Soup

Who made the soup? Any chef that sets out to make a soup must consider 3 very important points.

1. Ingredients and quality. After all is a soup much more than the sum of its ingredients. At time yes. Consider the origen of the ingredients. The sea, field, orchard, roof top, the farm. The source of the ingredients reaches much deeper that the corner market or mega grocery store. In a simple soup we can imagine tracing it back to its roots so to speak, we may even imagine what the fisherman was like or was it raining when the tomatoes were plucked from the vine. The ingredients and the freshness of those ingredients are paramount to the goodness of what is ladled into the bowl.
2. Timing. The best soups are those that are not rushed. In fact, it is my belief that the soup is always best served the day after it was made. A soup is slowly prepared with care and consciousness. The chef must be aware of the life that is or was in all of the ingredients. This is very important for the transfer of the chi of the soup into the eater. Time must be taken when sauteing or sweating the aromatics. timing and patience translates to love and respect for the food we consume.
3. Essence. A great soup is more than the sum of its ingredients. A great soup is the essence of culinary experience. A bowl of soup is eaten not with the mouth but with your heart. a soup is not tasted on your tongue but on the pallet of your soul.

It is these 3 key points that should not just be considered but lived by when making a soup......in all aspects of life.