Now, I have to say, where I have it lucky, is when there was a Turkish Bazaar in Cape Town (unfortunately they closed) I bought 2 sets of tea cups. Each set of two cups came with a small box of Turkish Delight and a small bag of Turkish Tea. Obviously, the Turkish Delight saw its arse within the first week, but the tea has been patiently waiting for me to get a teapot. And tonight that wait was rewarded. My pot is a 1 & 3 liter size, and this website gave the perfect measurements. I tend to use a Chinese tea scoop for all my loose leaf teas, which measures about a scoop per tablespoon, and two of these scoops were 10g of tea. The perfect amount.
Picking up my pot after work today, I had a bit of a revelation. Considering last night, and this evening, I have to admit that I'm a food snob. Now don't get me wrong, I don't mean I refuse to eat simple foods, as I love many simple dishes. How can anyone say no to a bowl of Mac & Cheese? No, I mean that I am a snob with the quality of the food I eat. I have no problem eating anything, as long as it's tasty.
What gets me royally pissed of is when an unappetizing blob of... stuff... is given to me, and then I'm expected to smile and compliment the food? Oh, hell no. I have a friend that can turn a packet of 2 minute noodles with a few herbs, spices and a bit of sauce into a dish that you would never say came from a packet, so why then should I settle for a dish of prime steak where the cook stuffs it up?
I'm not saying anyone has done that to me, I'm just giving hypothetical examples. Now, the whole food snob thing came about as to my usual mood and style in the kitchen. The first item is a Chocolate Crème, if that's what it can be called. Yesterday a friend of ours came over after having a bad day. I won't go into details as it's not my story to tell, but upon her asking me for something to drink that might comfort her and help her sleep a bit easier, I decided the best food/drink would be alcohol and chocolate, hence my attempt at an alcoholic hot chocolate, which didn't exactly end up as a drinkable substance.
Now, I will admit, it is my fault. I can make a killer cup of hot chocolate (just ask my regular patrons), but I guess I was a bit overexcited with playing with the base recipe. What was supposed to be a slightly thickened chocolate milk mixture came out closer to a paste. And what do you do with a paste to thin it down? Add liquid, and of course, alcohol works better than any other liquid, hence the big amount of brandy in the recipe (that would be the 75ml).
Unfortunately, the mixture still ended up as a thickish paste, but OMG, was it divine. And because it was so rich, there's still some in the fridge, ready to heat up and... I guess eat? How does this fit in with being a food snob? I refused to admit defeat. I bet many people would have cried a bit over wasting the ingredients, thrown it away, and gone on with their lives. I didn't, and I ended up creating another amazing recipe.
The second event that brought on my epiphany was tonight's dinner. I know burgers aren't exactly Haute Cuisine, but if it's plated well, it can look a bit classier. That is where a big part of my snobbishness comes from. I realised today that it doesn't matter what I cook and serve, I always try to plate the food to look good. Granted, it doesn't always look as good as I plan, but we're all allowed an off day every now and again.
My challenge to you is become a food snob. Plate your food like you're working in a 5 star restaurant, cook as if your life depends on eat, and enjoy good food as if every bite was your last. Why settle for bad food? And on a last note, back on the tea topic, here is an interesting piece written by a Japanese Tea Master I found from a tea website:
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There was a fine beauty prone to its idealization and idolisation in the taste of the tea.
The despising pride of the wine, the conscious individualism and the smiling innocence of cacao are not encountered in the tea.
Tea is a beverage which entertains in the evening, consoles at midnight and salutes the sunrise in te morning.
Tea is a work of art and needs the hand of a master craftsman. Just like good and bad pictures, there are good and bad brews of tea.
A song poet marked with chagrine that the three worst things in the denaturation by a distorted education of an otherwise fine youth, in the observation of devaluation of fine paintings by the admiration of ordinary people and the bitterness of noting the wastage of a wonderful tea as a result of bad brewing.
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