COOK Reflection- Bradlie Morgan

Eating at COOK was an amazing and unique experience. Although it felt similar to Studio Kitchen, I could definitely immediately feel the differences between the two meals. 

Shola’s meal felt more casual and hands-on than our meal at COOK. Although Chef Allen kept us all interested, I think Shola’s presentation of the meal involved more of our participation and attention. Shola also focused a lot on the chemistry and technique of cooking new foods, while Chef Allen focused on the relative simple chemistry of foods and the different tastes and textures they can create. As both chefs explained that they enjoyed experimenting with different food options, I think Shola was more innovative with his technique, and really how to cook the food. Chef Allen used his skill to create more flavors. Their viewpoints on learning how to cook differed, also. As we heard, Shola did not attend culinary school because he didn’t think he would learn much; rather, he wanted to learn through experience on his own. While I think his plan is intriguing, and has brought him to success, I liked how Chef Allen attempted to attend culinary school. He seemed more interested in the idea of learning more about cooking from other people, and was disappointed when he couldn’t go to school for it. Chef Allen talked about how he understands the importance of learning from other people, while Shola seemed more confident and comfortable in his own experimentation and discovery. Shola’s meals also reflected his focus on the chemistry of foods he wanted to share with us, because they were simpler dishes that were the epitome of a certain technique. However, Chef Allen’s dishes reflected more of the skill he may have learned in his restaurant. I think this also reflects a little on how many refer to Shola as egotistic. However, I really enjoyed both experiences for different reasons, because they showed how different chefs interpret the idea of molecular gastronomy, and even cooking in general. 

I could see that Chef Allen was passionate about cooking because he was excited to tell us about different techniques. He was extremely open about everything he did in his cooking, but also seemed open to new ideas and techniques, since the field is constantly changing. He also seemed excited about what he was making, because he had either been apart of creating the idea or people in his restaurant had. He knew that these dishes were good because he had perfected them in the restaurant, and he wanted to know everyone’s opinions on it. 

Chef Allen was also extremely helpful in answering people’s questions on their final projects. I’m not sure if he knew the answers from experience or from learning from others, but he quickly had multiple solutions to Matt and Julia’s problem with the caramel. This showed his knowledge and ability to easily help others understand cooking techniques. 

Overall, I thought that lunch at COOK was a really interesting and delicious experience, because it introduced new foods I had never tried before, while focusing a lot of the chemistry behind the food, too.