Purple Magazine
— S/S 2015 issue 23

Anti-Column

conceptual cuisine

text by FRANÇOIS SIMON

 

You, too, can beat the crowd in sniffing out the new trends. In fine dining, it’s all about the concept. And for that we go to the theory pertaining to apartment floods: a flood that begins on one floor will soon logically trickle down to the rest of the building. You’ve already heard of the so-called “concept store,” which has propagated itself around the world, laboriously imitating the one‑offs like Colette. Working with no more than a perfumed candle, a Peruvian hat, and shiny white enamel advertising, a whole flock of stores has hatched in certain areas, targeting all their customers with sustained indolence.

This conceptual faddism happens in restaurants, too.

Usually, if a chef is spinning his wheels, having already run through his entire repertory of possibilities and styles, there is a moment when a “concept” hits him — think the trajectory of Newton’s apple. And coincidentally it often seems to follow the trends of the moment. First, it was the molecular approach (now fading away, little by little), or more recently druid-influenced cuisine, including the current fads: roots, grains, forgotten légumes (which were probably forgotten for a reason). And please note the infrequent presence of a little stratospheric mousse, which they call espuma, a sort of pulverized interjection from a siphon in which you can put pretty much anything you like: avocado, coriander, coffee beans, apricot, mandarin orange, mushrooms, citrus fruits … everything.

All that is then required is to deliver at tableside a culinary speech with your shirt hanging open, a bit of stubbly beard and a slight, passionate crack of the voice. The important part is the formulating, then the speech. After a dramatic pause, the plate may be delivered. It is the reinforcement of the new orthodoxy, generally quite charming, clever and daring.

The only hiccup in this particular configuration is that the food itself has become secondary. It disappears behind the speech. It isn’t that it becomes abstract, but it is manipulated. It is being used. Whereas a dish should have its own speech, autonomy, and dignity. It doesn’t have to be a long speech; it is just about staking out legitimacy — going all the way from the plain “Ham Sandwich” to the “Hare in the Royal Style.”

[Table of contents]

S/S 2015 issue 23

Table of contents

purple EDITO

purple NEWS

purple BEST OF THE SEASON

purple INTERVIEW

purple FASHION WOMEN

purple FASHION MEN

purple DOCUMENT

purple BEAUTY

purple LOVE

purple TRAVEL

purple SEX

purple PHILOSOPHY

purple TRAVEL

purple NIGHT

purple STORY

purple VISUAL ESSAY

© Purple Institute

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