There are only two types of cooks – those who cook for a paycheck and those who cook because they are drawn to do so.  I appreciate the need for both, and certainly understand the need to make a living, but feel sorry for those who have not experienced a food epiphany – that taste, smell, texture, or contextual experience that stopped you in your tracks, brought pause to a conversation, opened your eyes, and blew apart your understanding of food and flavor. To many, there were those moments when they began to understand that flavor is a combination of every sense all packaged into “WOW”!

Once experienced, many cooks/chefs will agree that moment solidified their desire to learn more, experience more, search more, and dedicate their career to a pursuit without end. You can see it in their eyes, the way they draw their knives from a roll bag and slide them back and forth on a wet stone. You witness it in the way they care for their uniform, how they look, how they act, and the respect they have for the kitchen environment. These cooks and chefs approach each day with an inquisitive mind and an open palate. The need for a paycheck is still there, but it is not what makes them jump out of bed in the morning. They crave the quest for flavor, both as a creator and a consumer.

Cooks and chefs who have stepped through the door of life-changing flavor, want to learn as much as they can. They want to perfect their skills, learn how to interpret and then replicate their experiences. Once they have a grasp of what and how, then they seek to put their own signature on it. “How can I make this a reflection of my style?” Here are a few of my food epiphany moments:

[]       MUSHROOMS

A simple mushroom – spores fed by the forest floor, hidden under decaying leaves, and perfect in their daring look, are somewhat non-committal in the raw state, but sauteed simply in quality butter with a pinch of sea salt and cracked pepper to bring out their intense umami, are suddenly elevated to one of nature’s greatest gifts. The smell makes you salivate and the taste is so deep that it stops you in your tracks. Some are delicate and filled with finesse while others are meaty and bold – willing to take center stage at a meal. Well prepared mushrooms can take your breath away; they are so delicious.

[]       A PERFECT POACHED EGG

The simple egg is the most foundational of essential ingredients in a kitchen. Their uses are almost limitless, and their differences can be significant depending on the person building their character. Of all the egg dishes (and I love them all), none can compare to a perfectly poached egg. Some will immediately think of Benedict, but to me, this is a method that hides the natural experience of a poached egg. Hot, but never boiling water, a touch of cider vinegar to help coagulate the whites, patient basting during the process, and a watchful eye to make sure the egg comes together but the yolk remains warm and runny. Transferred to a toasted slice of artisan bread, a gentle cut to expose the yolk, a nice dollop of cultured butter to add volume to the yolk, a touch of sea salt and pepper, a few snips of fresh chives and a world of flavor opens up. Preparing the perfect poached egg is a skill and an art.

[]       ROASTED GARLIC

Some may wonder why garlic is on the list. In the raw state, garlic can be over-powering and sometimes off-putting. Touched by your hands, the stickiness and strong aroma of garlic will seep into your pores and linger long past your shift in the kitchen. The garlic in this state can be bitter and not harmonious with some foods, but when the whole bulb is topped, brushed with olive oil, salted, wrapped in foil or in a garlic roaster and baked at 300 degrees until the cloves are caramelized and soft, and then squeezed onto fresh bread, naan, pita, toast, or crackers – garlic becomes a sweet, mild, fragrant, intoxicating spread.

[]       ARTISAN BREAD

Flour, water, salt, leavening, and a touch of oil is all you need to make one of the most wonderful foods to ever grace a plate. Now, although the ingredients are simple, it can take a lifetime of work to master bread. Once there, the Boulanger will boast a product with crunchy exterior, a lush, nutty, chewy interior with ample “crumb” that keeps the bread intensely chewable yet smooth and satisfying. Peeled warm from a 500-degree oven, sliced while still warn, releasing its fragrance and steam, and slathered with cultured butter, the consumer will be transported to a world where food, bread in particular, is the main character in a beautiful life.

[]       NAAN BREAD

The same ingredients as above with proper kneading, shaping, proofing, and contact with a hot pan, oven hearth, or tandoori oven wall, this miraculous product springs to life leaving a pocket produced by internal steam. The finished product is slightly browned but pillowy soft in texture. Perfect with Indian curries or just slathered with lemon and garlic rich hummus. Simply magnificent.

