Ingredient VS Technique driven cuisine

[cape chef]

Welcome back Andrew & karen. Thanks for taking time to spend a couple days with us.

My question, is less of a question, and more of a topic for discussion. Ingredients driven VS Technique.How do you feel about the trend that leans toward technique (molecular gastronomy in particular) like Heston Blumenthal,Andria and the like, apposed to ingredient driven cuisine, like Alice Waters, Madeleine Kamman etc. When I dined at WD50 last year, I must admit it was an eye opening dining experience. I mean fried mayo, strange, but very interesting in it's execution. My mentors we're Fredy Giradet & Andre Soltner, I always wonder what they think about this cuisine.I watched a special last night that highlighted molecular gastronomy and Blumenthal was the chef being interviewed. Just the state of the art equipment needed to produce his food would send a ingredient driven chef into spasms.

Do I feel Paco jets are fine, you bet, but were do you draw the line? or do you?

Just interested in your thoughts.
Thanks
School for American Chefs Alumni

[Andrew Dornenburg]

Hi Cape Chef,

Always nice to see a fellow School for American Chefs alum (as Andrew was, in 1992) online!

We believe:

Cooking = Ingredients + Techniques

In this equation, the quality of the cooking is a function of both the quality of the ingredients and of the techniques. If either or both are given short shrift, then cooking fails.

If both ingredients and techniques are optimized, then cooking can be elevated into something extraordinary.

Most failures of technique-driven cuisine that we've tasted seem to have been the result of lack of attention to ingredients.

Cheers,
Andrew Dornenburg & Karen Page
Co-Authors, WHAT TO DRINK WITH WHAT YOU EAT: The Definitive Guide to Pairing Food with Wine, Beer, Spirits, Coffee, Tea -- Even Water -- Based on Expert Advice from America's Best Sommeliers
Winner of the 2006 Georges Duboeuf Wine Book of the Year Award