Nancyg56
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 17, 2005
Nancy I hope you know that you now will have a bunch of dissers wanting to crash dinner the next time your Dad cooks for the family
I'm sorry to say that my Dad has passed on. You would have loved him, he looked like Jackie Gleason in a Chef Jacket, herringbone pants (I was so embarrassed about those) and his toque. I remember one evening when he commandeered my Mom and me into serving at a banquet. I had never really seen him in action, but this evening he was flambeing Cherries Jubilee, and he was magnificent!
A few years ago, I was fortunate enough to attend a lecture at the CIA with the Chefs Association of CT. The speaker was the host of cooking secrets of the CIA, I cannot remember his name. He was from my Dad's era and he was discussing how his style of cooking had had to change, back then butter and cream were staples in everything. He actually addressed the concerns I see expressed time and again on the DDP threads, the issues regarding food prep are a reality in every restaurant. For instance, my Dad never used prepared stocks, he made his own. That is rare today, according to this master chef. He also butchered his own beef because he aged it himself, That is also rare. Profit and loss are often very close in restaurants and chefs make decisions that keep their operations afloat. That means compromise.
I miss his perspective on many things, but I think I will always be thankful that he instilled in me a respect for cooking styles that are not my own, and for foods that I am not familiar with. He knew that the best cooks were always willing to try something new.