[Sca-cooks] garnishes

[Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius]

On Jul 13, 2007, at 8:11 PM, Stefan li Rous wrote:

> <<< Adamantius, eternal foe of all inedible garnishes, and most non-
> incorporated, non-component ones as well >>>
>
> Okay, "inedible garnishes", I understand. But what do you mean by
> "non-incorporated, non-component" garnishes?

I have issues with both inedible garnishes and garnishes that are not  
an inherent part of the dish. My feeling is that the food itself  
should look good, and if it does not, you don't solve the problem by  
putting a little squiggly radish rose or a daikon butterfly on it:  
then it's just ugly food with distractions.

Not everyone agrees with this, but all I can say is that I've earned  
my living selling some very expensive food over a period of years  
without ever having to resort to such tactics, and still acquired a  
modest reputation for presentations based entirely on serendipitous  
use of the shapes and colors of the foods themselves.

Careful cutting of ingredients trumps a radish rose (or whatever it  
may be) any day.

Adamantius