Food and Music

I am a musician and I am a foodie.
At first glance you might think "What do these two things have in common?'
Well they have much more in common than you may think.

The notes of a dish are much like the notes in a piece of music. Each is telling a small part of the over all story and if all notes fit then you have a great meal but if they don't you are in for a less pleasurable experience .You have various things to flavor a piece of music such as accents,crescedos,decrecendos etc. and in cooking you have various spices and herbs performing the same job.

In cooking a multicourse meal you are in effect creating a symphony. Instead of a symphony of sound you are creating a symphony of flavors. In any symphony  all parts need to fit within the piece and it is exactly the same when creating a multicourse meal .Each dish should compliment the other and have a decernable beginning middle and an end.

In music you have A-G to work with and all sorts of variations on those basic chords and in food you have your basic food groups and like music tons, of variations of each.
In cooking you have an executive chef who acts as the arranger and conductor of the band  to make sure each and every meal leaves made properly just as a conductor does with a band and any piece of music .

Both music and food are equal parts art and science and both are highly subjective, I am a metal head at heart even though I listen and love various types of music.I like it loud and bombastic and very technical most of the time and in food I love very bold and flavorful food. In most cases I'm just not into subtle anything but at times that does change and I'll make or play something much more laid back and subtle.

I always listen to music as I am cooking and depending on the style of cooking my music tastes change. If I'm trying to cook something with a lot of ingredients and technical steps outside of my comfort zone then I want it epic and loud to match what I'm trying to achieve in the kitchen. If I'm creating a small dish of comfort food then I want something like something more akin to three chords and the truth..If I'm making a dessert then I want something happy and fun to go along with it..

In music some of the best advice I was ever given was "Learn all the theory you can and then forget it"
Those words ring very true in cooking as well. Learn all the fundimentals you can and then forget them..In other words do not be afraid to try things and experiment..Thats how all your favorite celeb chefs as well as all chefs either at home or  pro's do..Thats how they achieve flavors no one has tasted before but long for once tasted.

Song books vs Cook Books

A song book can teach you a song if you have a very basic knowledge of music theory and likewise a cook book can teach you how to prepare a dish just like its author did but neither will teach you the elements or foundations.

Just like Hal Leonard or Mel Bay produces books designed to help start you in music theory those books exist for cooking as well
The Websters of cooking is called Larousse Gastronmique. It is much like a college course on music theory with tons of definitions and techniques all through out its more than one thousand pages. Anyone who really wants to cook seriously either as a home cook or professional chef would do well to have a copy. Mine is outdated  (1967) but still has more information than I will ever be able to digest.

The next thing is PRACTICE!!!  Just as any musician will tell you about the thousands of hours spent in practice the same holds true for anyone with a serious interest in becoming a better cook. And with that being said.. Go dig out your favorite songs and get cooking !!!!

Laterz, y'all