You write that cooking is both a “science” and an “improvisational art”—a daunting balance that would seem to require a “culinary mindset.” Is there a personality type or talent that’s especially “cooking friendly”—like the ability to learn new languages—or is it largely a matter of preparation and following the recipes?
I know that seeing cooking as a science and an art seems kind of contradictory. But I really do think that you need a little bit of both.
I think it’s incredibly helpful to understand the science behind what happens in the kitchen and to approach cooking as an experiment. That’s essential to becoming a good cook. You need to be willing to experiment, which means paying attention to the details and how they affect the outcome. But I think to be really good at it, it’s also helpful to just relax and try to get a feel for what works and what doesn’t work, what flavors and textures work in harmony with one another and so on.
So I guess I think the best cooks are probably people who can reside comfortably at that intersection. They’re scientifically minded and really detail oriented. So they’re always paying attention to the way those little moves, like a little extra pinch of salt, how big the salt granules are, a little bit more heat, a different cooking instrument, an extra squeeze of lemon—how all those little things will actually affect the outcome. That to me is quite scientific. But they also need to be comfortable improvising and be moved by the beauty of cooking.
That said, though, I do think that anyone can cook, actually, and what defines a good cook is probably as variable as good food. A good cook can be somebody who just enjoys doing it, who likes to cook for others, who respects ingredients, or who’s just interested in trying new things. Is it as easy as just reading a recipe? I think it depends on the person.
How do you balance “sophistication” with “hand-holding”—both of which you refer to in the book—when it comes to the kitchen?
I think the traditional approach to beginner cooking usually involves really easy recipes that make basic food, and I just don’t think that has a lot of appeal for people who have sophisticated palates but just lack the cooking skills to match. And nowadays that describes a lot of people. We have become a nation of foodies. But luckily I think that cooking to appeal to a sophisticated palate doesn’t necessarily require complicated cooking. I just don’t think enough cookbooks have zeroed in on that yet.
So to me, sophistication in the kitchen can mean understanding how to use a wide range of ingredients, being familiar with a broad range of cuisines, learning techniques that might not be obvious, but aren’t necessarily difficult, and even being attentive to these other things we’ve talked about, like the social, cultural, environmental implications of the things we cook. To me, all of those things speak to sophistication in the kitchen. So for me as a teacher and as a writer, my hand-holding, so to speak, involves trying to keep readers engaged. My sister and I really explain and demonstrate not just what to do, but how to do it and why to do it. So rather than doing what a lot of other sophisticated cookbooks do, which is just to make a lot of assumptions about readers’ backgrounds, knowledge, and experience, we really try to get to that sophisticated place and also to walk the newer cooks there in the process.
