Good food should be simple, elegant and satisfying. It should be recognisable, honouring the ingredients, and taste of itself. It should be unpretentious. It is not concealed behind a sauce nor is it a contrived picture on a plate. It should be appealing, enticing and comforting. It should showcase the talents of the maker, reflecting their skills, their cultural identity, their beliefs and personality, and technical proficiency. And above all it should be food you want to eat, satisfying, providing the diner with satiated pleasure yet with a desire for more. As Auguste Escoffier (1846–1935) said “good food is the foundation of genuine happiness”.
Too much food today is contrived from a desire to offer something new and innovative, wrapped up in an experience, with a side of entertainment. There is less emphasis on quality and consistency in lieu of offering fancy fit outs, glamour and conceptual dining. The joy of dining has been replaced with an intellectual exercise drawn from a chemistry text, lacking the real passion behind good food. Lots of technique. Not much emotion. So called Social Media, Instagram, TikTok and the smart phone have exacerbated this and spawned the growth of self-styled influencers who simply want to take photographs of dishes and brag about their exploits.
Hospitality has always been a challenge. It is estimated that up to 10% of places will close this year. And, in order to weather the financial up and downs, many that remain, now serve mediocre food with limited service, and often at high prices.
Yet there are still some smart, well-run places that serve good food without a lot of fanfare. Places that survive and excel on word-of-mouth. And this is what Worth a Detour continues to seek out and share.
Good food brings people together.