the time I was trying to create a team of bright chefs who were fully present and adept, but what I had for the most part were robots: human machines who’d been trained to follow a recipe as though it were some sort of absolute truth, forgetting the impulses and reactions that are necessary when working with something that’s alive. After all, it’s the chef cooking the food who makes the magic, not the recipe; a drop of acidity here or there, even when not called for in the recipe, can make all the difference….Recipes should be strong guidelines, not fixed scripture.
