Subject: [CH] Re: A new experience

Bruce (blacksheep@awwwsome.com)
Fri, 20 Jul 2001 23:37:00 -0700 

As you say, the level of heat in a dish is a personal thing.
What you may consider fiery hot might not be all that hot
to a few other people.  My wife can eat a fresh habanero
without batting an eye and merely find it "sort of hot".  She
lost most of her sense of chili-heat when she was pregnant
with out daughter.  If she were the chef in the restaurant
that you ordered your extra hot food in and you wanted
her to make it hot to her standards you might not be able
to eat it. (well, maybe you could)  When I cooked for a
living I had to be very careful to not over chili a dish because
most people would send it back if I made it as hot as I
liked it.  So I don't think that all of the chefs who don't make
the food hot enough for us are necessarily to blame.  They're
just trying to keep the chili-ignorant patrons from scorching
their mouths and sending the food back as inedible.  As
I stated in a previous post, I made the first batch of jambalaya
very hot by most people's standards but he sent it back saying
he wanted it as hot as possible.  He didn't know what he was
asking.  I made it very hot by my standards and it was way
too hot for him.  I'm not a mind reader and neither are any of
the other chefs and cooks out there.  If someone says "Really
hot", just how hot is that?  In a nice, upscale restaurant the
staff is expected to make the customer happy no matter what.
If that guy would've sent back his second order of jambalaya
it would've cost us even more money and time.  That's one reason
why it's hard to get hot food even when you request it.

Bruce

----- Original Message -----
From: <raelsixty4@earthlink.net>
To: Alex Silbajoris <asilbajo@hotmail.com>
Cc: <Chile-Heads@globalgarden.com>
Sent: Friday, July 20, 2001 7:26 AM
Subject: [CH] Re: A new experience


> if you think about it, the use of "heat" as we all know and love is
> indeed <1> intensely personal, thus varying in degree of intensity,
> and <2> indeed *is* a skill/level of understanding almost in a
> zen-like way that we all have developed through time and experience.
> So, not to particularly defend ignorant cooks/chefs, remember that by
> asking a cook to "make it spicy" you may in fact be asking someone
> who (gasp) never eats anything spicier than Tabasco which would be
> his/her level of "understanding" heat; and said cook may furthermore
> think anything hotter than his/her level of understanding is insane
> which is merely a fear-like reaction of not knowing beyond his/her
> heat level, i.e. they ask themselves "how much is hot for this
> person?"  Often the "answer" to their dilemma is to simply say "well,
> they asked for it" and just load the item up with pepper, cayenne, or
> (gag) Tabasco.
>
> So, it's really a case of people/cooks who do not understand how
> "heat" is indeed an ingredient as well as a culinary technique and
> not something one simply "does" to food.  Some folks would utter a
> "whaaa??" at that statement, but i'm relatively certain the majority
> of us Enlightened Chileheads understand this very well, and those who
> are uncertain still are well on their way to this Enlightenment.
> It's akin to me to herb usage; it takes much practice to understand
> an herb like parsley, for example.  Having been degraded to a mere
> common garnish, parsley can actually make or break a dish; it can add
> to flavor by marrying with other herbs and flavors; it can add merely
> color (which is a strong element of any dish - we all know this); and
> so on.  Heat can be subtle or
> smack-you-in-da-face-i-see-jesus-comin-to-take-me-away, and all
> levels in between.  It takes time, thus experience to Know Thy Chile.
> Consequently, we must educate chefs/cooks, and seek out (then
> patronize heavily) those who indeed seem to be Englightened.
>
> Well, enough chile philosophy (or ramblin' bullshit...yer pick) for
> the morning.  I need some coffee.  ATT man is coming to hook me up
> w/a cable modem.
>
> Gonna be playin' w/fire now, baby!
>
>
> Peace, Hendrix, and CHiles.......
> Rael64