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Had a line cook tell me my sauce was 'too perfect' and it threw me off
Back in 2019 I was working a dinner service in a small spot in Austin, and this young guy on the line stopped plating to say my beurre blanc looked "too perfect," like it was made by a machine. He meant it as a compliment, but it got me thinking about how much personality we strip out of food when we chase consistency. I asked him what he meant and he said my sauce had no variation, no little pools or uneven edges that show it's handmade. Ever since then I've been leaving a tiny bit of imperfection in my finishes on purpose. Does anyone else get this feedback or am I overthinking a random comment from a 22 year old?
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taylor.amy1mo ago
Hold up, is it really about the sauce looking perfect or more about how you're presenting it? Ngl, I feel like a perfect beurre blanc is the goal for most cooks, not something to apologize for. But I get what that line cook was saying in a weird way - maybe he meant the sauce looked too emulsified or thick, like it was stabilized with xanthan gum or something instead of just good old butter and reduction. Tbh, leaving a little butter swirl or a tiny break on the edge doesn't make it look handmade, it just looks like you stopped working it. A real handmade sauce should have a silky, consistent texture that shows you actually whisked it properly, not little uneven pools.
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kaid591mo ago
Not sure I agree with @taylor.amy on the "stopped working it" part. In my experience, a tiny break near the edge can actually show you used real butter and didn't rely on stabilizers. A sauce that looks exactly perfect every time can feel factory made to me. I'd rather see a little character than something that looks like it came out of a lab. But hey, your mileage may vary.
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