Day 2: Everything, All at once

On the naming origins of this blog, the phrase, “never trust a skinny Chef” and a brief look at the history of French cooking:

The French Revolution of 1793 ended the monarchy and completely changed the fabric of French society. Many chefs, suddenly out of work, opened restaurants in and around Paris to support themselves. Marie-Antoine Careme was a famous creator of wedding cakes, sugar sculptures and ice and tallow carvings. Fernand Point, who is credited with the line, “I will never trust a skinny Chef!” was a master practitioner of light, naturally flavored cuisine. However, it was Auguste Escoffier (1847 to 1935), widely regarded as the greatest chef of his time, who is credited with the simplification of classical French Menu. Escoffier rejected the confusion and volume of the old menu, and infused a sense of order and diversity by carefully selecting and matching one or two dishes per course.

-Jeremy’s Blog, 2005 Colchester High School, Colchester Vermont, Graduated with Associates Degree in Culinary Arts, Le Cordon Schools North America, Orlando, Florida

My father’s use of “never trust a skinny Chef” was of course meant in part to justify his own well rounded mid section and also to defend the mid section of a few well known others like the great James Beard or the fictitious Hercule Poirot the Belgian sleuth and epicurean. The phrase is also meant to call out that a skinny Chef *obviously* doesn’t eat enough of his or her own, inferring the food is not good or they lack an appreciation for food and therefore lack credibility to deem what is truly GOOD food. With some surface level research I discovered literally dozens of food blogs on the interweb using this famous quote with varying levels of interpretation, deconstructing, supporting and arguing the meaning. MY use of The Skinny Chef as the theme for this journey represents my own perspective on the statement – that it’s possible to find enjoyment in cooking and eating to utter satisfaction without becoming obese.

Perhaps the largest obstacle and struggle towards this journey to health is the desire to have (in this case eat) EVERYTHING and ALL AT ONCE. This is represented in most packaged and processed foods of 24-hour convenience stores but also found in quickly assembled foods of higher quality like burritos, sandwiches, Jewish delicatessens and the most alluring Indian buffet lunch specials where the individual ingredients alone may not be detrimental to the body but the quantity and combination are often disastrous. Multiple experiences with certain diets (South Beach and Atkins in particular) and with nutritionists have led me to understand that the combination of food in your body is essentially like conducting a chemistry experiment inside your skin – and we are what we eat! Its therefore just as important to understand the affects of drinking beer with pizza as it us to know what happens if you mix ammonia and bleach together in a confined space.

The goal then is to slow down, enjoy the ingredients and flavors. A meal is not a sprint it’s a relay race that might contain sprints but not as a whole. All good thoughts but we still live in an age of 2am burrito runs and the trick is to CHOOSE those moments occasionally and not as the norm. In contrast to the EVERYTHING and ALL AT ONCE is the classic 17 course French menu where dishes follow one another harmoniously and it’s the simplicity of only a few ingredients together over a very long time that makes the experience so utterly satisfying.

Thank you Auguste Escoffier and Fernand Point for this list:
Course 0 - Amuse-bouche / Amuse-gueule (A little bite)
Course 1 - Hors d'oeuvre (appetizer)
Course 2 - Potage (soup)
Course 3 - Oeufs (eggs)
Course 4 - Farineaux (rice & pasta)
Course 5 - Poisson (fish)
Course 6 - Entrée (entry of 1st meat course)
Course 7 - Sorbet (flavoured water)
Course 8 - Reléve (meat course)
Course 9 - Rôti (roast)
Course 10 - Légumes (vegetables)
Course 11 - Salades (salad)
Course 12 - Buffet Froid (cold buffet)
Course 13 - Entremet de sûcre (sweets)
Course 14 - Savoureaux (savory)
Course 15 - Fromage (cheese)
Course 16 - Desserts (fresh fruits & nuts)
Course 17 - Cafe (coffee)