Tips from the Chef: combining ingredients in the kitchen

For this first week, I’ve decided to tell you what might be considered a secret by certain chefs, but which is pretty much a work philosophy for me. I think it will help you to choose what foods and what accompaniments or wine to serve to your guests or friends. I think, actually, that the key word in cooking and entertaining, and so of being sure to please, is consistency.

 

How, you ask, can this be applied to a business meal or one with friends? It’s all a question of thinking it through, from the ingredients you use to your table decoration to the hour of the event. As this section is about cooking, I will therefore limit myself to a little cooking advice.

 

When you’re trying to figure out what dishes you can serve, always try to think of the fact that breast of duck always goes better with an Armagnac sauce than a whiskey sauce, that carpaccio will go better an Italian red or rosé than with a Beaujolais. The interesting thing about regional cuisine is that it doesn’t make mistakes regarding taste. To end this post, I will just give you this phrase that my

 

grandmother (who I spent hours on end watching with admiration) had as her leitmotif in the kitchen: