How far is too far?

As Chefs, we are always trying to push the envelope with our cuisine. We are always looking to put our own interpretation on a dish, put our signature on it so to speak, make it unique, so everyone knows its ours. This mentality among chefs has resulted in some of the most amazing food I have ever seen. The amount of inspiration I find through what other chefs have done is staggering. From a classic French mother sauce executed to perfection, to the modern touch of molecular gastronomy, the culinary spectrum is packed full of amazing food right now.

With that said, I would ask this question... “How far is too far?”

At what point does taking liberty on a dish cross a line that should not be crossed. Food is a sacred art to chefs. Some recipes go back hundreds of years and we should not take it lightly when we embark on making it “new.” I had an experience at a restaurant recently that I think will help shed some light on what I’m talking about.

I went out to lunch with my wife on a beautiful sunny day in Florida. We were in a city known for its foodie scene and I was excited about an awesome lunch and a perfect cappuccino at a nearby coffee house afterward. We arrived at the restaurant and were greeted kindly by the wait staff. Our server seated us on the outdoor terrace which was beautiful. The atmosphere of the restaurant was just right, modern touches and a high dining look, yet still casual enough to feel comfortable and relax.

Our server brought the menu, and within 30 seconds I knew what I wanted. My eyes fell on “Chile Verde Pork Tacos.” Now first of all I must say that tacos are my favorite food hands down, so I was all over it. In Oakland CA, where I grew up, I practically lived off the awesome taco trucks scattered around the city. The dish looked like the chef had put his own spin on it and it sounded really interesting, so I ordered and waited in anticipation of the awesome taco feast that would commence shortly.

We started with salads, and while they were good, I was ready to push the greens aside and get on to the main event... porky taco goodness. Our server cleared our salad plates and soon the tacos were right in front of me, ready to be devoured. The dish looked a little different than what I was expecting, but I dove in with both hands and scooped up the taco, not wanting to judge a book by its cover so to speak. I took a big bite and started to chew, my chefy senses tingling as I tried to determine what seasonings were used, and whether I approved...it's a chef thing lol.

To my disappointment, the taco had no flavors of chile verde at all! Don't get me wrong, it didn’t taste bad, it just wasn’t chile verde. Chile verde is a dish made usually with pork or chicken, it has a sauce made of tomatillos and green chiles. This pork tasted more Moroccan, a lot of aromatic spices, and no sauce really to be found other than the crema drizzled over the top, and a simple fresh salsa.

Now this goes back to what I was saying earlier, some dishes go way back and we need to be cautious of what we do to them. See to me, chile verde is something I have had a hundred times growing up in California, so there were memories attached to that dish. I had an aroma and taste engrained in my mind of what this dish should be like, and that smell and taste would have triggered some great enjoyment for me while eating! But that was not what I experienced sadly. We have to remember as chefs, that the dining experience is really all about the customer, the one eating our food. We have to remember that if we are cooking a classic recipe, that people have memories associated with that dish and those memories are very strong, and can leave the customer feeling very left down if they are not lived up to.

So I ate around the dish, not wanting to complain, and pushed it aside, my mind now starting to focus more on the cappuccino that was to come. Our server came and saw the picked over plate that I had pushed aside. He asked, “was there something wrong with the dish sir? I replied, “not particularly, it just wasn't what I was expecting.”

“What do you mean?” He replied. “Well this is called chile verde right?” I said. “Yes,” the server replied. “Well, there is no chile, and no verde,” I said, trying to hold back the snappy chef attitude.

You see I had enjoyed some things about the dish, it came with a blistered shashito pepper, which I thought was a cool idea, and the pork was very well cooked and moist...it just wasn’t chile verde darn it!!

The server said, “I will talk to the chef and see what I can do.” “Thank you,” I replied, and assured him again that there was nothing technically wrong with the dish, I was just expecting something else. The server came back with the check and informed me he had taken the taco dish off of the bill. I thanked him, as he was doing everything he could do to make me happy and I appreciated that. Then he said “I talked to the chef, he said that, yeah, sometimes people like the dish and sometimes they just don't” “What??!!” I thought, that was a ridiculous response, but it was no use at this point, I paid the bill and made haste for the coffee house.

As I enjoyed my delicious cappuccino, I began to think about why the dish disappointed me. It was the name of the dish! If he would have just called it “pork tacos,” I'm sure I probably would have enjoyed it more. He gave me an expectation by what he called it, and thus set a standard for himself as a chef to prepare that dish in a way that did justice to its history. We as chefs should be cautious as to what we call our dishes, have we really prepared it in a way that merits that name? I'm not saying we cant get creative, but if we call it chile verde, it better have some tomatillos and green chiles in it somewhere!

I have always been mindful of this when I prepare my meals. I may make a Jamaican dish based on jerk chicken, but because I know I changed some ingredients, or it was not cooked in the traditional way, I may just call it island chicken. Why? you may ask. Well, my wife is Jamaican, and I have had REAL jerk chicken, and it not always easy to replicate. And if a Jamaican fellow sits down to eat my dish, I don’t want to hear him screaming from the dining room “This aint no jerk!!” The same is true when I cook mole sauces. I know the labor intensive process chefs have been going through for centuries when preparing moles, and the huge array of ingredients and special preparations that go along with the dish. So, seeing as I probably didn’t take twelve hours to make my mole, with all the the correct ingredients, I may just call it ancho chile sauce. To me, this is paying respect to the dish, and the chefs that have gone before us, because often dishes have deep cultural roots and meanings.

So how far is too far? I would say, go as far as you want, stretch your culinary creativity to the max, just make sure that you are doing justice and showing respect to the recipes you are using by always maintaining the integrity of the dish. And don't be afraid to use terms like “modern interpretation of,” “deconstructed,” “Chefs version,” or “playful take on” etc. At the end of the day, we as chefs have a responsibility to bring our guests the best experience and make them happy. Lets not go too far in our culinary pursuits that we forget about the person eating our food.

Live, Love and Eat!!

Chef Louis Robinson

Photo by Nutmeg Nanny

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