Cooking with Hollywood: Ratatouille 6

Another point the movie Ratatouille brings up is about presentation. Remember when the ratatouille was placed before the critic? He had ordered the dish and and obviously had an idea in his mind about what it should look like, but something distinctly different showed up. His reaction was surprise that bordered on displeasure. He did not expect to like it. When he tasted it, however, he loved it and it evoked all of the memories he had of the wonderful taste of the ratatouille he had experienced while growing up.

This is the interesting thing about presentation. Particularly with traditional dishes, it's important not to go too far when changing a presentation. It must still be appealing in a way that people will try it. What ultimately matters is how it tastes, but you have to be sure your guest will at least try it in order for the taste to come through. Make your dish beautiful and even different, but not too bizarre.

Cooking is easy

Just saw the movie, Ratatouille. I guess I was resisting because it's basically a cartoon, but it was great! The whole premise of the movie is that anyone can cook but I'm wondering how many people really believe that. I have, however, been surprised at the number of people who have looked at Flavor Secrets and said, "WOW. These look so easy. I think even I can try them!"