition, the same series of tasks performed over and over and over again in exactly the same way. The last thing a chef wants in a line cook is an innovator, somebody with ideas of his own who is going to mess around with the chef's recipes and presentations. Chefs require blind, near-fanatical loyalty, a strong back and an automaton-like consistency of execution under battlefield conditions...Ultimately, I want a salute and a "Yes, sir!". If I want an opinion from my line cooks, ''I'll'' provide one. Your customers arrive expecting the same dish prepared the same way they had it before; they don't want some budding Wolfgang Puck having fun with kiwis and coriander with a menu item they've come to love." -- Anthony Bourdain, ''Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly''

Definitely something I noticed during my college shadowing. And even more reason why a professional culinary career in the kitchen is looking more distant...

Realization of a crazy idea, Part 2

nospam@example.com (Crystal Cheng) — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 23:32:10 -0500

Today was the second day of shadowing; and it was just as educational and enjoyable, although much busier and a later shift. Besides the usual catering meals--buttery, fellows, and conferences--there was a special function that evening involving 6 courses + coffee/tea/chocolates. Much of the prep work had been done earlier, making life a little less hectic come service time. The menu was much more extravagant (frog legs, foie gras, fish soup, lamb, artisanal cheese), and it was being served pre-plated in one of the special function rooms; so it was about as close to restaurant service as I could probably get. Tension was there, but the great team rapport and calm, humorous sous chef made it practically non-existent.

But this time, I came away with a different perspective. Of course, everyone was trying to steer me away from catering and to stick to my engineering work. That fact is obvious to me and is also why I'm hesitant to pursue a chef career. Today somewhat confirmed that hesitancy, as I saw the stress, long hours, lack of sitting time, little to no rest, quick meals of the day's leftovers, and relative restriction in creativity (as recipes were mainly pre-designed). At times, I even sensed that I was out of place, especially when I uttered the words "PhD" and "Nanoscience." It was as if they were screaming, "What the hell is this PhD student doing in the kitchen, aspiring to do menial work when she has so much ahead of her??"

I get the message, and I know that I can be crazy. I agree that kitchen work is still not something I hope to pursue as a career; but is there not something I can do to combine my love of food, cooking, and experimentation with my educational background? Some place in me believes so, and I'm willing to get my hands dirty as I search for that position...

Side note: I was absolutely amazed and disgusted by how much fat is in foie gras. I know many people reject it for the unethical ways the ducks are treated to obtain such fatty livers, but once you've seen the cooked liver shrink by nearly 70% and swim in the sea of its melted fat, you can't help but feel your stomach churn and arteries clog up! I've tried it at a French restaurant and enjoyed its creaminess; but it's so different when you see the behind-the-scenes...

Realization of a crazy idea

nospam@example.com (Crystal Cheng) — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 21:48:34 -0500

One day, walking past my college kitchen and riding on my cloud of cooking passion, I had a crazy yearning to get in there and help. I don't know, maybe it was nostalgia for the fun times doing menial tasks and chatting away with the kitchen staff during my food service internship rotations. Call me crazy, but I do enjoy food service, for the most part...

In any case, I thought I'd give the idea a shot; so I approached our head manager with the crazy idea of shadowing in the kitchen. Lo and behold, it was well-received! And after some organizing, I had my first day today.

It was interesting learning the British side of food service as well as how such a large institution operates. It's nice to know that the concepts are pretty much the same. Further, we are very fortunate to have such a collection of Chefs and Sous-Chefs who provide such high quality service.

As for me, what have I gained from this day? Lots, but probably the most significant is where my passion remains. After spending the morning preparing mains and the afternoon desserts, it seems I'm still driven by making desserts.

Gourmet vs. Gourmand

nospam@example.com (Crystal Cheng) — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 21:44:11 -0500

Oh dear, with the start of another year and another term, my craziness has left my blog neglected, not to mention the lack of time to experiment with cooking...

I just discovered the book "Kitchen Mysteries: Revealing the Science of Cooking" by Hervé This (translated from French). I haven't made much progress, but within the first few pages, I realized that I should technically be a "Gourmand Scientist" rather than a "Gourmet Scientist." Why?

"A gourmand is one who likes good food, and a gourmet is one who takes delight in wines" -- Hervé This

Hmm...was never fully aware of the word gourmand nor the exact definition of 'gourmet...

