Taste Matters
Gail Simmons on the Democratization of Taste
This week tune in for an extra special episode of Taste Matters with Mitchell Davis as he plays host to Food & Wine's own Gail Simmons. This packed episode takes in the full spectrum of the food world that Gail has explored over her many careers; from paying her dues as a line cook (heads up future Top Chef's, she doesn't like pickled ginger!) to becoming a judge on Top Chef: Desserts to now publishing her first book: Talking With My Mouth Full. Learn about how social media has democratized the culture of food and opened a window on the world of professional cooking, as well as how one get's over subjectivity in the judging of taste and deciding what is "good". This episode and Gail's sage advice are not to be missed, especially for anyone with aspirations to go into any field in the food world, so tune in! This insightful episode is sponsored by Fairway Market.
"In terms of how the culinary landscape has changed over the last 15 to 20 years, I think that media really has been responsible for it. . the more we talk about things, the more we educate ourselves, and in turn the more we push our purveyors and chefs to raise their standards and to become more competitive, and we push them to raise the bar to cook better food and get better product."
"If you really think about social media, the impact that it has on food, I think it is really extraordinary, because it used to be a very elite group of people who "review restaurants", they did it anonymously . . but now I think social media, and what it has done, which has been vital to evolution of food, is that it has democratized everything."
"Everything that helps people to learn about food is a good thing. It allows us to have the conversation."
"Top Chef was the first show about a true glimpse of a professional kitchen. . and that was a really interesting window into a world people don't get to see.You don't need to be a 'foodie' to enjoy the show. . .and it's great because it bring more people into that conversation."
"What I've discovered over the last 15 or 20 years eating and really paying attention to what I'm eating is that, actually, that the cooking of food isn't that subjective, it's actually scientific, it's chemistry!. . . It's a bold thing to say but I think that 80% of how food tastes is the science of 'is it cooked correctly' and then there's about 20% that comes in to play of 'well do i personally like this food?' "
"Things that I learned that are important: 1. Training. If you want to be an authority and standup for your opinion you need to be an expert. If you want to write about food you need learn about food. You can't do it from your parents' basement, you need to pay your dues. "
--Gail Simmons on Taste Matters