creative or headline grabbing

[chefinfrance]

As a chef for 35 years I understand that people have different tastes. I do not understand why guests would choose snails, for example. During the French revolution with famine rife understandably people ate anything and everything lots of garlic and herbs for flavour but in the 21st century Why, the same could be said for frogs legs, pigs feet, calfs brains etc. So if they were not classical traditional dishes would anyone create them today and would any of our guests order them. So, I have just watched a TV program were the chef created rabbit and green pea trifle, yes pan fried rabbit and black olives set in aspic jelly topped with green pea puree[served chilled]. So are we talking the Emperors clothes or is this what our guests want.
Steve masterchefinfrance
ps, This is not a thread on the virtues of snails, frogs legs, etc the question is do our guests really want to be shocked by some bizare combination or is it just good publicity.
pps, The emperors clothes is the story of the emperor ordering a special robe, his tailor tells him that he has a very special very expensive material that can only be seen by the very wise and inteligent although the emperor can not see the fabric he pretends to so as not to apear stupid.

[shroomgirl]

I do.....I want pigs feet, offal, frog legs, snails, head cheese, etc.....

[kuan]

Snails is awesome, but they gotta be very tender. I love smoked pork hocks. Calf's brain, don't know, don't care to try because I'm not sure how safe it is.

But like other stuff, lamb kidneys, tripe (tasteless) and sweetbreads? Love it. I like my sweetbreads braised though, whole lobes, not little fried pieces.

[Blueicus]

A lot of our food (perhaps even the royal cuisines of various cultures) was a result of people doing things when foods were scarce. Recipes to use leftovers, scraps, previously ingredients not considered food. Some of it is taste, some of it not. A lot of those foods (like oxtail or in this case snails) stand the test of time because people find them tasty.

[tessa]

and i have decided im going to be more adventurous with tasting things i have never tasted before
When we were in Singapore they had Frog porridge eeeewwww i just couldnt bare to even think of tasting that , that just sounded too gross

[deltadoc]

I'll have to admit, I didn't think I would like escargot, but down in Davey, FL a little strip mall Italian restaurant served them to our table, drowned in garlic and butter. Absolutely delightful. I still prefer a good shrimp cocktail though.

I agree with Kuan, won't try calf/cow/pig/monkey brains, no matter what anyone says!~ Maybe it's partly because I've watched all three parts of Return of the Living Dead..."Brains!!!!".

Had oxtail soup once in a 10 star French restaurant, wasn't too impressed, but it was edible.

Won't eat liver under any circumstances. Biologically speaking, the liver is the cesspool of toxins in the body. That's where everything gets broken down in your blood that is toxic. Don't like the taste either. With that said, I have eaten liver pate once in a 8 star Classical restaurant and it was just ok.

In general I won't eat offal. Won't eat that maggot cheese, and won't eat those pigeons (or whatever) that the English hang in their attics until they're rotten (watch the facial expression on Greystoke's face in the movie Greystoke when they bring the rotten bird appetizer to the grand table)!

Won't eat chocolate covered grasshoppers, although, the Bible says there are certain locusts that are edible and some that are not. I figure I eat enough microscopic "bugs" not to eat bigger bugs (not an entomologist, so I suppose, instead of saying "bugs" I should says "bugs and insects").

So guess that makes me a fussy eater.

doc

[chrose]

Interesting thought, and I personally think CIF is on to something. Granted we have tried the items and yes they are good. Not a big snail lover myself, but I did have a taste test with Helix and Achatines and saw the quality difference. They we okay, but not something I would go out of my way for. I too do not care for most offal, and thankfully am allergic to liver. But I really did enjoy the sweetbreads I had at NECI. I think a lot of it is that as our tastes as a nation were developing we were being fed (pardon the pun) the high class gourmet mindset of French cooking. Julia Child, Life Magazine, Jackie Kennedy etc.
So I think some things just continue to perpetuate because we have been told it's good and we follow like lemmings to the sea. So is it so? Not necessarily but I think there is some merit to Chef In France's point. Personally speaking. Now pardon me while I return to my lunch of sauteed snails brains.

