Imagine yourself in this picturesque setting...a gorgeous backdrop of grapevines beautifully growing up and over the disappearing hillside; an Italian style villa housing a touted 5-star restaurant with a balcony of outdoor seating basking in the setting sun; a gourmet menu that makes your mouth water the minute you lay your eyes on it; its detailed description elevating every ingredient. You order and the food arrives. It looks as fabulous as it sounded. Your mouth is watering and you can hardly wait to try it.
That is...until that very first bite.
Something went terribly wrong here. Should I have seen it coming? There is a conflict in my mouth and the combination of flavors is way off. Huge disappointment follows and in my mind's eye I'm transported to an episode of "Hell's Kitchen"...
"What the f*%k do you think you're doing? I wouldn't feed this sh*t to my cat.
If you don't know what you're doing, get the HELL out of my kitchen!"
This is, yet again, the case of the latest culinary trend to overwhelm.
Overwhelming your taste buds, that is, and it's happening everywhere.
That salmon dish had so many elements, I couldn't connect the confusion on the plate to what I actually should be tasting. The corn-mango-watermelon gastrique fought with the cilantro-sage viniagrette, which fought with the sweet barbecued glazed salmon over a bed of almond-sage-red pepper quinoa. It was a fight that even I couldn't swallow.
I too have to ask, "Wtf...Why?". Who in the food industry decided this need to combine mismatched flavors on some artfully designed overpriced menu was a good idea?
I wonder...Is there so much competition in the restaurant world that it pushes a chef to make the dish sound better than it actually is, assuming accolades will follow and maybe, just maybe, the James Beard foundation will come knocking?
Back to the salmon fiasco.
They must have tasted it and known. Clearly, they must have known it isn't working.
I know that deep down, they know what I (and Gordon Ramsay) know.
Simple is best. But, for some reason, simple doesn't sell right now.
A few fresh ingredients; creamery butter, sea salt, fresh lemon and coarsely ground pepper will bring out the flavor, and are never meant to disguise that grilled salmon. Bright green butter sauteed spinach or fresh steamed asparagus with a touch of browned butter and there you have it; perfect harmony for your taste buds worthy of divine praise, or a thumbs up nod from Gordon Ramsay, at least.
Lesson learned...I should have stopped at the charcuterie platter.