In an op-ed called No Chefs in My Kitchen, Marcella Hazan is in fine form: concise, pointed and just a tad crabby.
First she takes issue with the growing tendency to call home cooks “chefs”–it would be just quibbling over words if she didn’t also point out that “chef” suggests a field “where food is often entertainment, spectacle, news, fashion, science, a world in which surprise — whether it’s on the plate or beyond it — is vital.”
This ignores the value of a good home cook, who feeds and nourishes family and friends, often with the simplest food. And the ascendant “chef” also points to an increase in eating in restaurants–to the detriment of our health and bank balances.
Her kicker is something I’ve been thinking for years, but have never managed to express so concisely:
Like other forms of human affection, cooking delivers its truest and most enduring gifts when it is savored in intimacy — prepared not by a chef but by a cook and with love.
Actually, Barton Rouse said it more concisely: “Food = Love.”
My aunt, who taught me not just a good deal about cooking but also about how to RELATE to the food, is always bemoaning the fact that she never went to culinary school. over the years, i’ve seen this woman turn out food for thousands of people. every single bite is made with love and care and a joie de vivre.
not that i’m discounting culinary school or professional chefs, but there are times when it feels like something essential is left out of restaurant cooking/training and it is that essential ingredient, love. home chefs cannot help but put in the secret ingredient.
zora, i cannot wait to explore the rest of your blog.
thanks for visiting, cate! and yes, i really feel like when you start cooking for more than 15 or so people at one go, it’s hard to keep the focus on what the real point of food is: nourishing, in all aspects.