There's something so unmissable about restaurant food. We simply can't get enough of that local pizza joint, or even the South Indian restaurant near our home. Every preparation is lip-smacking and absolutely divine. Even if the expert chefs among us try to recreate the same dish at home, it doesn't turn out the same. What is it that makes restaurant food so delicious and totally different from home-cooked food? Are there any secret ingredients that chefs use to make their dishes taste restaurant-style? Reddit users took to the platform to debate and discuss this, and whether asking restaurant chefs to share their recipes is acceptable or not.
(Also Read: Mask Etiquette While Dining Out At A Restaurant: Here Are Some Basic Guidelines)
The debate was started by the user u/BearsChief in the subreddit r/Cooking. Calling it an open discussion, the user explained his problem and asked fellow Redditors for advice. He said that he was not able to master Indian cuisine. "I can literally make better-than-restaurant quality food in almost any other culinary discipline, but Indian eludes me," he wrote.
He then revealed that there was an Indian restaurant near his place that prepared the most delicious vegetable curry. "Would it be super rude to talk to the chef and just ask them straight up what kind of dark wizardry they practice making their curries so good," he asked in the post. He said he was writing this post after making a wok full of sabzi that was 'astonishingly mediocre'.
Reddit users shared their thoughts on the topic. Some felt that it was understandable that restaurant chefs would not like to share their recipes at all. "They don't want to admit to using elements that have been prepared, be it anything from strained tomatoes to commercial garam masala mixes," explained one user. Another said that it was not possible to recreate restaurant-style recipes at home due to multiple factors. "I know you're not going to achieve what I can do with my ingredients, price point and equipment," said the user who appeared to be a chef himself.
Check out some more reactions here:
Do you think it is acceptable to ask restaurant chefs for their recipes? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.