Culinary Creation

James Morgan

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2007
• Print ISBN: 9781138432819
• eBook ISBN: 9781136412707
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Hospitality, Travel & Tourism Industry
• Index: Business

The book seeks not to present a detailed history and discussion, but instead is intended to provide the student with an appreciation of the idea that all cuisines of the world have something unique to offer to a menu. The author strongly believes that foods of other nations (and even other areas of the United States) are too often given short shrift by culture-bound students and chefs, and that every attempt should be made to open their minds to the unlimited possibilities available. The word "foodism" is introduced to refer to biases against foods outside your culture.

1 Overview of World Food and Foodservice

DOI: 10.4324/9780080476940-1

Learning Objectives

By the end of the chapter, you should be able to

1. Explain how a culture-bound attitude can hinder your creativity in the kitchen
2. Name major culinary developments in Europe and the people who brought them about
3. Name some of the effects African cultures had on European cuisine
4. Describe some of the major foods of selected African, Asian, Caribbean, and Latin American nations
5. Describe some of the mechanisms by which culinary ideas have crossed national boundaries
6. Name the terms for commercial kitchen personnel and describe their responsibilities

“The discovery of a new dish does more for human happiness than the discovery of a new star.”

—Jean Anthelme Brillat–Savarin (1755–1826), culinary writer

In this, our opening chapter, we will discuss “foodism”—that is, prejudice against the foods of others. We’ll also talk about the history of food in various regions of the world and give you some of the details regarding foods in those regions. We’ll introduce you to the organization of the modern kitchen, and introduce you to the job titles and duties in the brigade system used in many modern kitchens.

Today, more than at any time in the history of the world, food is a focal point of almost every activity (Fig. 1-1). What’s a movie without a buttery tub of popcorn and a nest of cheesy nachos? What’s a football game without a carefully planned tailgate party? What’s a wedding without the lavish banquet? Admit it. The quantity, quality, and even just the downright availability of food at a function can make the difference between a memorable event and a boring obligation.

Figure 1-1Food has become an indispensable part of sporting events

With few exceptions, food is beloved by the vast majority of humanity. Food often acts as the central focus for our social interactions; it gives structure to our daily lives. Our fondest family memories and traditions are most often food related. Eating is something to be anticipated and enjoyed. It is far more than just a means of taking in nourishment. Imagine what life would be like if we just passively absorbed nutrition through our skin as we went about our normal business. Wouldn’t that be boring? Instead of such a situation, the human race has developed the ability to distinguish among and enjoy thousands of different flavors, textures, colors, temperatures, and aromas, making food consumption a very stimulating experience.

Furthermore, to most people, food is abundant and affordable—so much so that, for the first time in human history, overeating is a bigger problem than starvation. The business of food is booming.

The Chef

Today, food has become a recognized medium of creativity, an art form in its own right. The chef—the person who is able to create and guide the creation of cuisine (Fig. 1-2) at a high degree of proficiency and profitability—is being held in higher and higher esteem around the world.

Figure 1-2The most effective chef must be a culinary artist as well as a manager and a teacher

The chef holds one of the highest positions of trust in our society. Think of it. Other than those in the medical field, the chef is the only professional whom we allow to prepare substances that we take into our bodies. Not to put too much of a philosophical spin on it, but what the chef creates actually becomes part of us.

To invent ingenious and beautiful new cuisine, the chef is expected to have a basic knowledge and open-minded curiosity about the foods of all cultures. The successful chef needs to be a total professional, a person who enjoys learning about foods and cooking techniques from around the world and using that knowledge as a springboard to create unique and delicious dishes.

With the growing popularity and availability of foods from every corner of the globe, it is crucial that chefs and managers in the hospitality industry constantly acquire information about cuisines not only from Europe, but Asia, the Pacific Rim, the Middle East, Africa, and the Americas as well. This task is made somewhat easier today with the advent of the Internet, allowing us to travel the world at our desks to get data on any selected cuisine. (But it’s still better to visit the places if you can.)

