a tasty iteration

is a complete increment

As Christmas approaches, I am preparing to have my first turn at feeding the whole family. I am cooking Christmas dinner for 11 people, five of whom are under five. I love cooking, so I am excited by this prospect. However, my family and I don’t share the idea of what tasty celebratory food tastes like. In many cases, my tastes are unique within the group. It has been the challenge of my year to create a menu that I hope will please everyone.

When I announced the menu in August, not only was it met with delight, but I had landed on some of the family's favourite recipes without knowing. (We have typically only been fed by the family's matriarch, so we have only shared food that she is comfortable preparing.)  This added a layer of pressure to find the best recipes for each of the menu items to the pressure of the event’s significance I already felt.

With my menu settled, I started playing with the recipes to find the versions most appealing to my family’s palette. My partner has a more mature palette than most of the family but relates to the broader group more than I do.

My partner is my user tester.

To start, we will have French onion soup. I have worked through three versions so far.

1.      My first version contained little more than Marmite, with a late added and small bouquet garnis.

2.      The second version had mushroom powder and a larger, more purposeful bouquet garnis. Marmite was still included, but it was ruled out for future versions.

3.      This week, I think I have found the version to scale up. It has mushroom stock, and Lee & Perrins.

This is iterative work. Each version is different from the previous one. By tasting the soup, I decide which ingredients and timings need to be changed in the next version. Then, I make a whole new batch and start again, doing things differently and creating a new version of the same thing.

As I settle on the recipes for each of the menu items, I am creating a collection of recipes that make up the menu. The menu is the product my family expects on Christmas Day. Each recipe needs to be created; just serving roast potatoes would not be considered a celebratory family dinner.

I need to create a dozen recipes to create the menu. Each recipe needs to be situated within the context of the previous recipes. Each recipe added to the menu is a step towards its completion. The menu doesn’t become a new version; it becomes a more complete version.

This is the incremental part.

Each increment needs to be iterated through until it becomes valuable. A recipe is valuable when it is repeatable and has known ingredients, timings, and temperatures. A menu is valuable when it has enough recipes to complete each course.

Iterative, incremental work.

It’s not one or the other.

It’s both.