Vegetarian

No meat huh? Well. What can i say.

I'm a chef, and as such it's taken as a given that i don't like vegetarians. Not true. I respect everyones choices as long as they respect mine... which "veggies" often do not.

I like meat. No, i love meat. I'm a carnivore and i'm a predator. This is why i have eyes parked squarely on the front of my head so i can accurately judge distance to my potential prey. If god had wanted me to be a non-meat eater he would have put look-out eyes on the side of my head and, quite frankly, alongside my big ears i would look ridiculous.
I'm top of the food chain, baby. Sorry and all that.

So. With my defence before attack out of the way let's get down to business...

I have a lot of vegetarian friends and they all have the same gripe when i ask them what they think about non-meat restaurant food. "Bland, boring, slop!".

Chefs often make the mistake of associating vegetarian food with health kick food. The thing is, no "fats" often means less richness and flavour. And that's where the problem lies. From my experience (and believe me i've been plenty of rounds with them!) vegetarians don't want the low fat version of puff pastry made with palm root gloop instead of butter, they don't want tastless uht weasel cream because it's low in calories. My advice to chefs and home cooks alike? Don't be afraid to add "high fats" to non-meat foods in moderation, don't think it's a crime to add more than two grains of salt per pound of rice, and use a bit of imagination. How can you cook exciting food if you can't get excited about what you are cooking?