Crafting A Dish - The journey from farm to table

Everyone has their 'thing' when comes to a certain task or things that we love and enjoy doing with. Photographers on finding the angle for capturing the best moments, musicians' sensitivity to tone and rhythm. These 'things' come from different perspectives viewed by different people. And culinary is my 'thing' that makes me different from others.

I've achieved some pretty good results given my number of years in the industry. The 'thing' that made who I am is the skills of understanding food as an art. Even before pre-university, I have the ability to put ingredients into meals and treating my peers. There is one question I've often approached with, how do I craft a dish.

"Sustainability, flavors, freshness" the three core values that I've set for myself in my culinary crafts. Sustainability is a huge topic, aside from avoiding endangered ingredients, it also covers sourcing local and in-season. Therefore, a walk in the wet market is what chefs usually do and some inspirations are generated there. The wet market has a clear reflection of what's in season and available for the locals especially the vegetables and seafood.

To produce a dish, first must identify the occasion and the audience. Matching these are the most crucial, you don't want to serve Pate en Croupe (French Pork Liver Mousse) to the Asian market, or convincing Western diners to try durian products. Often during a culinary competition, a theme is given to set the parameter of such.

Mapping side ingredients comes next. In the western culinary concept, a balanced dish calls for protein (principal ingredient), starch (potato, pasta or rice), nutrients (vegetables, fruits, nuts), flavors (sauce, marination, herbs & spices), and textures (mousse, mashed, or crunchy). Culinary techniques are noted as well. A good dish often calls for a mix of two to three different cooking techniques (steamed, stir fry, puree etc.).

Technical sketching gives a conceptual model of how the dish will be presented and helps to identify if the combination fits. It is common misleading thinking among armature cuisiner that presentation matters the most but it is the least. The presentation helps to uplift a dish to an appealing manner before the dish is tasted, however, if the product is not tasteful, then any effort in the presentation is not helping at all. 

Crafting a dish requires an understanding of the ingredient, how it is best cooked and balancing the dish. It may seem complicated and require practices. It is said one can easily learn to cook, but hard in learning to become a chef. That requires a 'thing'.

ZF


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