- And how can we distinguish true French food?
- Do you consider cooking to be an art?
- A lot of people simply say ‘yumm, delicious!’ when they try any kind of food. And with French, as with Italian, Turkish, or Indian food, it is necessary to try the original dishes. For example, each person should go to France and try an authentic bearnaise in order to tell how a bearnaise actually tastes.
- Yes, it is an art because food is really a creation. But just like there are big names like Picasso, Michelangelo or Degas, I consider myself to be an artisan. I don’t even like to be called a chef because I consider myself just one more cook in the kitchen- he closed sincerely, just before excusing himself.
I have an empiric education, but what I do is that when I travel I try to go to every restaurant I can. I take notes and think of the recipes that can be adapted to Guatemala, always thinking of the costumers. I always go to the market here in Antigua, and the menu is in constant change between the available materials and my attempts to reinvent the recipes I’ve tried in different restaurants.
In the end, we were allowed to observe his work in the kitchen for a few moments. The appointment finished exactly the same way it had started: Jean Francois was courteous, funny and friendly.
The lunch hour was approaching and Jean Francois had to go finish the dish that his assistants had already begun. Before excusing himself, he allowed us one more question:
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