Would you? Could you? Liquor


dahlia
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I watch a lot of competitive cooking shows and frequently will replay a season on YouTube while working, so I see these shows quite a bit. It dawned on me that sometimes contestants have to cook with wine or other liquors. Sometimes the prize for a good service or challenge is a meal out or a wine tasting.

 

It's already problematic for vegetarians on these shows. I've seen one who had to kill a lobster (for her, it was the killing aspect that was at issue, she didn't have to eat it) and one who would cook meat when required, but wouldn't taste it. Sometimes that worked, sometimes it didn't.

 

So, being Mormon, would you ever take a taste of liquor on these shows - I'm thinking especially if you are invited to a wine tasting. If you are going to be a fine dining chef, shouldn't you have an idea of what goes with what? Or what wines/beers you can use for cooking?  I'm not saying you should have glass after glass of liquor, but what about a taste, so that you'd know what taste it would give to the food? Are there any fine dining or celebrity Mormon chefs (and not

Kelsy Nixon)?

 

Would Mormons be unable to compete in something like Hell's Kitchen or Top Chef because they actually drink liquor (as opposed to using it in cooking, which I understand is OK)?

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It's been fairly clearly taught that abstaining from liquor includes even tastes. I also think it would set a pretty bad example for a member of the church who is temporarily in the public's eye to be consuming liquor in any degree. No one expects a devout Jew to partake of pork. No one should expect a devout Mormon to partake of liquor. If a cooking show requires the use of liquor, a Mormon simply shouldn't be a part of it. A devout Jew would be likewise unwise to join a cooking show called Cooking with Bacon. :)

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For about a week once, I thought it would be fun to be a wine connoisseur, and really cool to be one who could do it/be it without actually tasting any of them.  Then I realized it was entirely unrealistic.  Lol.

 

On a basic level, you pair white wine with white meat, and red wine with red meat, from what I understand.  But knowing specific vintages, vineyards, years, etc., I think would be extremely difficult without personal experience.  Sure one could study, but if asked for a personal recommendation, wouldn't be able to give a specific or accurate one.

 

I wouldn't have a problem cooking with alcohol or liquor on such a show.  I wouldn't have a problem tasting my finished product that included alcohol in the cooking.  But if I won a wine-tasting, I'd either accept it for the experience of traveling Napa Valley (or the Italian countryside), or decline the prize, suggesting the runner-up could have it instead.

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For about a week once, I thought it would be fun to be a wine connoisseur, and really cool to be one who could do it/be it without actually tasting any of them.  Then I realized it was entirely unrealistic.  Lol.

 

I remember in high school I had the idea that this sort of thing would be fun too and somewhat regretted, not that I couldn't drink alcohol, but that wine contained alcohol. It seemed such a romantic thing somehow.

 

In my adult years I fulfilled this passion with cheese. Perhaps less romantic, but still...cheese connoisseurism is awesome.

 

Of course in my later adult years I've somewhat had to give up on cheese too because it makes me fat. :(

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I agree that a Mormon in the public eye shouldn't drink liquor. I just wondered if it would be possible to be a really excellent, celebrity-type chef and not use it or be familar with it. Looks like the answer is 'no.'

 

About the Jew not cooking bacon, fine, but it is OK to make a vegetarian cook meat? I would love to see a vegetarian competition, rather than the 'let's make 1 veg meal' that has become typical on these shows.

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About the Jew not cooking bacon, fine, but it is OK to make a vegetarian cook meat? I would love to see a vegetarian competition, rather than the 'let's make 1 veg meal' that has become typical on these shows.

I suppose that depends on whether the vegetarianism was religiously motivated or not. Were I Hindu, it would certainly make me uncomfortable. I guess it's always a personal choice.

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Had such a great response and then my text editor did something screwy! Ugh.

 

 

To Dahlia... To the question of whether it's okay to make a vegetarian cook meat, I would say that I'm pretty sure participation in the TV show was optional, and not mandatory. A vegetarian/vegan would have to be naïve to believe that a cooking show wouldn't challenge their lifestyle at some point, and require them to cook and or eat meat product. As a vegetarian myself, I wouldn't opt for such a show, but I still prepare (though seldom) meat dishes for my husband and daughter.

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So, being Mormon, would you ever take a taste of liquor on these shows - I'm thinking especially if you are invited to a wine tasting.

 

 

 

Nope, my response to an invitation remains the same whether it is on TV or if it's just a friend inviting me. Depending on things I might attend the wine tasting, but I wouldn't sample the wines. 

 

 

 

 If you are going to be a fine dining chef, shouldn't you have an idea of what goes with what?

