October 16, 2016
The culinary industry has been transformed as chefs become renowned for their craft
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I have been an avid diner over the course of my life. In my younger years, restaurants were just a place for my family and I to enjoy each other's company and to enjoy our favorite eateries.
However, over the last 15 years, I have noticed an explosion in interest in the craft of the culinary arts. The Food Network has turned chefs into celebrities (the term "Celebrity Chef" I find insulting, but I digress).
This has formed millions of fans who turned the restaurant business, and the craft of cooking, into a multi-billion industry, and these patrons who created fandoms of legendary restaurants, such as Per Se (NYC) and The French Laundry ( Yountville, CA) and their chefs (Thomas Keller) into global legends.
I have the utmost appreciation of the efforts and dedication that many of these gifted chefs spend to make meals some of the greatest memories for people who patronize these restaurants. These talented artisans turn meals into lifetime memories and experiences that become part of the human life story. I am enthralled when I see these chefs make their masterpieces into meals for personal enjoyment.
Some of my best memories with my family (and sometimes myself) have been to eat at many of the finest restaurans in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., New York, Montreal and Vancouver to name a few. Many of the restaurants are on my foodie bucket list, such as Alinea in Chicago, which has won Michellin stars, Boloud and Le Barnardin (NYC), Noma in Denmark, the Fat Duck (England) and El Bulli (Spain, which has since closed).
I hope to try many of these great locations before my time on earth has passed. They will most certainly be worth it.
Dessert at Alinea (Chicago-Chef Grant Achatz)
Apple Taffy made with helium (Alinea, Chicago)
One must not forget the "critics" or reviewers of these restaurants who are paid to describe in almost poetic language, the culinary artistry, the dishes and their subtle flavors-most of which is somewhat suspect but helps fuel the industry. Taste is a personal and largely subjective phenomenon, but can be influenced by preferences during upbringing, exposure to different cuisines and the desire for gustatory adventure. The cost of some of these meals are pricey and one must place in perspective its affordability, and experience it to celebrate when an occasion demands it. But the turnover of some of the newer restaurants attempting to replicate the success of reputable establishments suggests that the economy is not robust enough to support all of it. I hope the situation will change for the better and all people will have a chance to experience some of these culinary creations at least once.
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