TK AND ME: First, let's have a chat

I settled at my desk to take in my first MasterClass with Chef Thomas Keller. As I hit play, I’m greeted with a scene straight out of a Nancy Meyers movie. Upbeat, plucky music serenades me as the camera pans over the kitchen of my dreams; gleaming white cabinets, dove grey marble counter tops, fresh flowers in vases, everything is perfect and in place. I think of my own kitchen, cluttered with appliances like my InstantPot or how I didn’t even bother sweeping up the grounds from my morning coffee, and feel immediate shame. Apparently yes, one can be kitchen-shamed. My feelings of insecurity are soon assuaged with shots of scrumptious looking food and then the Master himself gallantly gliding in, a culinary knight in blue-aproned armor. The camera then suddenly cuts to TK taking a seat in an outdoor garden and I’m knocked free from my fantasy. Yes, he’s here to save me from the grips of my cluttered kitchen but he wants to have a little chat first. TK has traded his dark blue apron for dark blue denim, a baby blue oxford, and a smart-looking navy blue bomber jacket; he really likes blue. He’s wearing the uniform of choice for charismatic leaders who wish to convey a message of empathy, “I’m just like you and I know where you’ve been.” I can’t help but notice the similarity of the setting to Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday sessions where thought leaders are invited to ponder life’s biggest questions under the watchful gaze of ancient trees. TK is here to be my guide in unlocking the mysteries of cooking.

EQUATION FOR COOKING

Our garden chat (the scenery is really making me miss California) begins with TK explaining why he chose to do this MasterClass. Previously, chefs like him would only have the medium of cookbooks to teach us how to cook but now they can come into our homes. I imagine TK opening my cluttered cupboards and immediate panic sets in – add cupboard-shaming to the list. He then gives us his equation for cooking:

Cooking: Ingredients + Execution

Unfortunately, I didn’t inherit the South Asian math gene so please don’t call me out if this is not the correct way to write an equation.

INGREDIENTS

The better the ingredients we choose to work with the more successful our dishes will be. TK encourages us to seek out the best and to support our farmers, foragers, fisheries and gardeners. He even gives us permission to pester our grocery stores to up their game. He does warn us that quality isn’t cheap and we will have to open our wallets. In other words, “Treat Yo’Self” because you’re worth it and so are the purveyors that will benefit from our support. I’m completely down with this philosophy. Food is nourishment and our health and vitality depend on it but unfortunately, we live in a world, especially here in the US, where it’s often cheaper to buy a fast-food meal than it is a head of broccoli. I’m grateful that I have the means to buy good quality ingredients and I can vote with my dollar but I do realize that many in this country don’t have those same choices and our food policies and priorities need to change.

EXECUTION

Ingredients we can’t control, beyond choosing what we purchase, but when it comes to execution, the proverbial buck stops with us. Execution involves understanding our equipment and tools and learning how to use them properly. TK’s main goal is to teach us the fundamentals of technique which he favors over recipes. Teach a woman to roast a fish and she can eat for a lifetime. He wants to challenge us to see what we are capable of. This reminds me of when the fitness instructor at my gym says “Hey folks, I have a really fun workout planned for you today and don’t be afraid to challenge yourself.” This is basically code for, “Prepare to die!” But just like at the gym, when I do push beyond my comfort zone, that is when I’m able to make profound changes. The change happens in that space of pain.

MISTAKES ARE MISS-TAKES

How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice. TK tells us that the only way to learn is by practice and repetition. To do something over and over again until it becomes an inherited second nature. And, every time we make a mistake, we have an opportunity to learn from it in order to become better for the next go-around. If that isn’t recipe for life, I don’t know what is.

I’ve enjoyed our little heart-to-heart, and with the ground rules now firmly established, we can finally begin.