 

That would be what sommeliers are for. Now I understand why a restaurant may expect you to know, I think Olive Garden expects some knowledge of wines from their managers (based on anecdotes from friends), but I don't see why being a fine dining chef necessitates a detailed knowledge of wines (or beers) for pairing. Also, I suspect there is a fine dining = French or Italian bias going on here. A fine dining hallal chef for a heavily Muslim influenced cuisine wouldn't necessarily be expected to know how to pair alcohol with their dishes. 

 

 

Would Mormons be unable to compete in something like Hell's Kitchen or Top Chef because they actually drink liquor (as opposed to using it in cooking, which I understand is OK)?

 

This is no, "You're on TV!" exception for the Word of Wisdom.

 

But I agree, I don't see how anyone really into the cooking and chef scene could get away without wine tasting.

 

 

Why? One doesn't need personal knowledge of the way an uncooked wine tastes if one is using it for something like deglazing a pan or coq au vin. For such applications the house red is being used, not the $500 bottle of wine chosen for it's unique subtleties of flavor profile. Also, there are cuisines that don't use alcohol, or at the least aren't expected to in the same way a French chef would be expected. Once again I think there is a bias that chef = makes Italian and French food, I think people are forgetting that other cuisines exist.

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Is the question would you taste the wine before cooking with it, or would you taste the food prepared with the wine?

Taste the wine before cooking with it.  It's easy to say 'red goes with meat and white goes with poultry and fish' but there are many many types and brands of wine in both categories. I assume they don't all taste the same, which is why you might want to taste before cooking.

 

As to bias - yes, I think you see a lot of Italian and French dishes on the shows. If it's more American slanted, you might get some beer thrown in there. No matter what they are cooking, you see a lot of the better chefs talk about their 'French training,' so yeah, there's probably some bias, no matter what they are cooking.

 

We don't get a lot of Muslim inspired dishes on US cooking shows. Maybe something with couscous every once in a while, but not often.

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As to bias - yes, I think you see a lot of Italian and French dishes on the shows. If it's more American slanted, you might get some beer thrown in there. No matter what they are cooking, you see a lot of the better chefs talk about their 'French training,' so yeah, there's probably some bias, no matter what they are cooking.

 

 

If this is a response to my comment, I wasn't talking about the shows. I was talking about your idea that to be a fine dining chef one needs to know how to pair wines with dishes in some specific fashion based on personal tasting. 

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Fine dining = Sommeliers.

So no worries.

Also, the restaurant industry is up to its eyeballs in alcoholics & addicts....and RECOVERING alcoholics and addicts.

Which means it's really common in a working kitchen to have a few people who won't even tip of the tongue & spit taste.

But there are always loads who'll taste &/or consult for you.

That said,..

I DO use wines, beers, & spirits when I cook.

I DO taste in the process of cooking.

I also taste dairy items (and spit, then wash my mouth out with alcohol to denature the proteins) ... Even though dairy makes me violently ill.

I do NOT attend wine tastings anymore, or if there is a wine/whiskey tasting as part of an event, I simply order coke or club soda.

The people working it always understand, even if the other guests don't.

Although there's sometimes a misunderstanding, since coke addicts usually don't drink, I'm sometimes offered harder drugs instead.

Q

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Oops, I never did really answer the initial post. I'm kind of with Quin. That said, alcohol was easy enough for me to ditch but coffee was really hard. My husband on the other hand, was a drinker, social and just to relax - it was hard for him to stop but he's not had a lick of it for three years. I'm so proud of him.

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Personally I wouldn't if I had any choice in the matter. If somebody fed me something that was cooked with wine, I wouldn't fret about it. If I had to use specific ingredients and amounts for a test or something then I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Would I taste the alcohol beverage itself? no.

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Oops, I never did really answer the initial post. I'm kind of with Quin. That said, alcohol was easy enough for me to ditch but coffee was really hard. My husband on the other hand, was a drinker, social and just to relax - it was hard for him to stop but he's not had a lick of it for three years. I'm so proud of him.

Coffee makes me sad after I drink it...I feel drained and kind of sick

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If this is a response to my comment, I wasn't talking about the shows. I was talking about your idea that to be a fine dining chef one needs to know how to pair wines with dishes in some specific fashion based on personal tasting. 

 

Not my idea - it's what I catch from the shows.  I'm basically a veg*n and have never been a drinker, so my ideas of 'fine dining' probably don't mesh with those of the chefs one sees on TV.

 

It sounds like someone has their knickers in a twist over food. Not worth the energy.

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Not my idea - it's what I catch from the shows.  I'm basically a veg*n and have never been a drinker, so my ideas of 'fine dining' probably don't mesh with those of the chefs one sees on TV.

 

It sounds like someone has their knickers in a twist over food. Not worth the energy.

 

Clarifying my statements is having one's knickers in a twist?

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