A Simple Culinary Rule

It's Alumni Weekend, and the school arranged for a caterer to feed its loyal supporters, in the hopes that satiated appetites lead to open wallets. (Note: I don't know how much alcohol is involved as part of the inducement).

The caterers set up a staging area in the foyer outside of my journal's office, where I was studying, so I had a chance to observe, and to chat with the staff. One lady said, "We welcome volunteers!" Now, I don't know whether they would ever allow an outsider to touch the food, but many cooks will tell you that, up to a certain extent, observation can be as valuable as practice. As a cook, one of the most important things to acquire is that culinary sixth sense of what goes with what, and how far you can stretch the possibilities. Watching always helps. If I get to do any mise en place, I will count that as a bonus.

The company is called 20 South. I immediately took a liking to the tone of their menus. Their stuff is down-to-earth, but they manage to put in various touches here and there to keep it creative and classy. The way I see it, these chefs understand the principle that it's not always about going WAY out to be creative and fancy, especially when you don't want to be upstaging the event for which you are catering (not to mention that they are somewhat hampered by the narrow spectrum of ingredients available in Central Virginia - more on this subject later).

They had a nice quote on their Web site to explain this philosophy: "You can’t put foie gras and caviar in front of 100 guests—10 of them will love you, and the other 90 will be left hungry." Well put, I say. It also aligns with the observation that the more people cook, the more they trend towards the basics, because ultimately - simple works.

I think I can learn some good stuff from these people, so we'll see if I can fit that into my schedule next year.

* Pictured (Top): 20 South's "Mini-BLTs" - diced apple bacon, roma tomatoes, and lettuce tossed in a basil mayonnaise, and served on a miniature buttered toast cup. (Bottom) Not sure, but I think those are seared scallops.