Cooking can be compared to making music. Some musicians are classically trained virtuosos who can follow a piece of sheet music exactly as the author of the piece intended. Others are masters of their craft but like to be part of a jam session or improvise, and then others just like to make their own music at home.

At a restaurant like Le Bernardin, not only are the chefs classically trained and masters of their crafts, they also like to get together to brainstorm creative ways to make new flavors come together — it’s sort of like a jam session. It starts with some kind of inspiration; perhaps a seasonal ingredient or something that one of us has experienced while traveling. We also enjoy learning new techniques and just like a musician, a chef must continue to practice their craft and learn new things.

Each week, I meet with all of the senior chefs, sous chefs, and the pastry chef in our restaurant library. We have created a space to meet and also use as a research area. Cookbooks from all genres line the walls of our conference room and when we meet, we talk about new ideas and taste some new products like spices and preserved foods. Lots of brainstorming goes on in that room and it is a place where the chefs can feel free to mention any idea to be considered. It is during these sessions that we really start the process of creating new menu items. Once we take the ideas to the kitchen to work on the creation of the recipe, all of the individual components must first be perfected. Then we put all of the components together to see what works and what doesn’t. The individual parts of the dish might taste delicious on their own but that doesn’t mean that when they are all put together on the imagined plate, that it will be the right combination. The dish must be tasted at each stage to insure that the final result is worthy of being placed on the menu.

The stakes are high at a fine dining establishment so the menu has to be as close to perfect as possible, but at home there is freedom when trying new things. Generally, a good, basic knowledge about flavor and food is all that is needed to start creating recipes on your own — the more you cook, the better you will become at dreaming up your own combinations. Instinct can tell a cook a lot about what might be good together and then it's up to them to just start trying things out. It is not an audition — it’s dinner — you should feel free to try new things. Some of the best recipes start because something didn’t go quite as planned or what we call a happy mistake. Whether created by a master chef or home cook, it is always a victory to develop well balanced, harmonious dish.