|
Yes, plenty of people would prefer to go to proper restaurants. And in proper restaurants, the chef and owner have conspired to create a menu and experience that appeals not to themselves, but to other people. Other people who enjoy good food. Appealing to other people has nothing inherently to do with creating MacDonalds. Appealing to other people is what professionals do when they want to achieve financial solvency and thus continue to practice their trade.
You're not completely wrong. I don't know any top chefs that would advocate running polls and basing their cuisine on that. Most I've talked to (and that's more than a few, as my family was in the business) generally attempt to provide what the general upscale restaurant goer might enjoy and then throw in a couple dishes or specials that offer a challenge to the average upscale diner. Very few of the top chefs these days maintain an "I know best, eat what I give you" attitude.
For intsance, Andre Soltner (of the legendary Lutece in NYC) said, "My whole life -- well, the last 45 years of it -- I gave my blood for the customers."
Jeremiah Tower (of Stars. Founder of California cuisine when he was at Chez Panisse) had a policy where the staff was not permitted to tell a customer 'no'.
Jean-Georges Vongerichten (Vong and JoJo in NYC) cooked in Thailand for awhile, and -hated- Thai food at first. He didn't stop making it for people though, because the market wanted Thai food.
Jasper White (Jasper's in Boston, though it's closed now) once said, "I listen to what people want, and I believe in making people happy. Over the years I've had many requests for vegetable plates, so about three years ago I put it on the menu."
Even the man who is arguably at the top of the heap currently, Thomas Keller (French Laundry in Napa and Per Se in NYC), reknowned for serving 4 hour meals with up to 12 courses, doesn't simply make what he wants, particularly as what he wants is often just a simple roast chicken (few top chefs go home and eat the style of food they serve at the restaurant), which would NOT go over with the customers, who are there for an experience different from simple roast chicken. Keller also cut back somewhat on some of the more esoteric preparations (too many froths, purees, etc) after the market rejected them, and this is at a restaurant in one of the most sophisticated food markets in the world.
The thing it's not about the extremes. Catering to your player or customer doesn't make you MacDonalds. It makes you service-oriented, and that's the name of the game. Alice Waters (Chez Panisse in Berkeley and the person responsible for the style of cooking that's come to dominate the food scene for the last 20 years) said, "I like to think that we're helping them to moderate what they're eating, and showing them that you don't have to eat a 12-ounce T-bone steak - you can enjoy just a couple ounces of meat cooked quickly on the grill. But in case I'm not persuasive, I try to accomodate them. If I have the time, I'll really go to an extreme to do so."
Now that is the mark of a professional chef. She wants to help the customer elevate his level of food appreciation, but if the customer isn't interested, she gives him what he, the customer, wants. THAT is a professional, not someone who says, "I will only cook what I personally feel like cooking that day." That person may be a great cook, but being a great cook and running a restaurant are hardly the same thing, which accounts for why so many restaurants fail.
It's a bit different in MUDs, as hobbyists have no external pressure to get players (the opposite in fact, as players = higher hosting bills), but regardless, to equate those MUDs who actually care about providing people with what they want is as silly as condemning all the chefs I mentioned above for trying to please their customers. Pleasing customers is a good thing.
--matt
|