— Patti Stipek

um Yeah. Rarely, but mostly just because I you know sustainability. I'm not a big fan of throwing food away, but Yeah, let's say by and let's let's replace starting over throwing it out and starting over with just admitting that it was a complete failure. And like on that level absolutely. Yes, I do that pretty it's not like constantly, but I do it pretty often. But I'm also so sort of practiced in food that like, I know that poaching a kiwi and coriander scented Bacon fat and serving it with a cotton candy. foam just no no. I'm not gonna do that. You know, it's sort of I've reached a point where like the failures are becoming less and less because I just have a greater sensibility of earned over time. And again, this is not patting myself on the back. This is just practice but I'll tell you I do go back and look at old notebooks and I encourage every one of you to keep notebooks on what you do and your culinary process and just ideas that you have. In fact, I'll run and get one of these notebooks because I want to show it to you. But I'll go back and look at notebooks from my early days. And oh my gosh, I was looking the other day at this special that I proposed. for a soft shell crab dish that had 37 different ingredients in it. It was just and I'm not talking like a mole mole is gonna have 30 ingredients in the of themselves. Indonesian sauce is the same there's some incredibly complex layered flavors that are that are really wonderful. So it's not just 37 is too many but beans a tarragon this and a seared okra over here and brazed. Zucchini and like human and coriander is like, oh my Lord Bart. Oh my Lord, then like lime juice. It was so much. It was so bad. It was so terrible. So yeah, there's that. but yeah, you know, I'm gonna run to the Next Room real quick. I'll be right back. I want to show you this. Excuse. Hey again, welcome back. Thanks. So I have these just ancient notebooks. And then I've got all sorts of ideas. whenever I read a cookbook or something, I always try and write down the name of the cookbook and like what page I find something on just so I can attribute if need be but you know just like ideas. I had like sliced lemon marinade with garlic ebo and parsley extra virgin olive oil and parsley. Cool caramelized pineapple butter, okay. artichoke mashed potatoes, but that Parent saffron Chutney, that sounds pretty great. Sherry vinegar caramel. That's a really good one. Actually that one I ended up using in a whole lot of dishes take sugar caramelize it until it's nice dark brown then add Sherry vinegar to it and reduce it down again. It was really delicious. But just having these notebooks is so fun and so key and what's great about it is that it then also keeps you from making mistakes again in the future, but Yeah, and you can see begin to see a pattern in evolution of how dishes come together in your brain and it's a bit like having a journal. Yes. I really wish I had a journal. I really wish I'd spent the time as a kid. Doing a journal because I'd really like to get to know who I was back. Then in the ways that are slightly less malleable than memory is but so yeah, there's that so not a direct answer to your question. But there you go. Also when I'm reading food Wine magazine or whatever else I'm reading time if there's a dish or something that I like like this one. Like I thought that was really cool. It's a tuna. Let's see. It's from Italy cold smoked. Tuna carpaccio with pickled California grapes avocado and crispy shallots like Damn, that's a great idea. Right? I don't want to make that someday. This is the way that we begin to formulate our own artistic sensibilities in our own sense of expression and sort of how we want to use food how we want to use ingredients flavor combinations Etc. So again, this is a long winded answer to You know have I just thrown something out? Yes, but I also have a process in order to prevent that.