click to enlarge
It is easier to add more to a dish and to make it clever and more complicated. This is often to cover poor produce or bad technique and shows a real immaturity for the craft of cooking.
It is my firm belief that the focus should be on the quality of the raw component of any dish.
As a chef my responsibility is to showcase stellar produce and use a healthy dose of restraint in how we prepare a dish. It is not unlike wine maker’s coaxing subtle flavours from a grape, which has been passed to them from the vineyard. In the kitchen we have a duty to uphold the veracity of the ingredient handed to us by our growers and farmers.
Handled with reverence and genuine understanding a simple dish can speak volumes for the integrity of the restaurant.
Cuisine Restaurant of the Year Finalist 2008 South Island Restaurant of the Year 2008 Cuisine Restaurant of the Year Finalist 2009
