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<blockquote data-quote="Dannyalcatraz" data-source="post: 9448892" data-attributes="member: 19675">It’s a blind spot for anyone prepping/teaching/rhapsodizing about food.On another board, in another food thread, a bona fide chef asked me about how to make gumbo.* I’d actually seen him on TV talking about the resort he was in charge of.&nbsp; So I was pretty honored, and I got down to writing up a recipe.&nbsp; I was almost ready to post it when I realized I’d forgotten a step.&nbsp; When I went to edit it, it dawned on me that there were other steps I’d skipped because- to me- they were obvious.&nbsp; But because I was planning on posting my recipe on THE INTERNET, I realized that people other than me and a trained chef would be reading it, so skipping steps was not an option.&nbsp; Some steps I drilled down on because- while technically simple- if screwed up would ruin the dish.I was on the verge of posting it again, when I had another insight.&nbsp; I’m in America, and I can get most of the ingredients for my gumbo anywhere in the lower 48 pretty easily.&nbsp; And because I’ve been making gumbo for decades, those I can’t, I can usually find a decent substitute.But again, this recipe was being posted on the Internet, being read by people from anywhere in the world, and without my experience.&nbsp; Hell- the chef was in Norway!**&nbsp; So I thought long and hard about the ingredients that would be toughest to obtain outside of the USA or would be otherwise problematic for people with certain dietary restrictions, and presented the best substitutes I knew of.The process of writing that recipe down in detail for cooks of almost any skill level, with known key substitutes was the labor of DAYS.&nbsp; It was one of the toughest things I ever composed.* I have no idea if he wanted the recipe for his personal use, for the resort, or as a source of inspiration.&nbsp; ** As it turned out, his connections meant he could basically get any ingredients he wanted from anywhere in the world, as long as there wasn’t a law against their importation.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Dannyalcatraz, post: 9448892, member: 19675"] It’s a blind spot for anyone prepping/teaching/rhapsodizing about food. On another board, in another food thread, a bona fide chef asked me about how to make gumbo.* I’d actually seen him on TV talking about the resort he was in charge of. So I was pretty honored, and I got down to writing up a recipe. I was almost ready to post it when I realized I’d forgotten a step. When I went to edit it, it dawned on me that there were [I]other[/I] steps I’d skipped because- to me- they were obvious. But because I was planning on posting my recipe on THE INTERNET, I realized that people other than me and a trained chef would be reading it, so skipping steps was [B]not[/B] an option. Some steps I drilled down on because- while technically simple- if screwed up would ruin the dish. I was on the verge of posting it again, when I had another insight. I’m in America, and I can get most of the ingredients for my gumbo anywhere in the lower 48 pretty easily. And because I’ve been making gumbo for decades, those I can’t, I can usually find a decent substitute. But again, this recipe was being posted on the Internet, being read by people from anywhere in the world, and without my experience. Hell- the [I]chef[/I] was in Norway!** So I thought long and hard about the ingredients that would be toughest to obtain outside of the USA or would be otherwise problematic for people with certain dietary restrictions, and presented the best substitutes I knew of. The process of writing that recipe down in detail for cooks of almost any skill level, with known key substitutes was the labor of [B]DAYS[/B]. It was one of the toughest things I ever composed. * I have no idea if he wanted the recipe for his personal use, for the resort, or as a source of inspiration. ** As it turned out, his connections meant he could basically get any ingredients he wanted from anywhere in the world, as long as there wasn’t a law against their importation. [/QUOTE]

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