When do you feel your most “cheffy?”

TastyReuben

TastyReuben

Nosh 'n' Splosh
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Apologies for using a word I’m not particularly enamored of, but it best puts across the question, I think…when do you feel your most “cheffy,” or chef-like?

Is it before you ever start cooking, while planning a menu, perhaps, or meticulously shopping for just the right ingredient?

Is it when you’ve got the mise en place going, chef’s knife freshly honed on the steel and following your directions to julienne the carrots and chiffonade the basil?

Is it when you’re actively stirring and turning, wine glass in hand? Or maybe it’s when you finally sit down to enjoy the results of the whole experience, tucking into the perfectly-seared sauce-topped chop?

For me, it’s none of that. Instead, it’s when, due to whatever I’m making for the two of us, or some other circumstance, I remain in the kitchen, fix myself a plate, and have my meal there…just me and the kitchen.

Sometimes, it’s because I serve a salad as a first course, and I’m still cooking the main, so I’ll plate both our salads, then stay by the stove, tending to the next dish between bites of oil-and-vinegar-dripped greens.

It could be like tonight, where we had two different things; she wanted a certain sandwich, and I wanted to get through some fresh mozzarella, so I plated mine up (that cheese, along with crackers, salami and olive mix) and noshed on that while frying up hers.

Every now and then, though…I just like to stay in the kitchen, think about what I made, what I might do differently next time (or what I should remember to do the same), feel the still-warm stove, and just draw in all that kitchen energy.

That’s when I feel like I’m right where I belong.

How about you?
 
TastyReuben said:
Apologies for using a word I’m not particularly enamored of, but it best puts across the question, I think…when do you feel your most “cheffy,” or chef-like?

Is it before you ever start cooking, while planning a menu, perhaps, or meticulously shopping for just the right ingredient?

Is it when you’ve got the mise en place going, chef’s knife freshly honed on the steel and following your directions to julienne the carrots and chiffonade the basil?

Is it when you’re actively stirring and turning, wine glass in hand? Or maybe it’s when you finally sit down to enjoy the results of the whole experience, tucking into the perfectly-seared sauce-topped chop?

For me, it’s none of that. Instead, it’s when, due to whatever I’m making for the two of us, or some other circumstance, I remain in the kitchen, fix myself a plate, and have my meal there…just me and the kitchen.

Sometimes, it’s because I serve a salad as a first course, and I’m still cooking the main, so I’ll plate both our salads, then stay by the stove, tending to the next dish between bites of oil-and-vinegar-dripped greens.

It could be like tonight, where we had two different things; she wanted a certain sandwich, and I wanted to get through some fresh mozzarella, so I plated mine up (that cheese, along with crackers, salami and olive mix) and noshed on that while frying up hers.

Every now and then, though…I just like to stay in the kitchen, think about what I made, what I might do differently next time (or what I should remember to do the same), feel the still-warm stove, and just draw in all that kitchen energy.

That’s when I feel like I’m right where I belong.

How about you?
Click to expand...
When family and/or friends are raving about what I made!
 
TastyReuben said:
Is it before you ever start cooking, while planning a menu, perhaps, or meticulously shopping for just the right ingredient?
Click to expand...

I didn't get into cooking until my 40's. I could cook. I usually managed the grill, and/or basic menus. When I feel most like a chef is when I am either creating a recipe, or when I am turning a recipe into my "own"! JAS_OH1 , that is always a huge bonus. When you try something new and your partner, friends, family members absolutely rave about it.

I haven't done this in awhile. Life/work/family has been pretty busy. I used to hit the local grocery store early on a Sunday morning. I would browse the veggies, meat and seafood department looking for inspiration. My goal was to cook something different. This is when I started making different soups (carrot, celery, asparagus, ect...). That is also when I felt "chefy" :)

TastyReuben said:
wine glass in hand?
Click to expand...

Whiskey..........but yes, I concur

Great thread TastyReuben I am looking forward to other responses!
 
I really got into cooking when I was 51 and set up a little business making chutney and hot sauces. Once I started making little cocktail snacks, appetisers, giving food courses and offering Indian meals, things blossomed a bit. From one moment to another, people started calling me "chef" - which I'm not, never have been. I didn't study at culinary school and I've only run a pro kitchen a few times .
Getting the right ingredients for your menu is important, which is why I could never rely on a delivery service to get me the items. Mise en place is, of course, extremely important, because it ensures that the cooking process itself runs smoothly. Actually cooking, seasoning, tasting the dish (or dishes) you're making is key to the final result, because if it tastes bland, then it's your reputation on the line.
However, my favourite cheffy moment is plating and serving. So many things to coordinate at the same time, and somehow or other, the results are successfully on the table and the guests are making "oooh! and ahhhh!" noises at you. That moment is the culmination of a long sometimes fraught journey from the market to the table.
 
When I see a dish made on 1 of those travel/food shows where there's no recipe given and I can come up with a version of it that looks like it and tastes like what was described on the show.

Or when I make something out of 1 of my real chef cookbooks, or a recipe from one of the  real chefs on TV, and it comes together correctly and tastes great.
 
for me, it's when all the prep is done, everything has been miserly platzed, and I can launch into "cooking mode"

kinda' a take off from the celebrity cheffies on TV - everything is done - even the salt is 'at hand' - they don't even have to lift the lid on a salt cellar . . they just stand there pontificating and swishing the stuff out of small bowls . . .
 
CookieMonster said:
kinda' a take off from the celebrity cheffies on TV - everything is done - even the salt is 'at hand' - they don't even have to lift the lid on a salt cellar . . they just stand there pontificating and swishing the stuff out of small bowls . . .
Click to expand...
I invented my first "Basic Indian Cookery" course in 2011 - naívety at it's best. Spent lots of unnecessary time dicing potatoes, chopping aubergines, etc. while the attention span of the class dropped to zero :laugh: As I progressed, I realised that people don't want to watch that, unless you happen to be one of those Benihana cooks who can hurl a dozen prawns in the air and dice them into perfect rounds on the way down, or someone who can dice an onion behind his back.
After a year or two, I had all the ingredients prepped (and sometimes, even pre-cooked) before the class started. It actually made me look far better than I actually was:D and the "show" was slick!
 
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When I buy a cut of meat and figure out 2-3 ways to use it in different meals (often very different from each other) or I find a way to repurpose leftovers in a smart way to avoid waste. Or, when I am participating in the recipe challenge and I come up with original recipes and figure out how to use the challenge ingredient in more than one way for the same meal. That's deeply satisfying to me without getting accolades from DH or family members, although that's nice too.
 
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