The Love of Great Food

Written by Traci Chudej

Can you remember your first love? The experience of great food is much like falling in love. The first time we experience it, we never forget it, and we spend the rest of our lives looking for that same feeling. Food, when experienced through the passion of a great chef or with someone who knows and loves food, should be just like falling in love, and the beauty is that you can experience it every day.

Czar Deleon, executive chef at Liberty Bistro says, “Food should be like that first kiss when you know you are in love, that kiss that takes your breath away. I don’t want people to just say ‘wow’. I want to take their breath away. I want the experience to have that effect.” Czar continues, “Like a love affair, passion is my driving force. Every day I share a piece of myself, and I hope they love it.” The affair with food begins the moment you walk in the door. You have to be attracted to what you see and feel as if you are the only person in the room and that this moment is for you.

Great restaurants and great chef’s work together to pay attention to every detail, beginning with the greeting you receive.

“It is important that we begin building our relationship with guests the moment they enter,” states Darren Scroggins, managing partner of Liberty Bistro. Everything should be designed to heighten your sense of smell, touch, taste and sight. As some say, all this is sensory foreplay leading up to a climactic experience – dinner, which should leave you longing for more.

Deleon says, “It is like a dance when the music and two people come together perfectly.” Once seated, your guide, no not your waiter or server but your guide, should come to your table. Much like a concierge or activity director at a five-star resort, your personal guide is available to assist you in selecting and pairing foods. When dining at a fine restaurant, you should not just order soup, salad and choose your entrée. No, this is your dance, your affair. Let your guide know what you like and let him or her guide you through the choices that will tantalize and tempt you throughout every taste.

Chefs weave intricate details throughout the soup, salad, appetizers and entrée to provide a seductive and sensual journey; therefore, the worst thing that we can do is to try and go on a self-guided tour. The guides understand the passion of the chef while understanding the illusive choices before us. So, as we embrace our guide, turning our journey over to him or her as we give part of ourselves, the music begins to play and the dance begins. It is imperative that we communicate our needs, likes and dislikes so the ever-building rhythm goes uninterrupted and the journey or dance continues to seduce and draw you in. Many of us are aware of wine pairings but foods are paired together in the same way. Everything from the soup, the salad dressing, the texture and spices in the appetizer and the marinades to entrée toppings with hints of flavors that bewilder you are all part of the incredible experience. Desire and anticipation should be building. “Dining out, is like attending a Theater show..everyone anticipates what takes place during the show so when the curtain opens till it’s final closing hopefully their is a standing ovation of satisfaction with your dining experience,” says Chef Carol from The River House Tea Room.

When you see the creation before you, you should really be able to taste it. It is important that when the food is brought to you and you see it, you want it. That first bite is just the beginning. You have been invited to indulge in an incredible and sensuous experience. Every morsel has lingered and led to yet another sensation, building to an incredibly exciting, almost lusty but satisfying experience. Your pleasure should be undeniable and if this was your first experience, you will never forget it and hopefully the seed of love has been planted. If your guide, the restaurant and most importantly, the chef have been successful, you have experienced a journey of undeniable pleasure and satisfaction.

No longer is food just a nutritional necessity and a comfort but through the experience, you have tasted, smelled, seen and felt true passion for great food. New Braunfels, often known for its great southern cooking, finds itself fast becoming a player in fine foods with great restaurants boasting trained chefs and the birth of menus foreign to many New Braunfels natives. Southern cooking will never lose its “down home” appeal but the opportunity for growth and exceptional food experiences can be found here in New Braunfels.