Showerthought: A regular at my shop said my food looked 'too perfect' to be good.

He's a retired line cook from a spot in Philly, and he told me over a plate of my pork chops that the best meals he ever ate had a little 'character' from the cook, not just flawless plating. It made me wonder if I focus too much on the look and not enough on the soul of the dish. Do you ever worry about that balance?

4 comments

4 Comments

zarat373mo ago

Honestly, that makes me think about how a flawless plate can feel kind of distant to a customer. It's like they can't see the human hands that made it, so it's harder to connect with. A little imperfection can actually build trust.

fionat553mo ago

That Philly chef story is actually from a documentary about a guy in New York. The point about the tweezers is right, but the location is off. It's a common mix-up because the style got so popular.

lisab3216d agoMost Upvoted

Wait, is that right? I thought the tweezers thing started in a different city too but I keep hearing different versions.

susan_allen3mo ago

My old head chef used to say a perfect plate is a cold plate. That Philly guy is onto something, you can get lost in the tweezers. Sometimes you just gotta let a dish be a little messy to keep the heart in it.