“I hold in my hand, the last envelope.”

I know these skits but I’ve never actually watched a Tonight Show hosted by Johnny Carson. However, this isn’t about Carnac the Magnificent; rather it’s about the complexities surrounding successful menu planning, development and execution.

I’m currently having such a conversation about menu development and I think more and more that creating a successful menu (irrespective of purpose) is more of an art than science.

Sure there’s the aspect of not wanting/needing to spend exorbitant amounts (e.g. do you really need to serve black truffles to the troglodytes you’re obliged to invite over?) or ensuring that one doesn’t inadvertently kill an invitee by anaphylactic shock over a previously-undisclosed allergy. It really comes down to a balancing act between suitability, appropriateness, safety, economy, purpose, overall capability and capacity.

I personally *love* creating tasting menus but while chatting about development, I took a look back at some of the menus I’ve executed and realize that most of them stink. The only ones that made some semblence of continuity were “Groundhog Day” (8 courses), “Baie Comeau” (7 courses) and “Bridezilla Redux” (8 courses).

Most of my cooking is fusion with all the good and bad connotations that culinary term carries (it’s like the modern-day version of “la nouvelle cuisine”). I personally don’t think there is anything wrong with this as I do understand eastern and western techniques and the basic universal concepts of flavor. Where the challenge lies is in how to present the courses in a logical manner.

A formal European dining progression could be either a classic progression or an expanded progression (below) with slight nuances depending on setting.

A kaiseki menu for formal Japanese dining however, has the following elements in the specified sequence:

1. Sakizuke (an appetizer)
2. Hassun (the second course which sets the seasonal theme)
3. Mukozuke (a sliced dish of seasonal sashimi)
4. Takiawase (a simmered dish of vegetables served with a protein)
5. Futamono (a covered dish such as a soup)
6. Yakimono (grilled seasonal fish)
7. Su-zakana (palate cleanser)
8. Hiyashi-bachi (a summer-only vegetable course)
9. Naka-choko (palate cleanser)
10. Shiizakana (a substantial dish, such as a hot pot)
11. Gohan (rice or a rice dish)
12. Ko no mono (seasonal tsukemono)
13. Tome-wan (soup served with rice)
14. Mizumono (seasonal dessert)

Though they’re dissimilar, they both demonstrate a progression from light to heavy to light, and from savory to sweet. I don’t do Chinese banquet styles (they take significant effort and I’m not set up for family style service) but Chinese menu progressions also follow a similar sequence.

As I said, exactly three of my previous menus do this successfully, and virtually all of my other menus (e.g. the Carlos Dinner, Butter Event) are inherently flawed. There’s nothing inherently wrong with what I cooked, it’s that they suffer from at least one jarring or disjointed transition from course to course that drop kicks harmony from the dining experience.

Anyway, enough grousing and back to successful menu planning. The discussion I’m having is to develop a menu offering choice while maintaining harmony and gustatory satisfaction and controlling cost and waste. Five inter-related criteria, but the interesting part of all of this is the concept of choice: I actually don’t offer choice as my control-freak tendencies pretty much obviate it. However, it’s a necessity in this situation as the people who will be partaking in this menu are essentially unknowns. What’s the right balance? Which element should be emphasized? What are the consequences? I don’t know, but it’s definitely a positive learning experience.

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