The greatest thing about the Culinary Arts is that in some way, everyone of us participates. Every last person on this Earth. Every day. It is truly unique that one art is shared by all that inhabit this planet, but then again everyone has to eat.

We as a group have the tendency to think of high priced, exclusive restaurants when we hear the phrase “Culinary Arts”, but in reality the term encompasses a far greater scope than what normally comes to mind. We have a tendency to connect price level with the final value of anything that has the tag of “Art”. In this case, nothing could be further from the truth, all one has to do is think of some of the greatest things you have ever eaten.

Your Mother’s chocolate chip cookies, barbeque from that little shack on the other side of the tracks, the hamburger from that little mom and pop diner you stopped at when traveling through Georgia, Thanksgiving Day at Grandma’s or at your house if you’re the grandmother, tacos from that little stand by the side of Ortiz Avenue these are all examples of the “Culinary Arts”. There seems to be a tendency in the media to glorify food produced at prices that most people can’t afford and this attitude is too narrow and limited to encompass all the joy that this art has actually been responsible for throughout humanity’s existence. There is a tendency for those who have “made it” to practice what I think of as food bigotry.

Let’s face it, throughout history the wealthy and powerful have loved to tell the rest of us how rich and powerful they are, and a sumptuous feast of hard to find ingredients is a pretty good way to advertise the fact. We are all seemingly fascinated by the spectacle of conspicuous consumption and our present day media makes it so much easier for us to become aligned to the same limited outlook. This restricts us from fully experiencing the whole panorama or should I say cornucopia of food, its preparation and its presentation which constitutes the Culinary Arts. Any practice or school of thought that limits our ability to fully appreciate this art must be discarded as fallacious and confining. It is time for us to adopt an attitude of being open to food experiences new and old, rich and poor, pedestrian and exotic, a Culinary Glasnost for the sake of opening one’s horizons.

How can an individual participate in this expansion of culinary expression and openess? Try a new recipe, a new restaurant, a category of cuisine you haven’t experienced before, a new presentation of an old recipe- the possibilities and permutations are endless. I am not saying that breaking the American predeliction for playing it ”safe” culinary-wise will be easy. We have whole chains of eating establishments and their marketing machines telling us that what they are selling is delicious instead of what it is: bland, over-processed, chemically enhanced food analogs with all the soul of Ronald McDonald on a junk food bender. Not only is this food tasteless, it isn’t very good for you either. Yes, I know the kids are clamoring for it, but if you stand up instead of caving in, you might actually influence the young ones to make good food decisions later on in life, and they will be getting more than enough of junk fast food when they are teenagers anyway.

Cooking from basic ingredients at home has almost become an endangered species, we don’t have the time with our jobs and busy lives. The question of time limitations has always been a driving force in professional kitchens, how do you think that we can deliver to your table a complete and artfully presented dinner to your table twenty minutes after ordering it? Organization and preparation is the key to this phenomenon, it seems at times chefs spend most of their time trying to figure out how to produce dishes in a timely and efficient manner. Undoubtedly one of the greatest time savers is having the frozen items that are to be used thawed out ahead of time. Pulling those chicken breasts out of the freezer and putting them in the fridge the night before saves you tons of time, but this also means that you must start menu planning on a regular basis. Getting the preparation done that can be done ahead of time is will also save you tremendous amounts of time. Have you ever noticed that on cooking shows it always seems that it takes very little time for the celebrity chef to create the dish he or she is demonstrating? Might it be that he or she has a staff of assistants that do all the slicing, dicing, and measuring for them? You can accomplish the same result by preparing what you can a night or two before and you will end up making the dish in the same time as they do on TV. Expend that little extra mental effort and it will soon become a habit and seem like very little bother at all.

Another area you can make a big change in easily is presentation of dishes whether plated or served family style. Lining the platter you put your meat loaf on with some curly or romaine lettuce and spacing a few olives and radishes around it will take it to a higher level. Toss some julienned red bell pepper across the top and it will have the look of a dish that would be found on better buffets. Remember though, the point is to make the dish more pleasing to the eye, not compete with Charlie Trotter and his disciples from Hell. Simple decorative garnishes have a beauty of their own and are much easier to produce.

Eventually, as you begin to garnish plates and platters, you will find you have a need for tools a bit more sophisticated than a sharp paring knife and a peeler. Your local cook ware or chef’s specialty store is definitely the source of not only the tools but also how to use them. I still run across things that I have to ask one of the sales people, “What in the hell is this and what is it used for?” They should know, it is their business after all, plus they might have received some useful feedback from one of their professional customers. The truth is I have a whole tool box full of such tools that I maybe use once in a great while, but when you need a melonballer there isn’t any substitute and don’t think I haven’t tried to find to find one on occasion.

Finally, keep in mind when someone recommends a restaurant, can you trust this person’s judgment? Someone’s paradise might be your hell. I know parents of young children who swear by a certain pizza chain that has a rodent for a mascot but you wouldn’t catch me within shouting distance of its parking lot. I have had times when I have recommended restaurants in which I have had nothing but good dining experiences, but the night my friends go there, it becomes a culinary version of Dante’s Inferno. So take your friends recommendations and keep a sense of humor readily at hand. That way you can have a new dining experience or at worst a good laugh at the expense of the person who recommended it. Most of all, be adventurous in trying out new cuisines and restaurants, but don’t take important clients or prospective in laws to a place where you haven’t eaten a couple of times, unless of course they have a great sense of humor. Art is in the eye of the beholder they say, but with the culinary arts it is in your eyes, nose, and mouth, and probably on your new tie or dress.