We received a somewhat unsettling e-mail this morning. It purported to be from a well-known chef in Vancouver, although the return address was a Hotmail account. We are currently in the process of trying to verify whether or not the e-mail actually came from the chef in question or whether someone was just trying to take potshots from a position of anonymity. Here’s what they had to say, spelling and grammar copied exactly:
My name is ******* ******, I am a chef from Vancouver, B.C., Canada. I was looking around on the internet the other day and came across your website. At first glance, I thought your presentations were nice, but then as I continued to read and look at your “ideas,” I realized that every plate has something smoked or pickled.
I am disturbed by your combinations of flavors and use of ingredients that seem to go nowhere. Are you purposely trying to confuse people and their palates, or is this just a big joke? I think my 4-year-old son could probably design a better menu with proper flavor and ingredient combinations.
Do you go into the fridge with a blindfold on and grab things off the shelf and make something up, or do you just not turn the light on and grab ingredients? I am very sorry to sound so harsh, but if you check out my restaurant, you will understand fine food. It is *******, you can find it on the internet…..take notes.
I think you have talent in cooking, just work on the flavors. Fifteen different flavors in one dish are far too much. I mean, seriously, have you looked at your website? Try reading some of your so-called “ideas” and tell me they sound good.
What do you think? Either way, the answer is somewhat disturbing. If it is the chef, condescending doesn’t quite cover it, and why bother to send us anything at all? If it isn’t the chef, that means someone out there is impersonating someone else and using their name to send questionable emails to other people. Accountability is quickly disappearing in the cyber world, and that just is not a good thing.
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