On the Subject of Strict Habits: A Two-Part Memoir by Jacque - Part 1.

Dear Followers,

As stated in my first post, I am a superior being of strict habits; mainly those relating to the arts of sleep and physical nourishment.

In the first part of this Two Part Memoir, I will dive into the luxurious and mystifying world of the culinary arts.  Let us begin...

First and foremost, I am a connoisseur, a keen appreciator of cuisine, a master of technique!  I can sense the way a taste will roll throughout the mouth, the efficient method it uses to toy with emotions.  In return, I understand the emotions experienced by the food.  As I wrote in my autobiography,  A Life That Inspires,

"Before I eat a bird, a turkey for example,

I speak to it.  How does it feel about being eaten?

These are the questions which must be asked, not

petty things such as the time and temperature

with which to cook it"

As a master of technique, these things must come naturally; there is not time to question the inevitable.  When one becomes a true chef, one will experience tingling sensations.  Before that feeling comes, you are nothing but an amatuer.  Let me tell you the story of my "experience" as quoted in my autobiography, A Life That Inspires,

"The day it happened to me, I was in my kitchen,

preparing to bake a crème brȗlèe.  I turned

to preheat the oven, but realized that I had left the 

recipe in my attic.  I started to retrieve it,

but before I left the kitchen, a sensation came

over me.  I closed my eyes, took a 

deep breath, and put forth my hand.

I reached the over, and instinctively placed my 

hand on the dial.

When I opened my eyes, the oven was preheated

with my  crème brȗlèe inside..."

         

Then, and only then, are you a true chef.  But what is a true chef, other than a connoisseur?  he is a man, dedicated to his art, and dedicated to his firm habits.  Without these habits, he is nothing.  But then, you might be asking yourself, "what are these habits about which Jacque speaks so highly?"  Well, for each chef, these habits will reveal themselves in different ways.  For me, I must eat daily; not for the nourishment that it brings, but to achieve, to experience, food.  Because of this, I savor every bite, but pretend to detest it.  Never let your food know the true meaning of your words.  However, although it is always different, one thing stands in common:  the Feeling of Food; the texture of it.

When you observe food through eating it, do you go through the motions, or do you experience them?  Feel it, experience it.   Is it soft or coarse?  smooth or grainy?  How does it make you feel emotionally; and how does it feel emotionally?

I will now leave you to ponder these delicate questions.  I now leave you, as ever,  a connoisseur, a keen appreciator of cuisine, a master of technique! 

-Jacque