Friday, January 16, 2009

Eating Properly

John and Greg. You know, the shouty ones on Masterchef. What do you think about the way they eat?

Their technique, in sampling the food prepared by the contestants, is to take one forkful, of all the items on the plate mixed together, and to shove it in their mouth all at once. They then comment on the tastes they are getting and whether everything they have been looking at or told about is coming through with flavour.

Last night a contestant, who had served a beetroot puree with a venison loin and a rich red wine jus, was criticised because the beetroot flavour didn't come through.

But is that how you'd do it? Or would you allow the subtle earthiness of the beetroot to come through as a contrast, eaten separately from the chunk of red meat you'd just swallowed. Perhaps with the potato or other vegetable? Palate cleansing stuff.

I have a member of my family who chops everything on the plate up and forces it onto the back of a fork (never the front). Makes me feel poorly just to watch. I tend to mix no more than two items in one forkful. Who is the weird one? A good answer to this is that all my family are weird to which I say 'It's a fair cop.'

Reminds me of the guy who goes to the doctor with steak stuck in his ear and potatoes up his nose. 'I know your trouble,' says the doctor. 'You're not eating properly.' Good afternoon.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Have you spotted that whenever the shouty twosome disagree about who should be last contestant to make it through, and they say something along the lines of 'We've got a tough decision to make. How are we going to do it?' They always seem to settle it by putting through the one that John likes. Is he pulling rank because he's a chef and Greg is 'just' a bloke who used to sell veg?

Matt Wilson said...

man those to guy's really are annoying to watch on telly i can never keep them on to see what happens all they do is constantly shout at one another or the camera as if that makes them really pasionate or cool.

For most of my life i've rarly mixed foods at all unless there mixed before they're put on the plate. not just on the fork but actually finishing the meal off in sections. At roast dinners i'll start with the vegtables i like least eat all of that vegtables then the others like wise untill i'm left with only the meat, potatoes and stuffing and sauces, now i may alternate between roast potatoes and meat but only the meat and stuffings and sauces will ever share a fork! I was told off once when i was little for leaving my vegtables last and then saying i wasn't hungry by an old gentlemen who's family we we're sunday lunching with. He said to eat what you like least first so you'll have something to look forward to and take the taste away.

I think i kinda took that to literally and have ever since

Anonymous said...

We often play the 'Master Chef Wide Mouth' game at dinner time. You have to get every item of food onto your fork and then open your mouth as wide as it will physically go - until it hurts. Then insert the fork into your mouth without the mountain of food touching your lips. Eat the food while one person says "It's rilly nasss" and the other one just says "CAKE".