Who let the dogs out

But lets start at the beginning; the most exciting time in the life cycle of a menu is when a new chef comes in. Alright,lets go back even a little before that,as the Chef says; there are two kinds of restaurants The Chefs Restaurant and The In-a-Box Restaurant. Ideally,in the Chefs restaurant which is every chef’s private fantasy,the chef saunters up to a guests table and says,I am going to make something special for you today,let me surprise you! Yes it is true. Given a choice,most chefs would do without a menu and instead just cook whatever the hell they want. But thats the fantasy. In reality,the In-a-Box restaurants are run by the suits and chefs have to follow menus. The suits decide the cuisine and then decide on the chef. Chefs come and go through the revolving door while menu engineering takes over. Culinary apartheid ensues as dishes are segregated into stars,plow horses,puzzles and dogs based on yield and popularity. A chefs belief in a dish or its culinary merits fails to impress the suits if its doesnt meet the bottom line. A tussle ensues and in worst-case scenarios gobhi manchurian finds a home.

There is some debate about the origin of the menu. The Chef credits Catherine de Medici and her culinary brigade that was part of her trousseau when she moved from Italy to France,as pioneers of the menu. Another version suggests that the given-to-excesses Henry VIII of England, seemed to like his food options in minutus. Wikipedia,my favorite intellectual,credits who else,but the Chinese. But ask any chef and he will tell you that the menu is really the chefs baby,something which although an imposition is also the best opportunity for a chef to put his signature on a restaurant. So here we have another avatar of the menu making an appearance,one that leads to a culinary contest of sorts. In five star hotels,with multiple restaurants and competing chefs,this is most visible and the dogs are let out at regular intervals.

And then there are the dishes that must remain on the menu,whether they sell or not. These are the dishes that encompass that one indescribable quality that makes a restaurant what it is. In the world of viticulture,it might be the terroir that sets neighbouring chateaus apart; in the restaurant world it could be this dish,which sits on the menu whether anyone orders it or not,regardless of its yield or popularity. Call it chef dobstinate striking back,unfortunately,it is a syndrome on the decline,with big business carving into the free-standing restaurant space. However,in these years of the franchise and standard recipe card,the diner in me still scans a menu looking for that brave chef who slips in a dish because it is the culinary premise and promise on which his restaurant stands. I am quick to turn away from signature dishes and specials. My eye scans the right hand side lower corner of the menu first,because that is where the dogs lie when menu design is undertaken. And it is from this corner that I place my order,because it is in this corner where the chef truly reveals his soul.

Advaita Kala is an author and has worked in restaurants and kitchens in India and abroad