By Saba Gaziyani
Photography: Courtesy BIS Publishers & Team
IAnD
Read Time: 2 mins
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| Creative Chef by Jasper Udink ten Cate |
A good intent gone a little berserk with
some overly fantastic ideas; Creative Chef disappoints on the broad platform...
It's an extremely well formatted book: super
recipes and clear methodology. However, I feel the target is not meted out
clearly. It's supposed to be a food styling book for home chefs /cooks /housewives.
The tagline reads, “How to create a mind-blowing food experience” and the book
lives up to this ‘mind-blowing’ bit as it seems very far from reality as far as
home application is concerned.
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Having gone through the book, I never once got
the feeling that it's giving me tips to try styling at home... Like I, as a
home cook, would never want to serve a dish directly on my dining table. Plating
techniques are somewhere lacking in the book, I feel. The author should have
kept in mind the kind of serve-ware that is commonly used in homes and then
discussed the techniques of styling of those serving plates, bowls etc. in
addition to the fantastic concoctions he comes up with. This would have perhaps
struck a familiar note with those, who feel inhibited trying out bizarre stuff;
or those with very little time and inclination to try out elaborate settings.
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The various styling options would have been more appetising if the pages wore a glossy garb; so
whilst you open the book with trepidation, a slight tinge of disappointment
touches the heart until you start reading and get involved in what you can
garner from it.
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Large pictures focus
on the food; but the font size is too small – readability gets affected especially
when you want to refer to the recipes, while in the kitchen, on the go.
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Moreover, I feel one needs to keep in
mind that eating at home is also a lot about sharing and a very emotional
aspect of daily routine. Even if it's a special gathering and one needs to
think out-of-the-box, serving directly on the table still does not fit in the
scheme of serving food!! I would have preferred if the author had been a little
more sensitive about his target audience.
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In fact, it's a good handbook for a budding
culinary professional! In times, when the relevant ingredients are readily
available, I would also like to use a few tips from the book... While the book
is very good at shedding an entirely new light on food and experience, with unique bursts of inspiration and
creativity; it would probably disappoint the end user, who
may pick it off the shelf for its catchy title and tagline, with little
inkling of the way the subject is dealt with inside.
Author: Jasper Udink ten Cate is a chef,
artist, designer, chocolate maker, musician and bon vivant!
Format: hardcover
Dimensions: 25.4 x 20.8 cm
Pages: 240
Price: €24,95
Reviewed by:
Mumbai-based leading food stylist
and photographer Saba Gaziyani. You can read more about her on http://www.foodphotographics.com/
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