How do you like yours?

How do you like your steak? Medium? Still bleeding? Or cooked to a crisp? Whichever way you like it is the correct way for you, and no-one can convince you otherwise. Well, I think so, but it seems not evryone agrees.

I was in a restaurant recently - it's a bit quirky and serves 'gamey' sort of stuff - and the ostrich on the menu caught my eye. I've had it once before and loved it, so was excited about having it again - well, as excited as one can be about dead bird on a plate.

When it came to ordering I asked for the ostrich, and asked for it to be done "medium well". After all, that's how I like my food. Cooked.

"I'm sorry sir," said the waiter, "but we only serve the ostrich medium rare."
"Ok," I said " please can you ask the chef to do mine medium well - that's how I like it"
"I'm afraid that's not possible, we only serve it medium rare".

And that's it - my dining experience ruined within minutes of sitting down. I'm sorry, but who are you or your chef to tell me how I should have my food? You're serving me and I'm paying for it godammit. Don't pretend that 'that's the way it should be cooked' because it should be cooked how I like it. It seems these days that chefs concentrate on food being prepared in a certain way, and that no other way is acceptable.

A couple of years back, I had these concerns when we sat down with the chef who was going to cook the food for our wedding. After all, he was a chef with 10 years experience at the Dorchester under his belt - he was bound to cook things 'the way they should be cooked'. How refreshing then, when he asked me how we should do the lamb. A bit sheepishly (pun intended), I replied that I actually like it fairly well done. "Excellent!" he said "I love my meat well done - that's how my mum used to do it, and that's the way I like it."

So there's my vindication right there. I used to have tomato ketchup sandwiches when I got in from school - in my opinion they're great, and if you've never tried one then you're really in no position to comment otherwise. I once knew a guy who used to love a plate of mashed potato with a tin of Heinz tomato soup poured over the top. Never tried it myself - but hey, whatever rocks his boat.

My point is - whatever you like/don't like, that's fine. But none of us should dictate what others' tastes 'should be' as defined by convention. Eat what you want, how you want it!