EP 178 . 03 Jun 20
Is cooking an art or a craft?
With Ashwin Ramachandran
In the episode
- What makes a perfect recipe? Ingredients, timing, or love?
- Out of the four elements of earth, water, fire, and air, according to few studies, Aristotle added the ether, the fifth element. Numerous articles say, “If Aristotle had cooked, he would have more to say to the world.” Food, cooking, and eating have been discussed a lot in philosophy. What according to you could be the reason for it?
- How important is training to become a chef? It’s debatable whether cooking as an art form is older than the art itself. Both are means of survival and evolution. In art, we have fine arts, commercial arts, and many such disciplines.
- Can you draw a parallel in the chef world? Chef for fine dining where everything is measured versus a home cook (Maharaj), versus a cook who makes food for langar? How do these dynamics work? How do these individuals look at ingredients?
- At an abstract level, what is the co-relation between pairing ingredients or dishes or types of food? Appetizers, main course, and Chasers.
- How/why do cultures select what to eat? And what is happening with globalization?
About Ashwin Ramachandran
Today I have Ashwin Ramchandran with us on Audiogyan. Ashwin is a chef and runs a small kitchen in south Mumbai called Milliways. He specializes in Asian food. He has over 10 years of experience in the hospitality industry and has worked in ITC Hotels for more than 5 years. He is based out of Mumbai. I happen to meet Ashwin at the FofX festival this year and was curious to know his thoughts about food, especially his perspective to look at ingredients rather than the dish itself.
