I hope this finds you all in good health and spirits. Smiling after three gorgeous days of sun. Spring is in the air. I can smell it and feel it. This spring is again special as my love returns from her fabulous voyage in NYC. So yes I guess you could say that I love the spring. I start the post this way because Michel Bras is hyperaware of his surroundings and it shows in the work that he does.
I came to the conclusion that I wanted to be a Chef because I wanted to be honest. For a variety of reasons I had felt that the last fifteen years of my life were lived according to others desires and wants. Rarely if ever did my concerns take that front seat as I was wholly motivated by others needs, wants, desires, fears, etc. I came to start my journey as an expression of self. An expression of inwardly realized conclusions that I needed to do something for me. Honestly.
Michel Bras says very early in “Essential Cuisine” that; “What matters is to be who you are… No cheating.” I stepped away from the book when I read this line. I only came to realize who I truly was in November of 2007. I had fought myself especially and others trying to conclude who I was when all along it was in front of me at least four times a week when I would get into the kitchen and fall into a zone. It was the one place that I felt like me… Honestly. And without cheating.
Now that I have spent almost two months at Reservation I realize that I am being who I am without cheating. That is a great feeling to have and it makes getting out of bed in the morning that much easier.
Ultimately, Bras is concerned with simplicity and truth. While his dishes may reflect a degree of difficulty he allows the food to speak for itself. Each flavour, aroma, texture, etc is part of the whole that speaks for itself but as a whole there is a harmonious symphony for the senses. This to me is the true mark of a Chef. Someone who can bring the ingredients to life individually and then collectively. In that exact syntax. Individually and then collectively. It is what I strive toward and I know I will get there.
Bras has an eye for detail and the personal skill to make a dish what he wants. He is exacting but thoughtful, careful yet with abandon for the rules. His rule I believe is the one that I quoted above. His food represents who he is… without cheating. If you can get your hands on a copy of “Essential Cuisine” you will see exactly what I am talking about.
While reading I had asked myself the question (and written it in my notebook); how does he arrive at dishes? Well, the universe will answer your questions if you ask them. Later in the book I came across the following quote; “Each moment I let myself be guided by the sounds, tastes and images. I feed on them. The nourish me for future adventures.” This attitude, this careful interpretation of life in every respect is at least one of the things that allows him to arrive at his dishes. Specifically he states about one dish (Gargouillou http://www.michel-bras.com/francais/index/fiche/gargouillou.htm) that it is; “the fruit of my maturity as a man and as a chef. I see it as an act of bravery with which I am fully aligned, from the most inner part of my being to my most acute sense of gourmandise.” Take a minute to internalize that quote.
This specific dish as you can see from the site I sent you to is stunning. It is also an interpretation of Aubrac where he resides and works. It is amongst the most beautiful dishes I have ever seen and given his description I can see how much more there is for me to work on outside of the cooking world. It is exciting and also harrowing. It also clearly demonstrates how Bras gets his influences. Nature being the largest without question. I can hardly wait for my next Georgian Bay or Algonquin Park adventures. They will be even more spirited than the last.
In reading Bras I came to the conclusion (as I have before but this time a bit differently) that for a Chef to succeed (according to his own definition obviously) he must be willing and able to step outside himself and enter the netherworld of uncertainty. He/She must be willing to get outside the comfort zone, mixing flavours, textures, sounds, etc in order to arrive at culinary Nirvana. It is a process that is just as difficult as arriving at spiritual nirvana. It is a gut wrenching, soul searching awakening that can only take place from a place of honesty and personal awareness. As Bras says; “No good work can be produced without proper methodology and knowledge of the ingredients. I firmly believe that technique must serve cooking and gourmandise and certainly not the other way around.”
I agree completely with Bras in his assertions. I can understand cerebrally what he is saying but still do not have the practical experience to be able to fully comprehend. I will over time come to appreciate more fully what Bras means but in the meantime it certainly gives me a sense of pride that I have chosen to enter into a noble profession, an honest profession, which has at its core the understanding of self and your surroundings. I longed for this my entire life. And now that it is before me I am beside myself with joy.
