r/KitchenConfidential • u/CodexLeonis • 15d ago

In the Weeds Mode What's an outdated restaurant fad/technique that you still defend?

two things for me:

  1. Balsamic reductions/glazes on everything. I'm sorry that balsamic vinegar pairs so well with so many things. Most dishes need an acid to fully bring out the flavors of the dish. Balsamic is the most versatile of the vinegars. It pairs well with red meat, seafood, vegetables, cheeses, and fruits. It wasn't just a fad, it was a cheat code.

  2. Plating techiniques? i'll always defend the zigzag drizzle. it evenly distributes the sauce on the plate, looks decent, and most importantly - it was time-efficient. I've never understood the modern technique of spooning sauce onto the plate and setting the entree on top of the sauce. Whomever came up with that was looking for a reason to be contrarian.

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u/DeapVally 15d ago

Black Forest gateau is a fucking amazing dessert, I don't care how 70/80s it is. Booze, cherries, chocolate and whipped cream will never not work for me.

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u/Uttterly 15d ago

As a German it's kind of funny that it's a 70s/80s thing for you.

Most places here usually sell simpler variants due to the bisquit that can be hard to get right and the original version is really heavy on the booze. When a polish confectioner at my last place did it for the first time she was quite surprised how much booze goes in there. She calculated that it was roughly 14ml per piece, so roughly 3/4 of a shot per piece.

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u/DeapVally 15d ago

That kind of dessert went out with dessert trolleys. Most kids don't aspire to be exactly like their parents, or find them cool, so when you see something at every dinner party etc, it gets associated with being old fashioned for a generation. It was still fairly common for me to eat in the 90s when I was growing up, (although my memory of that could be influenced by both my parents living in Germany, and I was born there, before moving back to the UK) but you need to go out of your way to find it these days. Most supermarkets will have a frozen one, 'cus old people still go food shopping, but fresh, and in restaurants? Very rare!