People ask me quite often who my favourite chefs are. "Do you like Gordon Ramsay? Jamie Oliver? Bobby Flay?" Inherently the questions are always about Food Network guys. Honestly yes I do like some of those guys. I'm not like most chefs who bash every single dude that appears on the Food Network and calls them a sellout. Really most of these guys have paid their dues for years sweatin on the line like I do on a nightly basis. I don't blame them for takin an easy job makin a TV show and cashing in. Who wouldn't? And yes it is an easy job. When I met Rob Rainford from License To Grill in Toronto a few years back, he told me it was the easiest gig you could imagine. Everything is prepped for him ahead of time, he shows up and wham bam TV magic! (That being said he does have input on his show, which has some bad ass recipes and he is an accomplished chef in his own right!)
But i digress, this post is about who my favourite chefs are. For some of my fellow chef buddies this will be old hat but some of you probably have never heard of these guys before. If you haven't I STRONGLY suggest you check them out. I'll start with my favourite chef on planet earth by a long shot....
Ferran Adria:
Chef at the famous El Bulli and regarded by many (including myself) as the best chef in the world, Ferran Adria created the movement which is changing the shape of the culinary world known as molecular gastronomy. He uses unique ingredients and new innovative techniques that he researches in his lab know as El Tallier to modify food on a molecular level and create something unique, incredible and sometimes downright mind bending. Before this guy, the fundamentals of cooking hadn't fully changed for about 100 years but Ferran is re writing everything. These are the first completely original techniques we have seen in recent time. In my mind he's the most influential chef since Escoffier (The grandfather of french cuisine). These techniques are quite a hot topic amongst chefs as many dismiss it as a pretentious gimmick or a flash in the pan. While I agree that these techniques will never replace good solid cooking and fresh ingredients, I think they can be a fantastic extension of them, as I have found out first hand in my own experimentation at home.
Thomas Keller:
Another one of the most innovative chefs of our time, Keller is the head chef of the very famous French Laundry restaurant in Napa Valley. He also runs Per Se in New York, Bouchon in its various locations and Ad Hoc in California. His famous book "The French Laundry Cookbook" was one of the most eye opening books I ever read as a young cook. The ideas, recipes, concepts and everything that were in that booked seemed like a whole new world to me, and really made me strive harder to increase my own level of culinary ability. Anything this man writes is essential reading for any chef. Nothing less than a genius.
David Chang:
This guy just makes bad ass food. He is the chef/owner of the Momofuku restaurants, there's many and I'm not gonna list em all, just go to google and look for yourself! He's a master of putting really creative and just downright good flavours together. When you read his menus or his cookbooks, it instantly makes you wanna eat or cook or both. Definitely one of the best of our time, and had my favourite quote in reference to the pretentiousness and faux creativity of a lot of chi chi fine dining chefs on the west coast...."They don’t manipulate food, they just put figs on a plate."
Wylie Dufresne:
Another culinary mad scientist with the best name for that occupation ever, Wylie is the chef/owner of WD-50 in New York, and one of the best practitioners of molecular gastronomy on the planet, even though he has stated he hates that term. A very innovative chef who takes a lot of what seem to be bizarre flavour parings and makes them work. Dishes such as
Martin Picard:
Gotta get at least one fellow Canadian in there! Martin Picard is the chef at Au Pied Do Cochon in Montreal, and the modern king of gluttonous food. Known for his mastery using entire pigs and foie gras, his dishes certainly aren't for the weak of heart, but they are most definitely beyond delicious. I love how he uses every part of the animal in his cooking which shows a mastery of numerous cooking techniques and he's said to be obsessed with local fresh ingredients.
Really I could go on for a really long time. Some others I recommend checking out are Eric Ripert, , Rene Redzepi, Huebert Keller, Rick Bayless, Charlie Trotter, to name a few. I also have to give props to the old school like Auguste Escoffier and Paul Bocuse, without whom none of this would exist for any of us. For all you food fans out there, there is a wonderful culinary world that exists outside of what you see on TV with the food network. Have a look and get in touch with these guys and all the others that are on the forefront of the culinary world.
And as far as my least favourite chef on earth goes to "Canada's Iron Chef"........PUUUUKEE!!!!!....
But i digress, this post is about who my favourite chefs are. For some of my fellow chef buddies this will be old hat but some of you probably have never heard of these guys before. If you haven't I STRONGLY suggest you check them out. I'll start with my favourite chef on planet earth by a long shot....
Ferran Adria:
Chef at the famous El Bulli and regarded by many (including myself) as the best chef in the world, Ferran Adria created the movement which is changing the shape of the culinary world known as molecular gastronomy. He uses unique ingredients and new innovative techniques that he researches in his lab know as El Tallier to modify food on a molecular level and create something unique, incredible and sometimes downright mind bending. Before this guy, the fundamentals of cooking hadn't fully changed for about 100 years but Ferran is re writing everything. These are the first completely original techniques we have seen in recent time. In my mind he's the most influential chef since Escoffier (The grandfather of french cuisine). These techniques are quite a hot topic amongst chefs as many dismiss it as a pretentious gimmick or a flash in the pan. While I agree that these techniques will never replace good solid cooking and fresh ingredients, I think they can be a fantastic extension of them, as I have found out first hand in my own experimentation at home.
Thomas Keller:
Another one of the most innovative chefs of our time, Keller is the head chef of the very famous French Laundry restaurant in Napa Valley. He also runs Per Se in New York, Bouchon in its various locations and Ad Hoc in California. His famous book "The French Laundry Cookbook" was one of the most eye opening books I ever read as a young cook. The ideas, recipes, concepts and everything that were in that booked seemed like a whole new world to me, and really made me strive harder to increase my own level of culinary ability. Anything this man writes is essential reading for any chef. Nothing less than a genius.
David Chang:
Wylie Dufresne:
Martin Picard:
Gotta get at least one fellow Canadian in there! Martin Picard is the chef at Au Pied Do Cochon in Montreal, and the modern king of gluttonous food. Known for his mastery using entire pigs and foie gras, his dishes certainly aren't for the weak of heart, but they are most definitely beyond delicious. I love how he uses every part of the animal in his cooking which shows a mastery of numerous cooking techniques and he's said to be obsessed with local fresh ingredients.
Really I could go on for a really long time. Some others I recommend checking out are Eric Ripert, , Rene Redzepi, Huebert Keller, Rick Bayless, Charlie Trotter, to name a few. I also have to give props to the old school like Auguste Escoffier and Paul Bocuse, without whom none of this would exist for any of us. For all you food fans out there, there is a wonderful culinary world that exists outside of what you see on TV with the food network. Have a look and get in touch with these guys and all the others that are on the forefront of the culinary world.
And as far as my least favourite chef on earth goes to "Canada's Iron Chef"........PUUUUKEE!!!!!....
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