Variation

The CC's Dad suggested he do a post on this subject, and it's a terribly important subject. The CC is mortified that he didn't think of it himself.

What's the subject again? Variation.

There are two approaches to this subject, and we're going to explore them logically.

The first is that the chef is going to produce an exact product, and that everything is in the service of that. The CC has pontificated about the subject enough, and if you've lost your memory or your marbles, you can read about it here.

The second is that the chef explore the local variation in ingredients, and shape the recipe to his or her environment. Even to the point, the chef shapes the recipe to his or her mood.

Are you in a spicy mood tonight? Well, the CC doesn't know, my love, but he sure wants to find out how spicy you are.

Of course, this is a way for lazy people to be, well, lazy, but there's a difference between a minor variation based on a difference in ingredients, and just not bothering to follow the recipe at all.

What the CC is getting at is simple. Each recipe has a core, call it a soul if you will. Violate what makes the recipe tick and the CC will call you lazy; a mere variation at the edges is a variation. Of course, true mastery means that you make every variation come out exactly the way you want it to every single time.

There is an inherent tension between mastery and variation. The CC claims that you should just embrace it.