What’s the difference between playing the hits and just mailing it in?

Last summer, Mac and I catered a couple of weddings. It was a lot of work and a lot of fun. Luckily, we had the A-Team backing us up: pretty much everyone we know in the Seattle food world (plus Mac’s brother and sister-in-law) helped us work the events. Mac outdid himself on the menus. There was a huge mezze table of spreads and condiments served with homemade flatbreads. A trio of inventive vegetable starters. Stunning mains of whole roasted chicken with aji amarillo and wild salmon with sungold sauce vierge. It was all pretty glorious.

Even with all that variety, though, the guests were effusive in their praise of one dish: the charred cauliflower with sweet corn-miso puree, salsa macha, and cilantro. It was excellent, don’t get me wrong, but still, I was shocked by the consistency with which each guest singled it out. “Okay,” I thought. “Noted.”

A few months later, I hosted a private dinner for one of my athletes. I had already decided to roast a couple of chickens. Then, I thought “you know what would go really well with this? That cauliflower dish from the wedding.” I served it, and again, all anyone talked about was the charred cauliflower.

I’m no researcher, but this seems like pretty conclusive evidence. The charred cauliflower is a winner. The thing is, though, I almost talked myself out of serving it the second time. The reason: a powerful internal pressure to always create something new.

As a private chef, this is something I struggle with. The pressure is embedded in the structure of the job. In the restaurant, we always rotated the menu, yes, but never all at once. We had time to hone dishes, keep favorites on the menu longer and remove others that were less popular. But when someone pays you directly, it comes with this feeling that everything has to be new.

I have to remind myself that even if I’ve made a dish before, dozens of times even, it’s very likely the first time my guests are eating it. And if it’s not the first time, they just might have come to eat that dish in particular.

Whether a dish is new to me is irrelevant. What matters is whether it’s a good menu. Am I recycling old dishes because I’m afraid to try something new, or even worse, because I can’t come up with anything? That’s…mailing it in. But if I’m choosing a fan favorite because I think my guests will like it, because I’m excited about it, because it’s the best dish for the job? That’s playing a hit. And if we do it like Jagger, it’s all good. Maximum effort, every time.

Seasonal cooking actually lends itself to this mindset. When ingredients come into season, usually for a pretty short window, why wouldn’t we use them to make our absolute favorite dishes? There are certain menu items that we look forward to making all year long. You can be damn sure there’ll be a stone fruit and tomato salad coming your way when heirloom tomatoes arrive in force next month.

Be a good cook first, and worry less about being an innovative chef. With that in mind, this week we bring you charred cauliflower with sweet-corn miso puree, salsa macha, and cilantro.

We’re glad you’re cooking with us.

Cheers,

Sten and Mac