As we now are ending the longest year of our collective lives it is time to end a number of things. Of course there are loftier things to ditch. Discrimination, bullying, science haters and others. But one has to do with the particular field of work I chose to till in this life. And that, in part, is menu making.
I’m not sure exactly when I wrote my first attempts at what we call in English … a ‘Tasting Menu’. It is modeled directly from the French, as are many things in gastronomy. There it is known there as the ‘menu dégustation’. I was still in Key West cooking at the boutique Marquesa Hotel. I was completely besotted with the work of the Michelin ‘three star’ chefs of France and felt I was in good hands following the way things were done … and that meant an a la carte menu as well as a dégustation menu. For those unfamiliar a menu of this design is meant to showcase the absolute zenith of what the chef can do. It was lost on me that it might be too much. I was at an age when that kind of concern was like a form of failure.
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Now it’s time to hit the ‘Listen on WLRN’ button at the top to hear the remainder of my show. ‘A Word On Food’ airs on WLRN every Saturday around 8:30 a.m. at 91.3 and also 91.5 on the radio. I want to thank so many of you who tell me in person how much you are enjoying the show! Please check out my Instagram photos and my new IG TV cooking videos @normanvanaken