Apologies for not blogging. I have just recently accepted a job offer so I've been preoccupied with that the past month or so. Hopefully, I can blog with more frequency once I settle down (and also use my head a bit more to reflect and not fuck around too much).
I just read an article on global trends in haute cuisine which lead me to think how it all trickles down to the mainstream. That being said, once it hits mainstream the minds behind the trend have completely moved on and blazed their own trail. Since my mind struggles to grasp concepts visually, I always end up with an analogy to get certain ideas in my head and in this case, I thought of haute couture and how I fail to understand fashion shows and the like and how this trickles down to my own normal and admittedly mainstream--or even dated--wardrobe. They push the envelope to a level my mainstream fashion mind cannot comprehend and I fail to connect the dots. I see the trend in the global food scene has moved on from so called molecular gastronomy and more local and foraged, wild and heirloom.
So what pushes the evolution? What makes it a trend and how do people come to accept it--especially at the high level? Once the mainstream accepts it, is that the indicator to push on and change ideas or is it just the desire internally to perfect the output and to push it to a higher level? Do you purposely follow trends or do you go on your own path and just catch the wave accidentally? Maybe those who have witnessed "trending" on Twitter and thought about it must be wondering as well.
As my mind pondered this for a moment, it slipped back into "fuck around" mode and then I got on youtube and watched a few music videos. In an ultimate A.D.D. moment, my mind locked in again on how artists subtly change genres from album to album, also evolving. Since so much of an artist's output is inspired and influenced by what surrounds them, it's very fascinating to watch it happen when you go from album to album.
For me personally, I just appreciate and love the modern approach to food and everything that goes with it and maybe that is a reflection of my "surroundings" and why I take a certain approach to food--evolving with the times. I don't call myself a haute cuisine fanboy for nothing.
What do you think for yourself?
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Writing for the sake of having output...
HELLO!
Apologies I haven't been writing. It's just that the days have been a bit uneventful lately. Hopefully soon something interesting comes up. I have written a few drafts that I intend to just keep as drafts. I work in that way, as my process starts out and once I finish it or nearly finish it, I hate the output to a point that I bin it. In ways that's how I make dishes as well, I start out then I get unhappy with the dish then I lock it up and throw away the key--mind you in an area where I might actually find it again then after treat it like a new idea thereby getting enthusiastic once more (breathe). A vicious cycle. Visually, it's like a dog running after its tail.
So for the sake of not letting one month pass since I write something, I will leave everyone with a quote I just read leafing through "A Day at El Bulli" the other day:
"Creativity means not copying."
Too bad I just copied that quote.
J.
P.S. We have a dinner planned on the 28th of May. Please email if you're interested. :)
Apologies I haven't been writing. It's just that the days have been a bit uneventful lately. Hopefully soon something interesting comes up. I have written a few drafts that I intend to just keep as drafts. I work in that way, as my process starts out and once I finish it or nearly finish it, I hate the output to a point that I bin it. In ways that's how I make dishes as well, I start out then I get unhappy with the dish then I lock it up and throw away the key--mind you in an area where I might actually find it again then after treat it like a new idea thereby getting enthusiastic once more (breathe). A vicious cycle. Visually, it's like a dog running after its tail.
So for the sake of not letting one month pass since I write something, I will leave everyone with a quote I just read leafing through "A Day at El Bulli" the other day:
"Creativity means not copying."
Too bad I just copied that quote.
J.
P.S. We have a dinner planned on the 28th of May. Please email if you're interested. :)
Monday, April 18, 2011
Welcome To The Wonderful World of Blogging
In commemoration of the world's 50 best restaurant awards for 2011, I'm publishing this first post. What is the connection to the blog? Nothing really. At least for now, I hope. One day I dream a Filipino restaurant would make that list. Would I love to one day have a restaurant and be on that list? Abso-fucking-lutely! It would be the pinnacle of achievement for a Filipino (serving Filipino food, I might say) to be on that list. It's possible, my friends. Anything is possible. But for now that's a pipe dream. Let's take baby steps. And since today will be the new year for a new list of best restaurants, consider this my new year's resolution. Three things that might help us get a Filipino restaurant on that list.
Support our local produce and indigenous ingredients!!!
Let's buy more local meat, local veg and local everything. One thing we should take from the French is their pride in their terroir. We tend to copy only their techniques and their dishes and less of the philosophy behind what makes them brilliant. Let's be fucking proud of pechay, kang kong. Let's use the pili and the batuan. Let's rock the kamoteng kahoy, ube and gabe. Let's stop buying the veg from Taiwan and buy the veg from our local farmers. Noma put Scandinavian on the map, we can find a way to do it for the Philippines too.
