He is a conjurer of narratives. The story teller who brings to life the rising of spring sap in a winter-struck tree and then creates the moment when the silence of months gushes out as maple syrup.
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He paints with his gestures the journey in a canoe of a man and a woman as they approach a cluster of wild rice in a shallow pond and then use wooden sticks to shake and gather its abundance.
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His eyes twinkle with joy when he talks about food. Its science. Its romance. Its ability to bring strangers and families together. Its ability to heal, nourish, move, create memories. His most enduring memory is being driven as a 12- year -old by his parents somewhere into that epiphanic moment when he said to himself, “I want to cook.” He never stopped. He is today apart from playing many other roles,the host of the Emmy-nominated cooking show “Let’s Dish” on the Live Well HD network and co-author of the award-winning The Culinary Professional, a high-school culinary-arts textbook.
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He is Christopher Koetke, Vice President, Kendall College of Culinary Arts and food and life are synonymous for him. Koetke began cooking professionally in 1982, has worked all over the world, is a certified executive chef and a certified culinary educator. In 2009, he was named the Cooking Teacher of the Year and you can see why. He is a teacher who is not afraid to learn.
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At Bangalore’s ITC Windsor recently, while conducting a masterclass, he taught us more than just how to cook. Life like food, is about passion, we learnt. Because when passion guides you, even vegetables become sculptures in your hands and the skin of a zucchini unravels like lace. But even passion he said is nothing without practice. You get it right by getting it wrong many times. It takes time and discipline. Food is not just cooking but the story of its origin. It is history. Tradition. Cooking is about the finer details.It is the difference between perfect and overdone. It is technique, accuracy, speed. Balance. And it is about learning from everyone. Even an old woman in Mexico who can outcook any chef when it comes to a pot of black beans. “It is important to listen to other people, ” he says.
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And in the kitchen, as in life, you can’t just focus on one thing. You have to cook with all your senses. With sight, smell, touch, taste. Know when a lid is singing too loudly. And know that you must taste everything to figure what needs to be reduced or augmented. The keynote of cooking is TAAT..or Taste, Analyse, Adjust and Taste.
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We pinned him down after the cooking session for a conversation and what followed was one of the most inspiring and enlightening life lessons in the art of living..
Q1: What is your food philosophy?
A: It is both simple and difficult. It is nothing more than perfection. And nothing less. And this point of perfection is always elusive and the quest is perpetual. I set extremely high standards for myself. Choose the best ingredients that need not be necessarily the most expensive. And it is important to cook from within…from your soul. The satisfaction that comes from cooking this way is intensely fulfilling.
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Q2:Where do you draw your inspiration from?
A: From everywhere. A dish can develop from a flavour idea. From a piece of music. Cooking is an art and every form of art influences it.
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Q3: What does food bring to your life?
A: Food was always a part of me as my mother was a great cook. It has always been connected with peace, intense satisfaction, joy, a sense of well-being. On a Saturday night, in a professional kitchen, there may be insanity and stress but at some level it is like conducting a symphony. The best reward is to see a face light up because of you and your food.
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Q4: The emotive power of food can be compelling..
A: Your know the unhappiest thing about life is when you eat alone..when you have no one to share a meal with. From a human standpoint, it makes you feel alone because food is about connection, about meaning in life when you share it with someone you love. Food is not just about sustenance. It goes beyond. It nourishes who you are.. What you eat and how..says a lot about you. When you cook and eat together, you connect at a human level. A family should eat together . If you look closely..every important life event is commemorated with food. Birth.Marriage. Child birth. Death.
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Q5: And any life-lessons for students of food?
A: Keep your ears open. Listen. You are never too perfect to learn. Everyone can teach something you don’t know. Look everywhere for inspiration. If you are not looking for it, you won’t find it. I practice Ikebana as a hobby. It teaches me to find breathtaking beauty in minimalism, to slow down and focus on the here and now. Life is short. Take the time to enjoy it, savour it.
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Reema Moudgil works for The New Indian Express, Bangalore, is the author of Perfect Eight, the editor of Chicken Soup for the Soul-Indian Women, an artist, a former RJ and a mother. She dreams of a cottage of her own that opens to a garden and where she can write more books, paint, listen to music and just be.
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