"Bob Terwilliger" ha scritto nel messaggio
> Chatty Cathy wrote:
>
>> Do you think that one can become an acknowledged "expert" at cooking>>
>> authentic cuisine(s) from other countries/regions without actually
>> living>> and/or studying a particular cuisine in the applicable
>> country/region of
>> origin?

> On the other hand, I think you can learn an authentic cooking *style*>
> without cooking authentic food. For example, Mario Batali has lived in
> Italy> and is pretty well acknowledged as an expert on Italian cuisine,
> but he
> doesn't import all his seafood from Italy; he uses whatever is local to
> the> restaurant where he's cooking. In that sense, his *food* is not>
> authentically Italian (because he's using snow crab instead of langostino,
> for example), but his *cooking* is. I think someone could learn to cook
> that> kind of Italian-inspired food with that same degree of proficiency
> without
> ever visiting Italy.
>
> Bob
I don't agree about Batali. He is accepted as an expert in the US. No one
in Italy knows who he is and if they ate a typical meal of his, they
wouldn't find it very authentic.
1) he tarts things up, elaborates things that are meant to be simple
2) his recipes tend to be heavier and loaded toward "feast" food-- as well
they might because his restaurants are pricey.
3) his menu tends toward the "every dish a star" line of thought which is
very un-Italian. Here one pairs light with heavier, simple with more
elaborate and balance is considered very important. Much of what works in a
NY restaurant is what one calls esaggerato in Italy. Probably the highest
compliment one gets here is "squisito ma niente esaggerato."