Dishes with a twist

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Posted at 2:13PM, 22 April 2008 by Gregg Wallace - TV presenter, greengrocer

Have you heard chefs talk about twists? I don't seem to be able to get away from twists. I've even heard waiters and waitresses discussing them.

You must have come across some. Shepherds pie with a twist. Prawn Cocktail with a twist. Even whole cuisines, British classics with a twist. Or more subtle but just as bemusing, 'Modern European' or 'Modern Classics'!

What is Modern European? What on earth is wrong with very old European? How about 'Modern Classics'? How is this possible? If it's modern it can't be a classic. It would be like having an antique flat screen telly!

I just don't understand why anyone would mess with a classic. Are there culinary geniuses out there who can reinvent the wheel?

Why does a shepherd's pie need a twist? What was wrong with it in the first place? Classic dishes are just that, classics. They have starred on menus and been household favourites for years. The reason they stand the test of time is they are loved. If they are still being ordered the world over, they are classics.

How could any chef be conceited enough to think he can better it? Or, is it the chef doesn't really like the classic, and thinks everybody else has got it wrong? I just don't understand why anyone would mess with a classic. Are there culinary geniuses out there, who can reinvent the wheel? If you put chicken in a Caesar Salad, it is no longer a Caesar Salad.

I don't know, I don't mind invention and creativity; I just want classics left alone. The only twist in the kitchen should be Chubby Checker on the ipod.

Comments

DebbieA21

23 April 2008, 1:28PM
DebbieA21

Greg Totally agree with you here. Shepherds pie, bread pudding, rice pudding, yorkshire pudding (had some last week with herbs in - horrible!) etc good old household favourites when I was a kid and I'm still enjoying them today. On onther note : my cousins wife from Canada was stunned to learn, that me & my Husband don't have take-out every week, or don't eat shop bought frozen meals - why should We ? when we can make them from scratch with good ingredients from our local farm shop with fresh veg, grass fed pork, free range chickens and beef thats been hung for 28 days and it all has traceability.

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abbeyfoods

23 April 2008, 8:36PM
abbeyfoods

Thank goodness we are not the only family who have never had a take-out! Re-heated food just isn't as nice as fresh however carefully you treat it, add to that the pile of foil, card and plastic waste that is generatedand it seems very extravangant. I would certainly rather spend my cash on the food content not the packaging.

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janeykuchen

24 April 2008, 5:25PM
janeykuchen

I have had takeout-frequently , but it does not interfere with or remotely have a chance of being in the same class as good old traditionals,each has it's merits, if well cooked with good fresh ingredients, I don't know where you lot get your takeaways from , but don't assume we all suffer from poorly prep'd dishes from filthy chippies in Chorley we don't.Nothing can beat top quality home made dinner and pudding,all produce fresh from our local butchers and fantastic market[Tues/Thurs/Fri/Sat,no less]Up North we're just spoiled I guess!

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Raksha

27 April 2008, 1:09PM
Raksha

Kinda got to disagree with the anti twist sentiment. I agree that the semantics are annoying but life would be very boring if the classics remained untouchable. Cheese on toast might be called a 'classic' but it is better with a bit of worcester sauce on! Personally I quite like yorkshire pudding with herbs in (as long as they're the right herbs to go with the dish). Seems a bit puritan to insist that whatever you define as a 'classic' remains just as you want it.

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Mrs. Mason-Brown

31 July 2008, 10:03PM
Mrs. Mason-Brown

Yes, most food is better when left simpler. However the impulse to add just one more thing in the false hope that it will make whatever you are cooking the ultimate whatever-it-is is tempting, I know. The worst case scenario of this my mum, who has been on a rampage of creative "twists" on pudding my entire life. Tiramisu with cottage cheese that tasted like plastic, raspberries and cream with ginger, and ginger cake, sliced orange and yogurt trifle being some of the more memorable. When it comes to dessert, don't ever mess with an original that is already good. It's like spitting on Grandmas' grave. However, taking something comforting and bolstering it with a few extra veggies is never a bad thing, especially when trying to get said veggies into little tummies.

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