Epicurean Encounters: Art Versus Science

After two weeks of pastry, I am convinced cooking is more of an art versus science. Sure there is scientific basis in cooking and baking such as the Maillard reaction whereby sugar breaks down in the presence of protein and heat to create the golden brown appearance of cooked food. And everyone knows leavening agents create the rise in bread. But, it takes many years of cooking to pin point the nuances of excellent versus adequate cooking.
There is no right way to do any one thing. Each chef does what they feel works best based on their experience and who they trained with. This can seem somewhat contradictory to a student. For instance, we learned from one chef that the best way to clean a mushroom is to use a pastry brush and gently brush off any dirt. For more stubborn dirt, you may use a wet paper towel. Rinsing under the water would be a last resort as it may break off the delicate tissue of the mushroom. Another chef dumps the mushrooms into a cambro of water stating that you do not have time to clean each mushroom individually in a busy restaurant; it would take days. This also makes sense.
One chef berates us for not putting a towel under a hot sauce pan, the other says it doesn't matter, it's metal on metal. One stresses the importance of mise en place before beginning cooking, the other doesn't measure out ingredients. You quickly learn that the chef you are with is always right. There is no point in arguing.
We concluded this week with the "diabetic" pastry buffet, so called due to the amount of sugar involved. My husband was the guest this week and was thoroughly impressed with the amount and caliber of our production. He would not have expected us to execute at this level after only 9 weeks of school.

French Macaroons