It’s all about the Sauce !

What makes a good meal great? What distinguishes a good restaurant chef from a home cook? The answer may surprise you.

Photo by Sebastian Coman Photography on Unsplash

Three things:

• Repetition;
• Technique and timing; and
• The SAUCE!

I’m going to focus on sauces, which by nature obviously includes stocks. They are an extension of the dish you are preparing and are usually quite quick and simple to prepare. I am not talking about the sauces you buy commercially like ketchup.

But first, a quick word on points 1 and 2. Most professional chefs don’t cook something new everyday for patrons. They have a printed or written menu and they cook the items on that menu daily … EVERY day, for months and often years.

I think of dishes like Pierre Koffmann’s Pig’s Trotters; or Joel Rublichon’s creamed potato (Pomme Purée); Or my own Prawn and Chicken lemon ‘stew’ – if it’s not on the menu, customers request it. Over and over.

Those dishes have been cooked in the respective chefs’ kitchens for years, often decades. They define his cooking and are usually called “signature dishes”. Every chef or cook has a few signature dishes. Like a musician who has a number one hit, they sing it at every concert.