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Chaud Froid | The Pressure of the Dollar

Attention to detail was the key to success with chaud froid sauces. The Béchamel would have to be prepared and a small portion would be chilled to test the flavor and texture when eaten cold. If the sauce needed to be adjusted in either manner, flavor and/or texture, the same cooling and tasting procedure would take place. In many cases the texture would have to be adjusted a number of times in order to get the consistency that would provide an excellent mouth-feel and accomplish its task of glazing or containing (molded shell).

Unfortunately, kitchens began feeling the financial pinch of rising food and labor costs moving into the 1960s. Many chefs found themselves cutting corners and attempting to speed up the chaud froid preparation. Many figured that if it tasted good while hot, it would do just fine cold. Nothing could be further from the truth simply because flavors are more subtle when cold than when they are hot. In order to avoid the back and forth adjusting of the texture, many chefs decided to error on the side of too firm right from the start, thereby guaranteeing that the food would look good. But what looked good didn't feel appetizing in the customer's mouth because of the firm texture, and what looked good was fairly bland simply because the sauce would be under-seasoned for a cold presentation. The shining star of chaud froid was starting to fade.

The results of rising costs were even more startling during the 1970s and 1980s. Hotels and country clubs, most noted for chaud froid work, had to cut back on the number of personnel employed as well as pull-back the payroll scale. Many highly paid and skilled chefs were put out of work as food service operations tried to keep pace with tightening budgets. The highly skilled, classically trained chefs were replaced with lesser experienced and lesser paid individuals. Many of these individuals didn't have classical training because many culinary institutes were attempting to provide the industry with graduates who could step right onto a line or right into a banquet kitchen. The culinary institutes were also feeling the financial pinch. They were placing a disproportionate amount of education time on modern cuisine, while classic training took a back-seat. They hoped that possessing a greater knowledge of modern cuisine would place their students in a better position to be hired in the food service industry. This would provide the culinary institute with excellent placement numbers which in turn would attract more students. Money. So, students were lacking in the classical techniques as they were coming out of culinary school, and because of budget restraints, they were not getting on the job training.

This inability to perform in the kitchen, coupled with an increasingly disappointed clientele brought chaud froid preparations to their lowest level of popularity. It reached a level where chaud froid presentations had become a joke.

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