After all these years of cooking and writing recipes, I am still amazed every time I notice how even the minutest of variation in technique can make a spectacular difference.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
Sometimes technique works better than a whole lot of other things.
You have no choice as a professional chef: you have to repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat until it becomes part of yourself. I certainly don't cook the same way I did 40 years ago, but the technique remains. And that's what the student needs to learn: the technique.
Don't be afraid to adapt new ingredients into your own techniques, and traditional ingredients into new recipes.
As I mature as a chef, I no longer aim to pack multiple techniques and ingredients into a single dish. Realizing that restraint is more difficult, I find it often renders incredibly beautiful results.
Technique is noticed most markedly in the case of those who have not mastered it.
Be sure to read a recipe all the way through before you cook. The time it saves you in the long run is invaluable.
You don't have to stick with these recipes. They're guides. As I say, they're a way in. Have fun with them. It's an easier way to cook in a busy life, once you get the hang of it.
Recipes tell you nothing. Learning techniques is the key.
I love to cook, and I've just gotten more and more into it over the years, just because it's the best way to stay creative.
Once you have mastered a technique, you hardly need look at a recipe again and can take off on your own.