You’ll remember that a while back I wrote a post about playing with your food (http://newbieintheweeds.blogspot.com/2008/02/dont-play-with-your-food-file-under.html ) Well Bras says that for him; “The relationship between cooking and mischief has always been a part of me.” I use this to frame what I said in the earlier post because playing with your food is in a way a little mischievous. And yet, playing with your food may help you to arrive at whom you are and why you are here. The fact that he mentions mischief warms my heart as I have always been willing to try something a little different. Some turned out good, some great and others just pure crap. But how can you ever know if you don’t try? And this relates to the broader world as well.
I can understand why Bras inspire Executive Chef. I will get into a conversation with him about it when I understand the techniques a little more so that I can get the most out of the conversation. I can see little elements and components of Bras’ style reflected on plates that we produce at Reservation and it truly does bring a massive smile to my face.
Bras also helped me to confirm another of the things that I have been thinking for a while. That I should always trust my instincts. All Chefs should trust their instincts. And all people should trust theirs as well (except in paranoid delusions… then just take a deep breath). A few times in the past week I have had first hand experience of this in the kitchen. Once I held back and the next few I did not. Instincts are a very powerful resource in the toolbox of humanity but also for anyone truly desiring to become a great Chef.
Finally, Bras wrote two things that resonated with me wonderfully. WOW would be an appropriate word. The first is that Bras says; “My vision of the world is drawn on the plate. So… The taste! Here it is! Your plate is a fragment of the universe. It is a leaden stormy sky with a gap of light.” This is precisely how I look at the food I make. It is a microcosm that engenders all the elements of food such as flavour and texture but it is also filled with the most wonderful hues of human emotion and feeling. I want to invoke a feeling in you. I want you to see what I am presenting. I want you to feel the earth in what you are eating. I want to broaden your awareness of your plate and give you an experience unparalleled before or since. I aspire to this. And I will arrive there.
The next thing he said which also resonated well with me was; “When I travel, all my senses, sharpened by long practice, capture, here and there, the worlds extravagances, as well as its finesses, inventions and its countless gifts.” When traveling I; “gather fleeting smiles, flowers, deserts and cities; bring them back and hold them together in a bouquet of sensation, testimony and meditation.” Yes please. May I have some more. This is exactly the way that I approach my life. It is weird for me to read someone who is for many one of the paradigm shifts in culinary attitudes. When reading this book questions started mounting that are not easy.
What is my food philosophy?
How will it be reflected on the plate?
What is my focus?
How will I express my purpose on a plate?
These and so many more questions arise from reading Bras’ clear, concise and truthful representation of both self and the food he creates, not to mention the world he lives in. As I traveled last year I ate things that I would not have normally eaten. I tried things that exposed me to a new and wondrous world that I now incorporate into my daily repertoire. Ireland for me was a homecoming and seeing the rolling green hills and it stark beauty caused me to think that there has to be a way to enliven traditional Irish cooking in a way hitherto unseen. I will use my family as guinea pigs on that one. I bring this up because I believe that one of my motivations is to honour those that have come before me. First within my family, thus my heritage, then in my chosen profession (read dream).
Bras says that in order to have vision in the kitchen you must be able to do three things.
Looking
Connecting (being in tune with your ingredients)
Preparation
These three things represent the enactment of an idea for a chef. This is the basic approach that I will use to work on dishes. Its simplicity is actually disarming though its practice is to my mind more complicated than building an atomic weapon.
As you can tell I am truly inspired by Bras. He has given me a deeper understanding of preparation, insight into vision and enactment of ideas. He has given me hope for the future and a sense of pride in what I’m doing. Not to mention humbling me. Which to me is also something very important. I can also see how Bras has inspired Executive Chef and that gives me a deeper insight into his desires as a Chef and the form and function that he utilizes.
All in all I say to anyone that wants to be a chef read Bras. Internalize him! Let Bras’ experience, technique and style permeate your soul and lift you to heights you didn’t even know were possible.
Thus, I leave you this post by quoting a true original thinker in the pantheon of American thinkers, Arthur Erickson; “Only when inspired to go beyond consciousness by some extraordinary insight does beauty manifest unexpectedly.”
Be inspired today and dream big. Ask the universe whatever you need to know and it will answer you.
A la prochaine
SDM
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