Ah, perfection

I’m not so sure how to feel about Heston Blumenthal’s In Search of Perfection. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the show, in each episode, Blumenthal, a world-renowned chef, tries to perfect one popular dish. Things he’s tried in the past include the perfect burger, the perfect baked Alaska, the perfect chicken tikka masala, and the perfect trifle. Blumenthal’s restaurant, The Fat Duck, has been voted one of the top 2 in the world, and he is undoubtedly a culinary genius. From what I’ve seen him do, I am impressed (and, trust me, I have high standards).

However, having watched several episodes of In Search of Perfection, I’m starting to wonder whether dear old Heston isn’t just trying to make the rest of us poor sods look bad. Okay, I’m sure this isn’t the case. (He seems like much too much of a sweetheart to be malicious, and I have to admit that I have a bit of a soft spot for him because he reminds me a bit of my brother, who is also a chef). But the perfectionist in me is actually slightly resistant to this whole notion of perfecting a particular recipe. I’ve been spending years trying to distance myself from my consuming compulsion for perfection. And now Blumenthal’s telling me he’s devised a recipe for the perfect risotto? How can I resist at least finding out how it’s done?

The real problem, though, lies in the feasibility of Blumenthal’s projects. At the beginning of each episode, he states that he wants to create recipes that people can reproduce at home. Uh, yeah, I don’t think so. His recipes are so complicated and time-consuming that I honestly can’t see even the most adventurous of gourmets trying their hand at them. I mean, with the baked Alaska, you need to have dry ice. Who has dry ice? Really.

You have to, of course, be impressed by Blumenthal’s research. He will scour the globe in search of the best ingredients and techniques. It’s actually really heartening to see someone try so hard to make something so good. I feel like (in North America, at least) we’re all in such a rush to get things done quickly and to do more, more, more, that hardly anyone sees the value in doing things well. In the end, this is the redeeming aspect of the show. That Blumenthal cares enough to aim for quality is really a mark of his integrity. So maybe his search for perfection ain’t so bad after all.