STOP & LISTEN...

Eating a sublime meal is as sensuous an experience as any the bedroom has to offer. It doesn't take a lot of thinking to realise that cooking is one of the few activities or professions in which we use all five of our faculties.

Taste goes without saying - I would never serve anything I hadn't first tasted to ensure its quality. Sight is similarly essential in checking quality, consistency and readiness of our fare. We would be lost without the ability to smell our food to determine both good and bad odours. And touch is extremely important in judging the quality, ripeness or readiness of our produce.

Which leaves us with sound .the most under-rated of our senses in the kitchen.

Some of my fondest memories of professional kitchens around the world in the past ten years, and of twenty years entertaining friends are the sounds.

The hiss of steam as a juicy steak hits the grill; the crackle as wine meets oil in a hot pan; the bubbling of a rich, thick sauce; the cicada-like snap of metal tongs; the bustle of fresh hot food being rushed out to eagerly anticipating diners; and the clink of crockery on smooth metal benches. All sounds that are uniform the world over - sounds that unite chefs and home cooks everywhere.

Don't be fooled though - sound is not only about evoking past memories, it's also an integral, and often overlooked, part of a cook's repertoire.

The next time you prepare a meal at home, take the time out to notice the sounds of the food as you work with it. Instead of taking the sounds of the kitchen for granted, listen to your food changing form from raw to cooked. Notice how important the sounds are as the food nears readiness, and allow yourself the luxury of letting those sounds carry you away through your own past - to meals and occasions that deserve to be remembered more often. It's true that sometimes the simple things in life really ARE the most satisfying, and that sounds good to me.

Be excellent to each other!

Shane Pinnegar

May 2003

 

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