Pulp Served!

Cherie Burbach from Blisstree had a post up yesterday about THINGS I LEARNED FROM TOP CHEF and as crazy as it sounds, it reminded me of how alike good cooking and good pulp media are:

Sometimes Simple is Best In cooking (and in life) sometimes the best route is the simplest. You don’t need to prepare an extravagant dish that goes over the top and (often) falls flat. Instead, a dish with minimal ingredients and prepared with a simple garnish can work. Simple isn’t boring, but it has to have excellence. Do one thing and do it extremely well, and this can take you far.

Stick With What You Know While it’s good to learn and grow, there is a time and a place to try new things. In a challenge (or when you have company coming over), it’s a good idea to still with what you are comfortable with. You might want to branch out a little, but keep the general technique and style that has worked well for you. Don’t abandon it simply because it’s “old hat.”

Cook for Your Audience You can say you’re a good cook, but if the people you are cooking for don’t enjoy eating your stuff, are you really a good cook? This came across loud and clear during the “Top Chef Masters” challenges. During one challenge, the chefs had to cook for some Girl Scouts. The chef that one got high marks because he not only made his food delicious but also fun. The girls loved it, and he won the challenge.

Admit Your Mistakes On “Top Chef,” there are certain challenges where a chef will completely mess up a meal. The most embarrassing part of watching is having that same chef deny that he or she made a mistake later in front of the judges. This same thing holds true in real life cooking. Not everything you make will be fabulous. But that’s okay. Owning up to your mistakes is all part of the process.

More pulp writery craftwork later...