What is avant-garde cuisine?

When we mention ”avant-garde cuisine”, terms like “deconstruction”, “transformation” or the latest food fads come to mind. Unorthodox, experimental, radical…

However, culinary avant-garde is not about ultramodern styles, but the forward-thinking of chefs and their styles or cuisines. “Avant-garde”, originally used in the military sense, literally means “advance guard” in French. This term was later adopted by the Arts to describe “pioneers or innovators of a particular period” (Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper).

An avant-garde approach to anything usually promotes concepts, ideas or techniques ahead of its time, and is often shunned at first due to its glaring deviation from what we consider “normal” and within our comfort zone. Take the advent of information technology for example and how its inception raised all sorts of fears, of “supermachines” taking over the world, or something along those lines.

Cooking is about deconstruction and transformation – analysing each component of a dish, recreating and re-presenting them in new ways. Forward-thinking chefs or followers of the culinary avant-garde movement do so by focusing on flavour, texture and temperature. The end result may look familiar but taste better, or look unfamiliar but taste the same, or simply take you by surprise. It is up to the chef to know where to draw the line between the familiar, the unfamiliar but pleasant, or just plain nonsense, while always, always respecting the basics of cookery.

What are my influences / style of cooking?

European cuisine with a solid base in traditional French cuisine and a keen interest in avant-garde and neo-classical styles. I am also influenced by Asian cuisines and ingredients. Guided by principles of flavour and texture, I believe in creating a feast for the senses with innovative techniques to present the complete dining experience.

Taste is the most important factor, followed by a combination of textures – combining these two to create an element of surprise for the diner. A sense of rhythm and harmony must be present in a meal, as each dish is carefully thought through, each complementing the one before and the one after.

I take an open-minded approach to new techniques and ways of using ingredients. Never resting on one’s laurels, I believe a chef should always search for new techniques to improve, while respecting the basic principles of flavour, texture and overall dining experience. It is not simply about being able to obtain the right ingredients or a recipe. Ask yourself, how many menus have a dish that has been already done?

Some make a carbon copy of a dish, straight out of a book. Or blatantly (mis)appropriate a dish from another’s kitchen, to theirs and claiming it as their own. Totally absurd, that’s what it is. Lets take the all time favourite Egg 65. Purchase the latest temperature controlled water bath or oven steamer, a set of related thermometers, a few dozen eggs, put it on the menu and that is pure innovation and creativity?

Why not just follow the theory and technique but apply this new knowledge with another product? Allowing the mind to give in to lazy ways and not bothering to think out of the box is one of the biggest mistakes a chef can make. Every chef plays a role in evolving the culinary scene. The only way a chef can elevate the culinary arts is by broadening his horizons in all aspects. That’s my style.

About Whitejacket

Who or What is Whitejacket?
When I was a child, Christmas Eve was announced throughout my home with the aroma of Christmas cooking. From the tempting scent of roast turkey, to mysterious fragrances – wafting clues of chicken pie or sweet caramel apple pie. Every occasion in Singapore is celebrated with a meal, bringing family, friends or even strangers together. From the grandiose to the humble, homecooked or potluck meals, from happy reunions to sad farewells. Whether it is a simple gathering or grand ball, events like these are always a culinary adventure. The meal then, is not just a consuming act, but a path to discovery.

My name is Benjamin, and together with my loving wife, Bernadette, we bring you Whitejacket – an informative website which aims to assist the hungry chef. Professional, beginner, or even domestic-based, we hope you will find the information in these following pages useful. We also welcome your opinions and ideas, and would appreciate any feedback.

Why “Whitejacket”?
To highlight and celebrate the chef, not any in particular, but every hard working chef out there. How many of you still remember the smell and feel of a clean and fresh jacket, in the early hours of the day, and by the end of the day, its transformation into an unpleasant piece of once-white fabric. Yet we still don it, proudly announcing our profession!

About the Website…
The aim of this site is to further equip chefs with an understanding of the hows, whys and what ifs, of simple processes, or even “secrets” of a professional kitchen. Through my creations and interpretation of dishes, I hope to highlight the application of new methods or techniques to food preparation. These will be recorded in detail in this Blog, to study how and why certain products / ingredients react differently under different applications.

Many famous chefs have already been practising this for many years – the application of new methods, technology or science to cooking. Ferran Adria of ElBulli, Heston Blumenthal of The Fat Duck, Grant Achatz of Alinea, and Pierre Gagnaire, to name just a few. So I’m quite outdated, but still glad to be inspired by all these innovators. Some refer to these innovations or this “movement” as molecular gastronomy (MG) or culinary alchemy, although most of these chefs prefer to call it avant-garde (AG) or progressive cuisine. But I’d rather not confuse you with all that now.

All the recipes and tests recorded in here have gone through a series of trial and error, with adjustments made to each ingredient, component or technique accordingly. Not all have been successful though! But all dishes in my Photo Gallery were tested and perfected, prior to being served to actual diners. If you have similar experiences that produced completely different or perhaps almost similar results that you’d like to share, do leave a comment in the post, or send me an email. I’d be glad to discuss it with you. Due to hectic schedules and time constraints, I may not be able to update the blog and website as regularly as I wish, so do check back for updates or subscribe to the RSS feed or bookmark options. (Also, my wife sincerely apologises for any glitches, missing links, etc as she desperately tries to figure out all this web and scripting jargon!)

…Play With Your Food!
The design of the website is meant to be as user-friendly as possible, with large, easy to read fonts, for the weary and almost teary-eyed chef. The alginate structure in the header design does not imply that Whitejacket is based on food science or food chemistry, but suggests how much we wish to interact with ingredients, or “play with our food”. Whitejacket is more knowledge-driven, than scientifically based or for the pure sake of modernistic culinary innovation. I wanted to highlight how the study of even a simple ingredient, like alginate or salt, is so important in food preparation. It is not about taking the “romance” out of cooking or dining. To use an ingredient well, one should know how, why, when, where, what if… It is these questions, and the search for answers, be it historic, scientific, or plain common sense, that drives us forward.

Growing up in Singapore where dining and culinary standards are very high, I found it very surprising that Singapore’s culinary scene did not progress with the rest of the world’s “food capitals”. Perhaps it was a lack of understanding of the progressing cuisine that the mere mention of MG or AG sent images of alien-like spheres and foams flashing through one’s mind. This is another reason why I would like to share what I can through Whitejacket. The age of the selfish, ultra conservative and narrow-minded oldie is gone. With access to the global village right at out fingertips, it’s the perfect time to extend our reach, and be open to new concepts, styles and ideas. One should never be afraid to question old theories or practices, always seeking new or alternative approaches, not to break tradition, but to evolve.