Boundaries

(A dessert I made 2 years ago of Parsnip panna cotta, spiced carrot cake, carrot sorbet, candied carrot, and basil tuile)

As time goes on, I've found that working within other people's boundaries become more and more limiting, harder, more annoying, and less satisfying. I don't consider myself any type of culinary genius, but, that said, I keep having ideas that are "too much" for the people I have to serve at my day job.

My executive chef says my ideas are too advanced for out people, but to me, they're nothing special. If you were to even google search some of the things I've made, they exist in many places. But, in a sense he is right. The people we cook for are not adventurous when it comes to what they'll eat, an many a time have we served a chocolate cake with blood orange ice cream only for the cake to come back and the people demand vanilla, or ask for no caviar on their crab cake, or be afraid to try celery soda or Thai basil sorbet with their strawberry cheesecake

(Strawberry cheesecake with thai basil sorbet, hazelnut crumble, and strawberry-basil coulis)

I find myself trying to tread the line and make food that I like, that's pretty, interesting, gives a sense of satisfaction, but isn't plain and boring. I might make a strawberry cheesecake, but it'll come with thai basil ice cream, because strawberries and basil are both in season during summer and they taste awesome together. I'll make a cromesquis with sweet jersey corn and truffle -lavender honey, that explodes and melts when you eat it. But i'll just call it a croquette, because they recognize that word. I love Banyuls vinegar, but most people have never heard of it, so i'll incorporate it into a salad dressing with lemon oil and roasted garlic.

But i find that's not enough. Conceptually, I'm always left with things I want to make but can't make. Ideas that are cool, beautiful and delicious, that nevertheless, cannot be served. A black squid ink sauce with grilled octopus that everyone loved so much they asked for extra sauce. But I can't serve it because people are going to be afraid to eat a jet-black sauce. An awesome sweet potato ice cream that can't go on the ice cream list because it's purple and people might not want to eat a purple sweet potato. All sorts of proteins and produce that, because they're not familiar, we can't serve.

That's besides the fact that, i feel no personal desire to cook with animal proteins and haven't wanted to for years. They don't excite me the way a rare type of squash or a local fruit that only Pennsylvanians eat do. I'll be happy when I have my own space. When the question isn't "are they already familiar with this exact dish and it's ingredients" but rather "is this delicious and interesting?"