Nerd Can Cook

A talk about Food and the search for perfection given at #devslovebacon

Transcript

1. Nerd can cook Devs Love Bacon / London 2012 Aaron Quint - @aq
2. By day CTO of Paperless post
3. By Night Obsessive amateur chef
4. of _any_ kind No formal training
5. Graduated with a BA in Art History No computer science degree
6. Well, my wife gifted a knife skills class once. Best. Gift. Ever. No culinary training
7. Thats how I do. 100% Self taught
8. Feel free to call me on my bullshit. In other words
9. The Keynote. JSConf 2010
11. Crafts. Programing & Cooking
12. Similarities are endless
13. Draw your own connections. This is a talk about food & cooking.
14. Bacon WAS JUST THE BEGINNING
15. Pastrami
16. Cheese
17. Haggis
18. Just a little. I’m a little obsessed.
19. Or how to achieve greatness in food. Cooking as the quest for perfection
20. Thomas Keller, The French Laundry Cookbook “When you acknowledge, as you must, that there is no such thing as perfect food, only the idea of it, the the real purpose of striving for perfection becomes clear: to make people happy. Thats what cooking is all about.”
22. Grant Achatz, “Life on the Line” “There were a few unspoken rules: chef Keller was God; try to be like chef Keller, exactly; the food was perfect or it was wrong; failure was never an option; and ‘yes, Chef’ was the only proper response to any request.”
23. Or how to make your partner and friends very happy. How to strive for perfection at home
24. Towards Perfection
25. Towards Perfection • Knowledge
26. Towards Perfection • Knowledge • Technique
27. Towards Perfection • Knowledge • Technique • Creativity
28. Seriously. You need it. Knowledge
29. REad.
30. And when they tell you to do things, you do them. These people Know things.
31. There is a reason for everything. Technique
32. It’s not about small, its about shapely. Knife skills
33. Perfect just means even http://www.flickr.com/photos/redpeace/6277431836/lightbox/
38. HEAT
39. HEAT HEAT
40. HEAT HEAT
41. HEAT HEAT
42. Even. Tasty. Polka Dots.
43. “It says blanch the veg, put it in an ice bath, _then_ put it in the pan . . . ehhh” Blanching
44. Blanching. Just Do it.
45. The #1 Forgotten Rule of Meat Cookery. Don’t touch it.
46. If every piece is perfect, the final dish will be perfect. (DE/RE)composition
47. Daniel Humm and Will Guidara, Eleven Madison Park Cookbook “We define excelence as the culmination of thousands of details executed perfectly. We understand that true perfection is unattainable. But rather than be discouraged by that fact, we find inspiration in getting as close as possible.”
48. Thomas Keller’s three day >50 ingredient beef bourguignon
49. AKA Patient Food. Cooking with Time
50. The gateway drug. How to Make Pickles
58. Pickles
59. Or Corned Beef, or Bacon. One special ingredient. Thats it. HOW TO MAKE Pastrami.
67. Pastrami.
68. Patience. And a nice digital scale. How to make bread.
74. Beautiful Bread.
75. Technology as a tool for perfection. Cooking with Science
76. Sous Vide. How to perfect temperature.
79. Water
80. Water
81. Water Heating Elements
82. Water Heating Elements
83. Water Heating Elements Thermocouple
84. Water Heating Elements Thermocouple
85. Water Heating Elements Thermocouple Pump
86. Water Heating Elements Thermocouple Pump 60.5 40.8
87. Water Heating Elements Thermocouple Pump 60.5 40.8 PID Controller
88. Water Heating Elements Thermocouple Pump 60.5 40.8 PID Controller
89. Water Heating Elements Thermocouple Pump 60.5 40.8 PID Controller
90. Water Heating Elements Thermocouple Pump 60.5 40.8 PID Controller
91. Water Heating Elements Thermocouple Pump 60.5 40.8 PID Controller Food Sealed in Vacuum Bag
92. Eggs. 60.5C for 45 mins.
94. Besides impressing your friends. BUt WHY?
95. Getting iN Touch with your food.
96. Its about knowing and owning a major part of your existence. Not just about organic or local or gourmet
97. I’m not perfect.
99. I allow myself the occasional M.B.U.O.
100. I allow myself the occasional M.B.U.O.
101. I allow myself the occasional M.B.U.O. Massive Burrito of Unknown Origin
102. Just try harder. Love what you eat
103. Snobs eat better. Be a Snob.
104. twitter: @aq web: http://www.quirkey.com http://dev.paperlesspost.com Thanks!