Canadian food writer and cookbook author Gail Simmons talks to Chahak Mittal about how food is an art form and millennials need to realise the importance of consuming food rather than just appreciating its visual appeal
Food is not just a necessity, it is also an experience and expression of who we are. In fact, it is an organic extension of our identity and establishes our signature no matter how many times we cook or serve the same dish. Or so believes Gail Simmons, Canadian food writer and author of Talking With My Mouth Full: My Life as a Professional Eater. Says she, “It is our respective style that affects the taste of the food we are making, the influences in our life, our experiences from travel as well as our education. A chef's training, nurturing, conditioning and the background of his/her home affects his/her way of cooking as well as perceiving the concepts of food. A dish is unique to the person who makes it.”
Gail believes that her “cooking has evolved enormously. I keep trying something new every time. I keep learning through my work, my family and life, even my professional colleagues. I have worked as a cook but today I have evolved as a chef. On the shows I host, I walk in a chef coat and feel that there’s nothing that I have wanted more. I have always wanted to learn, grow and explore more. It is the only reason why my cooking evolves everytime.”
A chef’s master dish goes through a lot of experimentation, tasting and checking, understanding and patience. It might have also gone through immense failures before getting ready. However, what could be the greatest cause of failure in a chef’s dish? Says Gail, “The amount of work and dedication that is put into the cooking really determines the success of the dish. It depends on a number of factors, including engineering the whole plan, the prime one being patience, which is extremely important, and also a proper understanding of the end result. It depends on the understanding of the chef as well who might haven’t cooked the dish properly, which could be undercooked or overcooked, or vegetables which might not have been cut or chopped finely, or maybe some ingredients that might not be added to the dish in significant proportions. Depending on all these factors and making sure they are well-kept in mind, the dish could be absolutely great.”
Knowing and learning how to cook food is not a lesson that could be mastered overnight. It takes a lot of practice and knowledge to blend certain ingredients, creating fusion with two or more dishes. What’s more to it? Is it an art form as well? “Absolutely. Food is an art, it takes years of practice to expertise in the field. There are definitely methods and science to cooking but food is an art not just in how it appears to the person consuming it but also how it tastes and smells,” says Gail.
She adds, “But do you know what is the most amazing part of cooking? It is that it’s the only art form that involves the use of all five of your senses. One needs to know how to taste it, touch it, to make sure its cooked properly, smell it and that it also appeals the eyes.”
Talking about visual appeal of the food, presentation of a certain dish does make the dish get full marks but sometimes its not what chefs really appreciate. “A picture on the phone cannot possibly capture its flavours.” Isn’t it an injustice done to chefs whose dishes get clicked even before they are tasted? On the phenomenon called food porn, Gail says, “People want the food to look delicious and appealing but I also feel that most of them are not professional photographers or food bloggers. They just want to flaunt the ‘good-looking’ food just like every other thing. Millennials now value how something looks more than how valuable it actually is. The food is just taken to be photographed than tasted. It is because of this we are missing out on so much good food. I do get frustrated with this trend of taking pictures of food without understanding the story of food.”
Apart from her culinary skills and food talks, she reveals the things that she would want to make happen. “I want to spread the love for good food and balancing social injustice related to it due to hunger disparities across the world. It is really important to me. Allowing people the access to food and figuring out how more and more people can access fresh and healthy meals that will not only taste better but will also fulfill their needs. I also want to make people realise the need of adopting healthy practices for a healthier lifestyle.”
As her inspiration is largely derived from her travel experiences and also “people whom I meet," Gail is rooted to her family, something that she draws from India.
As she comes to Indian TV for the first time with her show Top Chef: Season 14 (Charleston), she talks about what the show would bring for the Indian audience, “The show features chefs competing against each other in various culinary challenges and tasks. They are being judged by a panel of professional chefs and other notables from the food and wine industry. It is a fun show that brings eight new contestants competing against eight contestants who have returned from previous seasons.”
The show airs on September 24 every Monday to Friday at 9pm on AXN, premiering for the first time in India.
