Composing a Dish

  The composing of the dishes gives us the chance to express ourselves, Bec and Steff as chefs,  with no restrictions and no boundaries. Just like freedom of speech, we should have the freedom of creation and infinite expression, showing our personalities through our dishes, thus making them our Signature Dishes.  For most chefs in North America who are not the owners of the restaurants they work at, the freedom of ideas and expression in showcasing their personality, as well as their logic behind the menu development is usually restrained with a lot of boundaries imposed by the owner.  I have composed these Signature Dishes of my own, as Bec will do for the dessert section, to express myself and my personality and to represent where I have worked in the past and who I am today.  At the end of the day it is not who you work for but who you are, of course who you work for will definitely show case the skills that you have developed, but having the talent and the palette will make the difference between being good chef  an amazing chef.Young cooks and chefs who haven’t learned their classics typically think more ingredients on the plate translates to more flavor.  It is in fact the opposite that is true. Less is more. When there are too many ingredients it is difficult to know what the main focus of the dish is intended to be.  Always keep it simple with a maximum of three or four components. Begin with the component you wish to showcase, typically the protein or a vegetable if it is a vegan or vegetarian dish.  For a main course, choose one protein, one vegetable and or a starch to complement the main ingredient, a small amount of complimentary garnish and finally, the sauce or jus to intensify the flavor of the dish.  The main ingredient, usually a protein should be approximately 90% of your dish,  followed by 7% vegetable and or starch, for example and the order 3% could be divided in to sauce and garnish. It is always necessary to create some contrast in the elements on your plate such as crunchy, crispy, smooth, dry and moist to name a few and can be done using gas, liquids and solids. It is very important that a garnish isn't randomly chosen for color or other reasons that do not compliment the flavors, theme and season of the dish but rather enhances the overall taste of the dish. I hate to see when young cooks and chefs use sprigs of herbs to garnish a dish, such as mint on a dessert. Mint doesn't go with everything. Compose with rhythm and tempo by using ingredients from the same season. Don't use summer and winter ingredients in the same dish as they usually don't go together. These are completely different gardens. Nature has given us the beauty of the four seasons, at least in North America so it is easy for us to express ourselves.When composing a dish for a menu, the amount of food on the plate should be roughly the same size for each of the dishes as they sit beside one another at the table in front of the guests. Appetizers the same size, mains roughly the same size in relation to each other and of course the same as well for the desserts.