Letter to a Young Chef: The Philosophy of Clean-Go
By Rob Curran
Clean-go – you better believe it!
Some people call it “clean-as-you-go,” but for clean-go people that just seems like a lot of wasted words that some poor editor is going to have to work hard to cull.
Clean-go. It's the only way to go. I cook almost every day and I could not do so without the clean-go philosophy. The classic Showy Home Chef move is to whip up some complex dish and absolutely trash the kitchen in the process, then retire to the cigar room with a tacit "I cooked, you clean" glance over their shoulder. It’s the chef version of the “artistic license” excuse that 20th century boors invoked after throwing up all over their agent at their art-show opening. Some will argue that you cannot create art if you are not prepared to create a royal mess in the process, and I will agree, but I also feel obliged to clean up that mess after – or during – the process. Unfortunately, in the culinary arts, you could cook a five-course meal fit for an emperor but your cohabitants will hate you more for the mess than they'll ever love you for the food.