Too Good To Be Fresh?
Fresh, Sous-Vide, Frozen, Chilled, Ambient, Cooked, Half-Cooked, Chopped, Diced, Sliced - Secrets uncovered in all its glory
How important is fresh food?
What does fresh mean to you?
Gastronomy inspires those who wish to learn new culinary skills and understand the elements of flavouring however, with appreciation of the art from scratch, one can become a little too unappreciative of short-cuttings.
By this I wish to discuss the perception of fresh produce, fresh food, anything labelled or indeed perceived to have had its origins concocted in one swoop and then before thy eyes it is delivered under thy nose steaming away...
A boom in fast-casual dining from Nandos, Wahaca's and Wagamamas offer fresh, market-esq dining concepts with open kitchens allowing the scent of master mixologists to air the room and appease the senses.
The sprouting of Jamie Oliver restaurants offer similar concepts through open kitchens creating centre-pieces of the restaurants, a maraud of preparations exciting and a reinforcing consumers of fresh produce prepared before thy eyes.
Not to detract from those many establishments whom honourably slave in the back-house kitchen to tame soaring temperatures with overwhelming chaos of flavours, timings, plating, just as a vicious cycle I post to offer insight not through critique but awareness.
Maybe it is just to those in the industry who really know the value of dining out? I think so, as I ask you to ask yourself, can you be sure that what you eat at a restaurant has been cooked from fresh produce?
The factors to take into consideration are
I shall offer some examples, and you have a think for each brand whether they're:
By this I wish to discuss the perception of fresh produce, fresh food, anything labelled or indeed perceived to have had its origins concocted in one swoop and then before thy eyes it is delivered under thy nose steaming away...
A boom in fast-casual dining from Nandos, Wahaca's and Wagamamas offer fresh, market-esq dining concepts with open kitchens allowing the scent of master mixologists to air the room and appease the senses.
Not to detract from those many establishments whom honourably slave in the back-house kitchen to tame soaring temperatures with overwhelming chaos of flavours, timings, plating, just as a vicious cycle I post to offer insight not through critique but awareness.
Maybe it is just to those in the industry who really know the value of dining out? I think so, as I ask you to ask yourself, can you be sure that what you eat at a restaurant has been cooked from fresh produce?
The factors to take into consideration are
- the size of the restaurant and estimated man power in the kitchen, how many chefs can you see when you peek through the kitchen door? Enough to cook 50+ dishes simultaneously?
- the establishment - are we talking a large chain or small and somewhat independent scale i.e. 1-6 restaurants? The chances are that the larger chains operate central contracts with distributors where costs can be reduced which brings me to my next point
- is the pricing too good to be true? Value offerings such as 2-4-1s are obviously more likely to be too good for fresh food HOWEVER during times of financial woe, fresh quality brands have reacted with similar offerings
- a restaurant chain or independent? They could even be a small collective with up to half-a-dozen restaurants!
- fast-food, pub-food, fast-casual, fine-dining, specialist cuisine?
- value for money? this doesn't necessarily have to be cheap; for quality there is an element of expense to be expected, but on the flip-side, could they be over charging with poor quality offering or even offering fantastic value, what you're expecting and hopefully more!
- Finally... fresh? Do you think your ingredients arrive to the kitchen freshly picked, butchered, packed and delivered to be cooked that evening and served before your senses?
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