Molecules & Meringues

I’ll start with a question. Where are we headed on our culinary journey? It seems that unless it’s been dehydrated, deconstructed or destroyed the modern chef isn’t into it. I’m all for progression, but progression for progressions sake? I’m hardly one to talk, my current menus are full of powders, purees & things that look like one thing, taste like another thing but remind you of them both. I love to evoke the spirit of a Pavlova for instance with meringue powder, lemon curd & passion fruit jelly. I love to get punters thinking about childhood chocolate bars by coating my honeycomb ice-cream in chocolate dirt. Is it too far? Maybe it is, I’ve read lots about this and it seems even bread was a pretty whacky concept in its day. “You want to squash some grass seeds, mix them with water let it get mouldy & then do what with it?” Ah, then there’s milk. Who on earth thought of that, hardly seems right, I can understand giving them a squeeze, I mean who hasn’t longed to give Daisy a bit of a massage, let’s face it, she’s a beauty, but drinking the damn stuff? Are you mad? Eggs! There’s an odd concept, never mind which came first, who was the first crazy to see that little thing drop out of the reverse end and think “Hmm, probably should eat that” Need I go on?
Anything new is strange, that’s because you haven’t seen it before, but what you don’t see is all of the things that were tried and didn’t work, and that’s what will happen with Molecular Gastronomy, if it works like bacon & egg ice-cream (thanks Heston) it will be championed, if not it will disappear into the culinary ether with the bacon bomb (no thanks YouTube)
It’s by no means as far as some chefs go, I mean, I’m happy with a nicely cooked piece of turbot. Oh Turbot! Why do you scorn me so, you live so far away from me, and why has no-one even heard of you in my new Coles fishmongers. Ha! Boxes of fish covered in ice do NOT a fishmonger make, I’m afraid. Am I being swept away with the magic and the mysticism of gels and foams? I think not, I feel as if my feet are still firmly on the kitchen floor, which needs a sweep actually after making lamb shoulder tortellini for tomorrows private dining.
Maybe it’s a blip in the culinary timeline, maybe we’ll look back on the Fat Duck, El Bulli & Noma and say “those crazy cats, I told them it wouldn’t last” or the spherical olive will overtake the real olive in the race to the olive finish line.
What I love is the folly in all of this, In Ferran Adrias tasting menu the closing dish of “Morphings”, pink coral shaped chocolate in sour raspberry powder comes sitting on a rock, most people try to eat the rock. Nice one Ferran!