To pickle or not to pickle that is the question

In the many months I've worked with Rob I have learned as well as tasted many new things. Tonight Rob was prepping his special and I smelled the smell that I will always remind me of Rob, vinegar. I'm not sure he'd appreciate that vinegar is the smell that I associate with him, but Rob really does like to pickle things and his pickling procedures normally have an eye-tearing vinegar smell to them. My first experience with Rob's fondness of pickling was when he asked me to make the pickled coleslaw that went with the menu. I couldn't smell anything not resembling vinegar for a good couple of hours. In all fairness to Rob and his recipes the pickled foods do tend to, as Rob says to me all of the time, "taste better than they smell." The pickled slaw is fabulous and the pickled thing he was making today I'm sure tasted good with the Tuna special; I've never eaten something bad that Rob has made.

Observing Rob and his pickling reminded me of the many differences between pastry people and savory people. In order to be a chef one must be slightly insane, a workaholic, have countless vices, and either a perfectionist or a speed demon with, of course, an insatiable love of food. Once someone has all of these qualities they then break off into one or two categories.

The first and my own personal category is the pastry category. Pastry people like order. We like formulas and recipes and we like to know that every time we make the pate a choux it will turn out just like the last time. This love of order does not mean pastry people are not creative. One of the reasons I went into pastry was because of the artistic side of pastries. It took a wonderful pastry chef who started in the savory side to get me to loosen up a little bit and think of flavors and ingredients before I think of recipes and formulas, but I still have that love and need for order.

Pastry people are also not afraid of getting a little floury. I never thought that this was a quality until I started working at the country club. They joke with me all of the time about my messes. An apron covered in flour and marionberry mix covering my arms is my happy place. There really is little place for OCD in pastry; you can be a perfectionist with your actual dessert, but the process will probably get a little messy.

Savory people think in terms of flavors. Should I use strong seasoning for a delicate fish? I love listening to Rob and Chef talk about specials like it was just obvious that the tuna would go with a leek salad. Formulas and recipes are out the door in cooking. There are standard procedures like for making vinaigrette or for properly cooking chicken, but the ingredients that make that chicken the most amazing dish you've ever tasted are as countless as the chef's creativity.

Savory people can fix most anything pretty much at any point in the cooking process. If there isn't enough salt, in a soup all they have to do is add salt. If the sauce is too thick, they can thin it out before they need it. The only thing that they really can't fix is if too much of something was added. "You can always put more in, but you can't take it out." I can not even begin to tell you how many times I have heard that; it is really true. Anyone who has had a meal that was overly salty can attest to that.

Most of the time pastry and savory people live in beautiful harmony where only minor arguments about procedure break out during slow days. Pastries have to be made by people who like order and formulas. Savory, or like I like to call it, the real food needs to be made by people with creativity and a passion for flavors. Add a little bit of crazy and a lot of energy and you have a really talented chef,whichever side they're on.

I'm still not a fan of pickling everything, but like Chef said tonight "why pickle, why not?" Rob will probably continue to love pickling things, and I, I will continue to be a dough hoe, what can I say I just love knowing following written rules of how to make something still can result in a delicious chocolate cake.

Happy Eating!!!

Emily