At the end of this chapter, you’ll be introduced to the various types of chefs who work in the industry, and you will become acquainted with the responsibilities of each.

The Culture-Bound Attitude

“I want to know if you are genuinely interested in food. I don’t want to spend time training someone who has food limitations, who doesn’t like this or that. A chef must be open-minded. If you have restricted ideas about food, then this is not the industry for you.”

—Chef Andre Guerrero, Max Restaurant, Los Angeles, California, USA

Every cuisine in the world has something unique to offer to a menu. Foods of other nations (and even foods from diverse areas within a single nation) are often given little regard by biased students and chefs. Those who have such biases are said to be culture bound—that is, they believe everything within their particular culture to be correct and proper, and everything outside their culture to be abnormal. All nations and groups include some members who are culture bound.

Biases are especially strong and hard to overcome in the area of cuisine. Everyone has a tendency to think the food on which they were raised is “right,” and everyone else’s food is “wrong.” Such beliefs might be called foodism: prejudice against the foods of other cultures.

How readily do you accept unfamiliar foods? How tolerant are you toward the likes of others if they conflict with your dislikes? Let’s find out if you are a foodist. How do you emotionally react to the following dishes?

Boiled peanuts	Head cheese
Peanut butter and jelly	Eel
Rare steak	Well-done steak
Steak tartare (chopped raw steak)	Fried grasshoppers
Lobster	Crawfish
Sushi	Salty licorice
Kraft Miracle Whip^®	Mayonnaise

So, what happened when you read this list? Some of you probably reacted with “Yuuukkk!” and some of you said, “Yuuummm!” to the same foods. What does that tell you about being culture bound? Are you a foodist?

When judging others’ food tastes, keep in mind that somebody, somewhere finds foods to be delicious that others find repellent. Is food bias the result of reason and knowledge, or more about how and where a person was raised?

To illustrate how perceptions may vary, here are a few observations about some of the items listed.

• Boiled peanuts are an extremely popular snack in the Southeastern United States. They have a completely different flavor and texture than roasted peanuts, but they can be just as addictive.
• Head cheese, a loaf of seasoned shredded meat set in gelatin and sliced as an appetizer or luncheon meat, is a very popular, even beloved, food item in many parts of the world, and in some regions of the United States. In Swedish tradition, for instance, it is called sylta (SIL-tuh).
• People in some cultures are repelled by the notion of peanut butter, especially when served with jelly. They find the texture to be disgusting.
• The Pilgrim colonists of New England, a fairly conservative bunch, thought eels were the only fish tasty enough to be worth eating. So why aren’t eels more popular today? The major thing working against the eel’s popularity as a food item is that it looks like a snake. But it isn’t. It’s a fish. The flesh of the eel is actually quite rich and delicious.
• People are adamant about how steak should be cooked, aren’t they? Furthermore, some people will ridicule those who like steak cooked to any other degree of doneness than what they prefer.
• Lobsters, crawfish, and grasshoppers are all arthropods. What makes one a more legitimate food than another?
• Sushi (SOO-shee) is seasoned rice to which things are sometimes added. Sushi is not raw fish. Sashimi (sah-SHEE-mee) is raw fish. But some of you said, “Yuuukkk!” based on what you thought “sushi” meant, didn’t you?
• Salty licorice, called drop (...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Halftitle Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedicated
• Contents
• Series Foreword
• Foreword
• Preface
• 1 Overview of World Food and Foodservice
• 2 Keeping Your Customers and Employees Safe
• 3 Your Tools
• 4 Introduction to Culinary Techniques and Principles
• 5 Planning and Documenting Your Culinary Creations
• 6 The World of Stocks, Sauces, and Soups
• 7 Finger Foods: Appetizers and Sandwiches
• 8 Creating Salads
• 9 Creating with Meats
• 10 Creating with Poultry
• 11 Creating with Seafood
• 12 Creating with Vegetables
• 13 Creating with Dairy Products and Eggs
• 14 Basic Baking Principles
• Bibliography
• Glossary
• Index