Snouts and molecules are destined to become the lava lamps of the future while great ingredients lead to classics.
It’s fine to explore, it’s necessary, but let’s be honest: So little remains of shifts in any cultural experience, be it music, art, writing, or food.
Pete Wells noted in his ** review of Rotisserie Georgette that a lot of the new places he’s reviewing are to dining as The Beatles and Stones were to the popular music which preceded them. Leaving aside the elevation of food to an art, it’s an interesting point.
Specifically, so much that is performed and recorded simply isn’t worth listening to any more and really wasn’t back then. The great stuff, as always, is in the 2%.
And what made The Stones and Beatles great were many things: Knowledge of blues and rock; high-level ability to play music; awareness that every choice made was critical; and, a massive amount of highly-disciplined practice.
And something else.
Interviewing a chef in Japan recently for a long piece on seasonality, I learned from him: “In France, the cuisine is based on adding ingredients, while in Japan it is based on subtracting ingredients.”
What matters most are a few things: A few notes, a few ingredients. Think of love.
