Ideas from Kai-Sean Lee
Explore below how Chef Kai-Sean’s Deep Dive takes us from Swan Lake to the dinner table, where food, dance, swans, and cultural memory intersect...and even remind us of home.
DIM SUM IN POPULAR CULTURE
The children's picture book titled "Dim Sum for Everyone!" by author Grace Lin introduces the Chinese tradition of Dim Sum as a family shares their favorite dishes at a bustling Dim Sum restaurant. Image courtesy: Grace Lin
In Pixar's "Bao" (2018), a Chinese mom, and new empty nester, gains a newfound motherhood when one of her dumplings springs to life. Image courtesy: Pixar
In the 2017 film Crazy Rich Asians, Rachel is an outsider in her new boyfriend's life. One of the most pivotal scenes in the film is when Nick's mother explains that the process of making dumplings by hand is the tradition that ties the family together. Otherwise, "they'll disappear." Image courtesy: IMDb
Return to The Handmaid's Tale
GASTRONOMICAL SWANS
Perhaps one of the most difficult latte art designs, the swan requires detailed handiwork to perfect. Timing, cup angle, and a steady hand work in harmony to create this delicious piece. Image courtesy: adamranck via Flickr
Making sugar swans for pastry involves inflating a molten ball of sugar using a 4-inch copper tube in your mouth. Once you master the technique, you can do just about anything. Image courtesy: Clemens Staudinger
In S16/E6 of The Great British Bake-off, Nataliia Richardson created a swan-shaped tart based on a personal memory. The swan is set on a "lake" of fillings, including raspberry, pistachio, and chocolate ganache. Image courtesy: VK
In S15/E2 of The Great British Bake-off, Sumayah Kazi created an edible biscuit ballet theater inspired by a personal memory. At the top of the theater, two swans curve towards each other so that their beaks meet in a "kiss." Image courtesy: VK
A traditional French dessert, Choux pastry swans are created by splitting a rounded teardrop puff in half, piping cream into the bottom, using two halves of the top as wings, and tucking an "S" shaped puff into the front. Image courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
Cooking Like You're Dancing
In Ratatoullie, when Alfredo Linguini is under the control of Remy the Rat, his body moves with a musical fluidity to chop vegetables and toss ingredients into pots. Image coutesy: IMDb
FX's "The Bear" is known for its fast-paced scene work in which the chefs are seemingly choreographed with a deep physical rhythm in order to avoid bumping into each other and disrupting the flow of the kitchen. Image courtesy: FX
In the early 2010s, rapper Lil B popularized the "cooking dance," where you wave your hands as if you are stirring a pot. This eventually evolved into the massive internet phrase, "Let him cook," which is mostly used to mean let someone do something they're good at. Image courtesy: Pitchfork