Twenty-five years after the release of Anthony Bourdain’s chef memoir Kitchen Confidential, some customers in restaurants around the world still refuse to order seafood on Mondays. The book famously advised diners to avoid seafood due to the difficulty of sourcing and storing fresh fish on weekends.

Fish on Monday: A Persistent Myth

Like the mistaken belief that pork must never be eaten pink, and that microwaves have no place in top restaurants, kitchen myths can take on a life of their own.

• Food myths can be influenced by the culinary landscape of the time in which they were created.
• Anthony Bourdain’s seafood hypothesis in Kitchen Confidential was met with skepticism by Australian seafood suppliers and chefs.
• Once an idea takes hold in the food world, it spreads faster than burrata menu fever.

When Kitchen Confidential hit the shelves at the turn of the century, Australian seafood suppliers and chefs bristled at Bourdain’s seafood hypothesis as inaccurate. It didn’t help. Once an idea takes hold in the food world, it spreads faster than burrata menu fever.

Debunking Food Facts vs Fiction

Pork doesn’t need to be overcooked to be safe to eat and can be enjoyed with a hint of pink in the middle, says an Australian Pork Limited spokesperson.

1. Medium-rare pork is typically cooked to 63C, while well-done is 77C.
2. Letting the dish rest uncovered for one to two minutes after cooking can help achieve the best results.

When it comes to poultry, more caution is required. Food Standards Australia New Zealand advises against washing raw chicken before cooking, as it can spread harmful microorganisms around your kitchen.

Debunking Drinks Myths

Wine drinkers can be set in their ways, with the myth that only red wine matches with red meat still holding with many punters.

• Caleb Baker, co-owner and wine buyer at Melbourne hospitality venues Mr West and Bar Spontana, disputes the idea that operators place the highest mark-up on the second-cheapest wine.
• Annita Potter, chef-owner at Viand restaurant in Sydney, disagrees with the notion that Thai food and wine don’t belong together.
• Loic Avril, head of wine at Lucas Restaurants, champions the idea that Thai food and wine can be paired.

Wine drinkers can be set in their ways, with the myth that only red wine matches with red meat still holding with many punters. However, wine experts argue that red wine is not the only option for pairing with red meat.

Daring Pairings

Malaysian cuisine, Ho Jiak owner Junda Khoo said: “I’m not sure if it’s a myth or not but back home they say if you drink beer while eating durian, it can kill you.”

1. Junda Khoo will soon add a Melbourne CBD restaurant to his eastern seaboard Ho Jiak chain of restaurants.
2. Sean Connolly, chef with a fine-dining background, believes kitchen myths are often created by traditionalists.
3. Caterina Borsato from Melbourne CBD stalwart Caterina’s Cucina e Bar disputes the idea that parmesan shouldn’t be in the same postcode as seafood.

Restaurant myths are often sparked by a break with tradition. Khoo received criticism from some of his customers who objected to him using white wine in Malaysian dishes, or butter when the original recipe used oil.

Breaking Down Barriers

A traditional match of hot, spicy Thai food with a room-temperature red wine isn’t going to cut it, however. “Chilled red wine is perfect, you want the fruit to generate a pillow of texture,” Avril said.

Aromatic whites team perfectly with coriander and lemongrass, rieslings with sweetness and spice, and “skin contact” whites with a classic green chicken curry.

Avril also champions non-alcoholic wines as Thai friendly. “The acidity, freshness of fruit and zinginess goes well with lighter-style Thai dishes, and lemongrass,” he said.

Restaurant myths are often sparked by a break with tradition. Khoo received criticism from some of his customers who objected to him using white wine in Malaysian dishes, or butter when the original recipe used oil.

The Impact of Innovation

Innovation and creativity in the kitchen can sometimes lead to the creation of kitchen myths.

“I’ve been told chocolate and passionfruit don’t go together, [but] that’s bollocks,” says Sean Connolly.

“That whisky and oysters will give you a bad stomach … [but] these days there’s a lot of smashing everything together,” he said.

One of those overarching rules, staunchly guarded by many Italian chefs, is that parmesan – or any cheese, for that matter – shouldn’t be in the same postcode as seafood.

Definition:

Caterina Borsato from Melbourne CBD stalwart Caterina’s Cucina e Bar is in that camp and admits to being unsettled when she recently spotted a blob of cheese with octopus ragu.

The Power of Education

With more access to information than ever before, kitchen myths can slowly begin to fade away.

Danny Russo, co-owner at chefs’ hatted Sydney restaurant Sala, said: “Customers have so much access to information these days, a lot of those old myths are dying.”

“Pork doesn’t need to be overcooked to be safe to eat and can be enjoyed with a hint of pink in the middle,” an Australian Pork Limited spokesperson, Lylle Balzer-Blackstock, said.

Conclusion

In the culinary world, myths and misconceptions can have a lasting impact on the way we cook and the way we eat.