You are not an un-Chef cook, you just don't fail enough...

This is about experimenting in the kitchen being vital to improve your gastronomic superiority. I would always wonder that despite her culinary art being superior than anyone else on the planet, why would my mom deviate from the standard path so minimally? I thought it was just the fear of failure. Turns out, I was horribly wrong. My dad would never recommend trying too many things in the kitchen. This subdued the inner chef in her, not allowing her to really spread her cooking wings. This did not make her a good, bad or better cook but it did not allow the real potential to express itself. Today, I see my wife able to do a lot more with the most basic supplies because both of us are open to the idea of food experiments that can go horribly wrong! [Will share her latest creation - bread, egg pizza that is better than the crap served at Domino's]. And this is what this discussion is about - you are never going to be an awesome, chef-like kitchen maestro if you don't play around enough.


Actually, you have to fool around. Just rethink the days of arts and crafts activities when in school. Teachers would give us some time to try something that our mind conceived with highly malleable clay rather than imitating the idea that the curriculum provided. This meant a wider range of colors and designs, some enviably better than my expectations and some, so weird that you seriously reconsidered your friendship with that classmate.

Great food needs sacrificing the perfectness in each meal

The psycho-analysis of this part notwithstanding, you have to agree - more experimentation means more chances of succeeding, even if you are unsure about the ingredients you want to fool around with. Yes, you need to have more-than-average understanding of textures. You can forego the basic rules of the game. You can put mustard droplets on a conventional dish, you can provide unconventional layers to any egg preparation, and you can eat your ice-cream with table accessories and chewies that eateries out there would banish at the first sight. Something as simple as a biscuit that tastes best when dipped in tea could be your canvas here. You can layer it with different chocolate sauces or even ice-cream flavors.

More DIY food journeys to cover

You can try eating rice with the driest, most un-gravy of dishes to try a meal that is so dry that you need mental and physical stamina to push it down your throat. I have had the pleasure of scooping-away the unholiest of gravy leftovers, directly from the pan, using an over-roasted slice and believe me, the flavor was more exotic than some Domino's type of culinary invention that will be broadcast on every digital medium. Just like all the weird-but-great geniuses who brought-in inventions that changed the way we live, the Culinary Pedestal is for those who embrace infinite appetite to change, toss, saute, chop, twist, grind and maneuver, beyond what seems reasonable...