Now, should I venture to change my name???? *dilemma*

Restaurant of the Future

nospam@example.com (Crystal Cheng) — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 22:06:00 -0500

Fancy knowing how the environment affects our food choices? Or how our physiology changes as we eat? Combining science, technology, and healthy gourmet cooking, we have a modern food laboratory (in the Netherlands). Some may think Big Brother has found yet another way to permeate into our lives, but I think it's an awesome idea. Monitoring weight, heartbeat, what diners choose, how they eat as well as tracking how changing the environment--lights, color, sound, smell, etc--affects their choices for the next 10 years may be a daunting experiment, but the results should be enlightening.

How neat would it be to be one of the researchers or even the chefs?? Oh! I sooo want to be involved! Maybe this is a way I can combine my RD with my PhD research skills...

Check out the website itself!

BBC Good Food Show

nospam@example.com (Crystal Cheng) — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 21:55:00 -0500

Finally, the day of the highly anticipated (by me ) BBC Good Food Show in London arrived! I could feel pure bliss coursing through my body as I stepped through the doors. Seriously, it was happiness, home, heaven... I LOVE FOOD!

The floor map was unfortunately useless to me since most of the company names were foreign to non-natives; so, I walked in a fairly systematic manner--row by row. For the Ground floor exhibit area, the perimeter mainly consisted of cooking tools. The far end carried all the alcoholic drinks, including a toffee vodka (very tasty) and a dairy-free cream liquor (a bit disgusting...). The farthest corner was the gourmet restaurant dining experience. And the rest of the main floor were the food stalls consisting of meat (fresh and cured), seafood, dairy products (cheese, yogurt, smoothie), olives, savoury/sweet pastries, biscuits, chocolates, teas, etc. The first floor circulating the perimeter offered a cooking theatre as well as several more food stands.

I think about a quarter consisted of sauces, spices, oils, and chutneys. I didn't venture to try most because I knew if I started, I'd have to try all of them in order to obtain an accurate assessment. Still, that's not to say I have no interest...

Other than those, I probably tried nearly all the available samples. The Godminster cheese offered a unique grainy texture while another stall had a variety of flavour-infused cheddar; the garlic and herb one was very nice. One stall even had its own oven to warm up their freezer-to-oven savoury pies which were quite tasty. Yet another baked a fresh chocolate cake using vegetables and no oil; it definitely didn't taste indulgent, but it was quite light, airy, and moist. (I'd like to research further the scientific basis behind the hype of its special cookware; apparently, the design helps control temperature and cooking to retain moisture and eliminate the need for oil and salt.) Of the chocolates, I was fairly amazed by Vanini, an Italian-based company that offered a surprisingly creamy 70% dark chocolate. The chocolate covered desiccated fruits by Zeina were surprisingly nice! The dehydration process gives a more tart flavor with an airy crunchy texture. One carried a decent wine-infused milk chocolate (merlot, shiraz, and pinot noir), while the sugar free chocolate of another seemed more enticing in the concept rather than the taste from the lower grade quality of chocolate.

Obviously, there were lots more. There's definitely a noticeable regional difference in the types of food exhibited when compared to the American Dietetics Association (ADA) Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo (FNCE) one I attended a few years back. Neither was it as big nor did it provide as many free samples. Still, it was a VERY enjoyable experience; so enjoyable, it took me nearly 30 minutes to finally drag myself out the door. It wasn't a harvest (since I'm so stingy ), but I did get some stuff. Will I go again next year? I think I might, just for the fun of it since I LOVE trying things.

Exhibition area (Grand Hall Olympia, London)

My small harvest (Purchased: Toasted Oats, Flavours of the World chocolate fruits; Rest: free)

Harvest from ADA FNCE 2005 for comparison (everything was FREE! and that was day 1 of 3!)

The Beginning

nospam@example.com (Crystal Cheng) — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 23:45:00 -0400

After so long, I think I finally may have fallen victim to internet blogging. It was actually the recent chance encounter with Chocolate & Zucchini that inspired this idea. I love anything related to food, and this seemed an appropriate way to document my food musings, whether it’s trying new food products or restaurants, conjuring up bizarre recipe ideas, or analyzing my actual creations. And why “Gourmet Scientist”? Well, “gourmet” represents the food theme while “scientist” reveals the investigative and experimentive approach I frequently take with tasting and cooking food. So, let’s see where my mindless food musings take us…