The sense of discovery in gastronomy is nothing more than the application of the classic sixth sense. Not an innate talent, but an aptitude to be developed and cultivated.
Our five senses are an extraordinary physiological resource but they can be of little use if we do not stimulate, educate and exercise them. The sommelier’s sense of smell, like the mushroom hunter’s eyesight, are not innate gifts. Instead, they are the result of daily testing, resulting in the accumulation of memory and cataloging of perceived stimuli.
The same goes for a gift that is unanimously and erroneously believed to be innate instead: the sixth sense. “You either have it or you don’t” is the deceptive and misleading formula that too often causes us not to cultivate it and make it an extra weapon in the toolbox of tools that can make our lives richer, more enjoyable and fulfilling.
Unlike the classical, codified five senses, the sixth sense is a kind of magical Swiss Army knife. able to provide us, from time to time with the right (or necessary) tool. In the area of food and wine, the most valuable variant is. the sense of discovery, an attitude that must be handled with caution and wisdom and that is stimulated by two antithetical drives, curiosity and delusion.
Discovery driven by illusion
Those who wield the sense of discovery motivated by illusion seek confirmations to worlds that they have preemptively constructed in their heads and are doomed to frustrating endings. Included in this category are the serial consultants of food guides and TripaAvisor addicts: they arrive determinedly at the restaurant, sit down, open the guide on the corresponding page and order according to the idea they have preconceived. All it takes is a variation in menu items, a turnover in the wine list, the introduction of some new “dish of the day” to send them into a tailspin and turn the illusion in an instant into bitter disappointment.
Discovery driven by curiosity
Those who are driven by curiosity, on the other hand, go constantly in search of, along with discoveries, of their own enrichment, both cultural and sensory at the same time. He will achieve rewarding results especially if he avoids – always – jumping in at the deep end: discovery, in fact, should be preventively Investigated, prepared, planned.
No matter how far the journey takes us, a neighborhood in our city, a neighboring country or a nation on the other side of the world. In any case, we will not be able to exercise our sense of discovery if we know nothing about that neighborhood, that country or that civilization. Without forgetting that the tentacles of globalization have reached everywhere and even to the most remote peripheries of the world one must activate antennae to distinguish between true, false, and imitation.
Often a quick glance at the cartons accumulated around the nearest dumpster or in the back of the farmhouse housing the “delightful” country inn is enough to expose falsehoods. Discovering that “freshly caught” sea bass come from a Turkish aquaculture. That Greek salad feta has emerged from a carton proudly sporting the words “Danish Feta Cheese.” That the matrix of the succulent creaminess of lasagna springs from the packaging of an unknown brand of sottilette.
Sniffing, tasting, listening
We live in a time when the creativity of chefs reigns, but at their table we may discover nothing more than their recipes. If, on the other hand, we want to access new atmospheres and flavors that we do not know we must beat other paths, be guided not only by the eyes that read but, above all, by our ability to sniff, taste and listen. Never forgetting that our sense of discovery will fail if we go in search of something that did not exist before while it will be enhanced if we succeed in find the key to enter worlds that have been waiting for us: the explorer’s destiny is not to discover new things but to breathe new life into ancient worlds.
