> There is a lot of reflect on in this comment, if you care to do the work. You are mistaking your personal preference for a certain style of food for the "western norm" which is obviously not correct because you also exclude the French tradition, which most would consider part of the heart of western cooking. You then suggest that people with different preferences are either less informed (not a chef) or less sincere (wokeness) than you. I think you will find that neither is the case: there are many who are just as well informed as you who sincerely hold a different opinion.
We all worked in the same kitchen and at no time would the overwhelming use of spices and herbs (as in Indian cusiene) enhance our recipes when we sourced local, organic, grass fed animal proteins and seasonal vegetables.
I'm not discounting French cuisine, it's an over-valued archaic relic but a cornerstone of Western gastronomy nonetheless, what I am saying is that even Bocuse (the Godfather of modern French gastronomy) followed the adage that sauces were there to cover up mediocre cuts of meat.
Where as we worked in a farm to table whose entire point of existence was to do less and thus deliver a better dish as the work had already been done by the farmer who took care to deliver and pay close attention to quality over quantity. Something I knew well and learned first hand, and took very serious.
I did nearly my entire career in farm to tables, with short stints working under Michelin chefs or staging at James Beard awarded fine dining restaurants, and to be honest none of it was compelling enough for me to stay--they all tried too hard to carve their initials in to the clients stomach than take the time to focus and source for better ingredient that needed less inputs. Covering a dish with $7 worth of micro flowers doesn't make something 'good,' especially if that was sourced from a generic meat section from Shamrock's catalog.
Moreover, I also did a Biodyanamic apprenticeship in horticulture alongside all of that while I worked in European kitchens and then ran a Biodynmic farm in Hawaii after I completed my apprenticeship.
So, while you may have reason to think it's unfounded snobbery without all of his in mind, I would ask: have you ever gardened, let alone farmed? I used to ask the same to my fellow cooks and chefs, and the resounding response in all but one case was: no. And he had only began after he joined us.
Which is why I hold the position that I do.