[]       RIPE PEACHES – IN SEASON

Fruit is a blessing, but far too often the fruit we buy is picked too early and never given a chance to mature on the vine.  It would be easy to say, from experience, that a peach is a peach, an apple an apple, and a pear is a pear. However, when you do bite into a piece of fruit, in this case – a peach, that is ripened on the tree; when the warm juice runs down your chin and the flavor experience explodes in your mouth, then you will never be satisfied with anything but this perfection. Once a cook enjoys a peach, apple, or pear at its peak, their creative mind shifts into overdrive.

[]       RIPE AVOCADO AND LIME

I once saw a poster for the avocado ripening timeline: NOT YET, NOT YET, NOT YET – TOO LATE. Ah, but when this rich, creamy, fragrant fruit is perfectly ripe and served with a squeeze of fresh lime, there are few things more nutritious or delicious.

[]       PERFECT WHIPPED POTATOES

If you’re a fan of whipped potatoes, then you must dive into the ultimate whipped potato experience – a ’la Chef Joel Roberchon. Use a potato ricer, pass the potatoes through a fine sieve, and fold in nearly equal parts of softened, cultured butter. Terrible for your arteries, but incredible for your palate.

[]       THAT FIRST FRESH OYSTER

Who in their right mind decided to slurp a fresh, live oyster for the first time? Whomever it might have been, they stumbled onto one of the most incredible culinary epiphanies. The brininess of the sea, the texture of something that doesn’t require any chewing, and the freshness of the ocean – some may say, the ultimate culinary experience. Fresh oysters are a palate wakeup call.

[]       SUN RIPENED TOMATO

The tomato fruit, picked in July from the vine of the plant, still warm from the sun, perfectly ripe with its tangy sweetness, juice running down your chin, and the smell of a waiting tomato sauce…yep – this is it!

[]       PERFECTLY ROASTED ORGANIC CHICKEN

Hands down my favorite food to cook and my absolute favorite item to eat. Salty, crisp skin, moist flesh with loads of umami, aroma of fresh thyme and rosemary, slightly thickened pan juices, and a leftover carcass that makes the most incredible stock for chicken soup the next day. If you want to judge the skill of a cook, have them roast a chicken.

[]       MAINE LOBSTER ROLL

It must be from Maine, and it must be ordered and consumed on a dock that is flush with lobstermen unloading their daily catch. Boiled and shelled in the moment, still slightly warm, whole pieces of meat (especially claws), tossed in either butter or mayo, and stuffed into a grilled hot dog bun. Ample amounts of Sam Adams Lager will set the stage. If this doesn’t inspire you to cook for a living, then I’m not sure you are cut out for the business.

[]       NEW YORK HOT PASTRAMI ON RYE

I’m craving this right now. The first time I had a Carnegie Deli, hand carved, hot pastrami sandwich on seeded rye bread with ample amounts of brown mustard, I thought that I must be sitting at heaven’s gate. If you have never experienced this then book a trip to the Big Apple immediately, save your appetite (usually a pound of meat on these sandwiches) and don’t scoff at the $25 price tag for a sandwich. The price doesn’t matter.

[]       WOOD-FIRED NEOPOLITAN PI

There are almost as many pizza shops in the U.S. as there are Chinese Restaurants. There is pizza and then there is proper pizza in the style of Napoli, Italy. Thin crust, wood fired, San Marizano tomatoes for the sauce, fresh mozzarella, a drizzle of olive oil, finished with basil and crushed red pepper. That’s it! If you get your hands on the real deal, you will want to open your own pizzeria so that it is at your fingertips all the time. I wonder how many pizzaiolos decided to go into business after their first slice of Lombardi’s in NYC.

[]       ELOTE (MEXICAN STREET CORN)

Most cooks and chefs are big fans of street food and Mexican style roasted corn on the cob brushed with mayonnaise, rolled in Cotija cheese, and doused with chili powder, fresh cilantro and a squeeze of lime, is one of the most exciting foods you will ever eat. Life will never be the same after you dig into this.

Each of these items and many others have inspired me as a cook and chef and re-affirmed why I tie on an apron, work in kitchens that are way too hot, spend 12-14 hours a day working to become better at my craft. Each is an epiphany. I continue to seek out those experiences that light my culinary fire.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

www.harvestamericacues.com – BLOG

Check out my author website at: https://paulsorgulebooks.com