The Reason It’s So Hard to Recreate a Restaurant Dish at Home

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We’ve all been there, right? We try a dish at a restaurant that we LOVE and with a few questions before leaving and a bit of Google research, we’re confident that we can recreate the dish in the comfort of our own homes. It doesn’t seem like it’d be all that hard to do.

You shop for ingredients, get out your necessary kitchen tools, throw your hair in a ponytail and follow the recipe step by step. So then, why isn’t it ever the same? What are you doing wrong?

Honestly, probably nothing. It’s not that you aren’t a good cook or that you messed up somewhere along the way. It’s more likely that you’re missing something that wasn’t included in the recipe you found online.

A good chef has a lot of tricks up his/her sleeve. Most of those tricks are ingredients. But not just any ingredients, surprising ingredients that you wouldn’t expect to see in the dish you’re trying to recreate. It’s not that the recipe you found online isn’t good – I’m sure it is! But it’s not the SAME because whoever wrote that recipe may not have the same tricks as the chef who prepared it for you in the restaurant.

Here are a few surprising ingredients that add to a dish (without you noticing the ingredient is included at all):

  1. Tabasco: This is my dad’s secret weapon. If you try and recreate something from the M&D menu and you feel like it’s missing a little something … it’s probably Tabasco. And to answer your question … no, it’s not just used to add heat/spice to a dish. Many dishes won’t have that kick that you’re imagining at all. But there will be something you just can’t place your finger on … it’s Tabasco.
  2. Prunes: This one got me good. We were hosting a cooking class at a wellness retreat I organized and the dish was cauliflower steaks with a veggie based “steak” sauce. I think everybody in the class was super shocked to see prunes added into the blender during the sauce making process. Did we taste prunes in the sauce? Nope. Not a bit. But there was a super subtle sweetness that the prunes added that’s different than the sweetness you’d get from sugar or honey or anything else. Pretty surprising, right?!
  3. Sour Cream: Do you normally see sour cream on the list of ingredients when you’re baking a dessert? No. Does it add an amazing texture and moisture to a brownie, cake, pound cake or cookie? Sure does!
  4. Cornstarch: Want the secret to those perfectly crispy roasted vegetables? It’s probably cornstarch.

What do you think? Did any of these surprise you? What’s YOUR secret ingredient?

Rebecca McKinney

I was born a foodie. My dad is a chef, baker, and restaurant owner and my mom might as well be because she owns whatever kitchen she walks into. I grew up working in my family’s restaurant and bakery in Pawling, New York – McKinney and Doyle. I started behind the bakery counter at 12 years old after begging my parents to let me start working. At 16 I worked as a hostess. By 18 I was serving tables and training behind the bar where I then worked every other weekend throughout my college career. Even now, when I am visiting my family in New York, I help out where I’m needed. To make a long story short, the food and restaurant industry has been my life for as long as I can remember.

I wanted to create this blog for a few reasons. First and foremost, to share tips, tricks, and knowledge about the food and beverage industry in general but also to help people see a different side of the restaurant world. Every restaurant has a totally unique culture and world within it. I want to help open people’s eyes to more than how fast the service is or how easy or hard it is to secure a reservation.

So, thanks for stopping by! I welcome your ideas, input, and feedback and hope you enjoy!

Eat well & travel often,

Becky McKinney

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