Buck Reed
A man can go his whole life believing there is nothing wrong with him, that he is perfect in every way. Then, he falls in love and gets married, and spends the rest of his life finding out from his wife all his faults and liabilities. One of the first things I found out after getting married was that you must wash ice cube trays. Not just rinse them out with fresh water, but actually put them in the dish washer and wash them. Who knew? It is the same with cooking for other people.
When we grow up, we get used to the way our parents put food on the table. If they are good cooks, then your parents put nice, well prepared food on your plate. But even if they were not, you got used to it and that’s what you become accustomed to. How we were brought up determines not only our etiquette and behaviors, but also our sense of taste.
Another problem is where we were brought up. I can make a good argument that the United States is a bean-eating nation. But, although we eat a lot of beans, we seem to have a different way of preparing them from region to region. Barbeque beans from Texas may have some resemblance to Boston baked beans, but not enough to convert a cowboy to a city boy. And red beans and rice from New Orleans are a far cry from the way they eat them in those California bean cakes. It is like dividing people up into dog, cat, or horse people—nobody is really wrong on this point.
Then there is the “allergic” crowd. The latest trend is the “gluten-free” horde. Now I will go on record as saying Celiac Disease is an awful thing and, of course, accommodations must be made for them. And if you think you are allergic to gluten then you should be taken care of as well. As I have said to many professional food service workers: if you do not have one or two gluten-free options on your menu, then you are only bringing grief on yourself.
Then there is the offended crowd. There is no telling what you can put on their plate that isn’t going to pull the trigger in their mind that will make them spout off on how that slice of pork is oppressing them. The scary part is they not only want to regulate what they are going to eat, but they want to control what you eat as well. I guess you will be seeing me at the “Sean Penn Ban the Bacon Reeducation Camp” opening soon in your home town.
Cooking for yourself is easy. You can make what you want and make it taste the way you want. You can even save a plate and eat over the sink, right out of the pan. But as you add others into the mix, you must start planning and acting like you are sincere and considerate. And maybe if you act like you’re sincere and considerate, maybe you will actually become those things.
