Finding my Culinary Identity
The battle between a love of global cuisine and developing expertise
Lately, I've been thinking a lot about my "culinary voice". I suppose this is natural given I've just started the journal back up and all of the recommendations for making your blog stand out note that you need to have a niche, a point of view. This is something I really struggle with. Honestly, it's something I struggle with regardless of my writing.
I'm the type of person that only knows how to approach things in one of two ways, either 100% or not at all. I like to be good at things and if I know I can't be really good, I'd almost rather not do it at all. You may be wondering what this has to do with finding your culinary identity, but hang in here with me for a bit.
I have a theory. Over the years, I've heard people refer to their nana/nona/abuela's cooking as the best they've ever had. These women were masters at cooking the cuisine of their culture. They cooked every day because of necessity. Their cooking had a sense of place, a terroir if you will. Southern grandmothers made biscuits every Sunday and Italian grandmothers spent all day making the "gravy". In many ways, the limitation of cultural exposure is what made them so great. They were masters through repetition. Times have changed. We live in a global world, especially those of us privileged enough to live in a multi-cultural city with access to global ingredients. We have access to cookbooks and recipes from all over the world. In times past, if you experienced another country's cuisine, it was because you were lucky enough to have immigrants who brought their food culture with them. More and more, people are too busy to cook. This is evident in the abundance of "weeknight cooking" and "30 minute meals" types of recipes.
So this is where I struggle... I am jealous of the cooks that really know what they are into, so focused on something specific that they are able to become an expert on the cuisine. Recently, I ran across The Curry Guy. This is a guy who fell in love with Indian curries because of the takeout his wife would bring home. He now has 7 cookbooks, with 3 more slated to come out. Alice Waters, Andy Ricker, Masaharu Morimoto, Kristen Kish, Gregory Gourdet, Ivan Orkin, Rick Bayless, and Julia Child. All of these are people who are masters in their craft, many of whom focus on cuisines outside of their birth culture.
So, here is where I hope to bring this whole thing together. I LOVE global cuisine, especially the flavors of East Asia, from Japan to Thailand, and everywhere in between. Even though I know my general interest in global cuisine should be empowering, I also find it frustrating. I want focus. I want to be an expert, so deep in one space that it's where I stand out, where I have my voice. The battle rages on. For now, I fight through the internal struggle and push forward without trying to pick my voice, letting it come naturally as I gravitate toward certain cuisines.
Have you found your culinary voice? If so, I'd love to know what led you there. Was it by heritage, by place, or by choice?
