If you have not had the good fortune to meet me and experience my fascinating wit and charm, I am Pierre LeChat, gourmand and expert on all that is food. Although my specialty is French Cuisine, I am equally at home with East Asian cuisine, and good old farmhouse cooking. In 2022, I was most graciously invited by the soon-to-be-world-famous Serendipity Farmhouse Test Kitchen (SFH-TK) to host a series of posts called SFH Food Talk & Recipes.
Background
Serendipity Farmhouse established the SFH Food Talk post series based on a a chance encounter. That encounter was when I reviewed the cookbook Cooking at Home by Jacques Pépin and Julia Child. Blondie and Ol’ Fuzz Face had received this book on French cuisine as gift. I myself found it to be most interesting. Therefore, I recommended that the SFH-TK test some of the recipes in Cooking at Home. Of course, the entire SFH-TK staff immediately recognized the wisdom of my advice. Soon afterwards, the entire SFH-TK staff moved into action. Then began the task of preparing for the elaborate testing of these exquisite recipes in our small farmhouse kitchen. They endeavored to use my personally developed testing criteria. I formulated the criteria through analysis and synthesis of factors surrounding the creation of world-class cuisine.
Criteria of Excellence
Persnickety Pierre’s Criteria of Excellence:
1. Level of the challenge
2. Selection of good-quality ingredients
3. Use of cooking techniques
4. Development of superior taste and flavor
5. Presentation
To most of you, it stands to reason that something that is soon-to-be-world-famous is not already world-famous. That, of course, would imply that the soon-to-be-world-famous Serendipity Farmhouse Test Kitchen is somehow deficient. And that is true, it does not possess all the financial and test equipment resources that are available to already world-famous test kitchens. Consequently, the SFH-TK staff often has to make on-the-spot substitutions and adjustments to recipes when a particular resource is lacking. For example, suppose chives were not available to be added as a garnish. In such a case, Blondie would intuitively make an instantaneous decision to go immediately to SFH Herb Garden #1 and pick a bunch of fresh parsley. – – Problem solved!
Summary
All of that said above is merely to highlight that the grand purpose of the SFH-TK is to test a recipe under the same conditions and with the same challenges that confront any amateur home chef, an amateur chef with only the meager resources of a farmhouse kitchen. The only difference being, the SFH-TK staff is scientific and methodical, recording each step of the recipe process and analyzing the results. The end goal is to have a fail-proof, go-to recipe that can be listed on your weekly menu with the highest confidence.
It works for the SFH-TK and it will work for you!