Let's lay-off the chained restaurants a bit.
I met this guy who told me (after he found out I was interested in one day opening my own restaurant) that I should open a minimum of three chains/restaurants, or else I was just playing around and wasting time. Since when has it always been about the money? One thing that attracted me to this profession was the fact that the most respected and talented chefs also happened to be the idealists. They supported their local farmers and believed in eating local. They made things perfect, no matter what (I later learned the meaning of this when I got the chance to experience working in a top five restaurant and Michelin-starred restaurants in general). They saw money as the means for them to provide the most amazing experiences of a lifetime, not as the main objective of cooking. Being an idealist growing up in Manila (not exactly a nice combination, by the way), I was often seen as naive and just plain fucking dumb. This profession gave me the opportunity to continue being myself and not be corrupted and I fucking love it. Chained restaurants spend a chunk of money on marketing and franchising and non-food related expenses, meaning less go to the people who actually give a fuck about the food and its production but more to the people whose job is to get your ass in the seat and eat. I'm not saying some major fine dining restaurants don't use a chunk of money on marketing and promotions, but that I greatly admire the ones who really care about and spend a significant amount of time and resources on providing the best experience they can for the diner. Which leads to the final one...
Let's make things from scratch and lay off the MSG. Support the Artisan and the proper way of doing things.
I couldn't believe how rampant the liberal use of MSG was in the fine dining kitchens in Manila. Chicken powder, Aromat, chicken and beef cubes, I just didn't realize how rampant this was. Some even claim they don't use it on the technicality that they don't really use MSG itself but another product which is basically MSG renamed. Looking back, I guess shortcuts were to be expected but I was just so disappointed how rampant this was. It fucked up my palate for a while. That's what happens when you get told to put the fucking magic powder in anything you make. Let's experience food with it's natural taste and do things naturally. The chef is an artisan, let's be proud and do it the right way.
Baby steps.
J
Support our local produce and indigenous ingredients!!!
Let's buy more local meat, local veg and local everything. One thing we should take from the French is their pride in their terroir. We tend to copy only their techniques and their dishes and less of the philosophy behind what makes them brilliant. Let's be fucking proud of pechay, kang kong. Let's use the pili and the batuan. Let's rock the kamoteng kahoy, ube and gabe. Let's stop buying the veg from Taiwan and buy the veg from our local farmers. Noma put Scandinavian on the map, we can find a way to do it for the Philippines too.
Let's lay-off the chained restaurants a bit.
I met this guy who told me (after he found out I was interested in one day opening my own restaurant) that I should open a minimum of three chains/restaurants, or else I was just playing around and wasting time. Since when has it always been about the money? One thing that attracted me to this profession was the fact that the most respected and talented chefs also happened to be the idealists. They supported their local farmers and believed in eating local. They made things perfect, no matter what (I later learned the meaning of this when I got the chance to experience working in a top five restaurant and Michelin-starred restaurants in general). They saw money as the means for them to provide the most amazing experiences of a lifetime, not as the main objective of cooking. Being an idealist growing up in Manila (not exactly a nice combination, by the way), I was often seen as naive and just plain fucking dumb. This profession gave me the opportunity to continue being myself and not be corrupted and I fucking love it. Chained restaurants spend a chunk of money on marketing and franchising and non-food related expenses, meaning less go to the people who actually give a fuck about the food and its production but more to the people whose job is to get your ass in the seat and eat. I'm not saying some major fine dining restaurants don't use a chunk of money on marketing and promotions, but that I greatly admire the ones who really care about and spend a significant amount of time and resources on providing the best experience they can for the diner. Which leads to the final one...
Let's make things from scratch and lay off the MSG. Support the Artisan and the proper way of doing things.
I couldn't believe how rampant the liberal use of MSG was in the fine dining kitchens in Manila. Chicken powder, Aromat, chicken and beef cubes, I just didn't realize how rampant this was. Some even claim they don't use it on the technicality that they don't really use MSG itself but another product which is basically MSG renamed. Looking back, I guess shortcuts were to be expected but I was just so disappointed how rampant this was. It fucked up my palate for a while. That's what happens when you get told to put the fucking magic powder in anything you make. Let's experience food with it's natural taste and do things naturally. The chef is an artisan, let's be proud and do it the right way.
Baby steps.
J
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