[GreaseChef]

The Cockroach of the Sea | The Rake Magazine
The American love affair with the lobster actually had a late start. Early settlers thought them too ugly to eat, and witnessed the Native Americans using them for field fertilizer and fish bait. The creatures were so plentiful that they could be plucked effortlessly from tide pools. They were considered “poverty food” and served to prisoners and indentured servants. In Massachusetts, servants were outraged and lobbied for a law that would limit their lobster meals to no more than three per week.

In Canada, there actually was a law introduced that said that you can not feed your servants lobster more than once a week.

All that to say that I like escargot, and a host of other classics. I too am not a fan of either liver or brains, but I am open to eating almost anything else.

The more ingredients the better, I say! Give me snails, lobster, fiddle heads, bone marrow, and any other thing you can think of.

Derek

[Blueicus]

Heh, I thought that law was in New England... guess I was mistaken. Although I'm not a fan of normal cow's liver (it's too strong for me and there's a strange textural note), I like sausages out of liver and foie gras's my guilty pleasure. Sweetbreads are also fantastic, if prepared correctly.

[bughut]

I do think we are bombarded with weird and sometimes not so wonderful dishes, purely for the shock value and "dare you try it".
I applaud chefs who dare to scare though. More often than not, they are simply re-presenting food we have long forgotten was fabulous.
Each region of the world seems to have a variety of blood sausage they are proud of, or a sausage that bears the name of the area it's produced. The nastiest bits of the animal are usually the prime ingredient, but its called Haggis, or whatever and we eat it happily. Would we eat the individual components. I dont think we'd be so keen.
I would try anything, so long as i wasnt told what and it used to be beforehand and it wasn't slimey.

[RAS1187]

Is not one of the key aspects of cooking being able to utilize as much out of the animal as possible. If we have a whole pig carcass, it would be rather wasteful to just take out the good stuff and toss away the "scraps" that could otherwise be turned into very tasty dishes on their own with just a little skill and effort. Chefs that can do this truly stand out as masters of their craft.

Mario Batali & Thomas Keller are a few chefs I can think of that have been very successful with it.

[greyeaglem]

This reminds of a night when the people on Fear Factor had to eat some kind of insect (as usual) to win. Of course, they were all grossed out. Later that same night, the Food Network had a show about people eating all kinds of insects, worms, etc. that were cooked by a bunch of high profile chefs. There were all people dressed up in evening gowns and tuxes stuffing their faces with a bunch of bugs that they paid big money to eat. Makes you wonder.

[tessa]

Originally Posted by greyeaglem

This reminds of a night when the people on Fear Factor had to eat some kind of insect (as usual) to win. Of course, they were all grossed out. Later that same night, the Food Network had a show about people eating all kinds of insects, worms, etc. that were cooked by a bunch of high profile chefs. There were all people dressed up in evening gowns and tuxes stuffing their faces with a bunch of bugs that they paid big money to eat. Makes you wonder.

that in fear factor they were probably still alive and kicking , and at the function they were all cooked up nice and looked great so people didnt have to think too much about what they were eating

[Bazza]

I think most people would not choose snails, firstly because they are not available in most places and secondly the thought of eating them is not a pleasant one. But I think if people had the opportunity and the inclination to try them they would probably find them quite tasty, provided they could detatch their mind from the actuality of it. Now, the fact that this is being discussed in a cheffing/foodie environment means that a higher percentage of people will have tried them and liked them, however, outside this environment I think most people are repulsed by the idea of it. I had them years ago and liked them, I was curious, but these days I would probably pass on the escargots in favour of something more tempting on a menu. I do think you have a point though chefinfrance its not so much that they want to be shocked, I think that some like to show off, others are just adventurous.

[chubyalaskagriz]

I have a dear friend who's 90 year old Mum is from PEI (Prince Edward Island) on the eastern shore of Canada. She could identify with your lobster tale. She was fed so much of it as a child that today she'd opt for a bologna sandwich before scarfing down a yummy lobster roll or some such!