I say "Bah" to rules. Tradition is important but so are experimentation and personal preference.

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It all depends on your philosophy on respecting the person who made the food for you.

If you believe that the chef or the friend who makes the food for you when you go to the restaurant or over to the friend's house is JUST taking the action of cooking the food, which is something that you could have done yourself, then you can just season away since the chef or your friend aren’t adding any value to your meal.

If you believe that eating at a restaurant or friend’s house is about the chef or friend opening up their home to you and inviting you to eat what they have taken the time and effort to prepare and serve, then you will respect that time and effort and not make any modifications to the food by salting it immediately without even tasting it, or dousing a 1:1 ratio of ketchup to food on your plate.

Remember, preparing a meal can be an art form. Enjoy the Mona Lisa with the smile that Da Vinci gave to her; don’t go sketching in the smile that YOU think she is supposed to have. Make your own masterpieces in your own home studio.

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I have a real problem with people grabbing salt, pepper, parmesan, etc., without first TRYING the food. Especially when those people pile it on. If I was the chef and spent time figuring out what combination and strength of flavours would compliment my dish and then someone dumped salt and pepper all over it, destroying my efforts, it would piss me off too. Now, if they tasted it first, then said, "nope, needs salt." Then I can at least say it wasn't to their taste. But just casually dumping stuff on it screams close-mindedness and ignorance.

I actually know a manager who refuses to hire people who season their food before tasting it. They can season after the first taste if they like. It's the final stage of his interviews. He does so because he believes it says a great deal about the person. I'm inclined to agreee.

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i say we eat like 3 times a day for 70 years or so, so there is time for both. the traditionally made and served meals should be eaten at least once.

but then, food is about personal taste and pleasure, and lots of traditional meals just aren't very tasty.

so we make improvements to them and eat what we like.

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I'm not a chef, but I portray one in my own kitchen...

I always underseason food when I serve it. I like way too much salt, and if I were to make it how I feel it is perfect, others couldn't eat it.

But, to the point, there should only be a few rules:
1) No double dipping
2) 10 seconds max for food on the floor
3) The part the dog touched must be cut off
4) Salt and usually pepper should always be on the table. Soy sauce can substitute for salt.

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I'm not a fan of rigid food rules simply because I don't like to view any part of the food world as rigid - the whole art of the culinary arts is in experimentation, personalization, and adaptation. While I certainly agree with the poster above that seasoning a dish before evening tasting it is absurd, I absolutely don't think we should ever feel bad about customizing our dish to best suit our tastes.

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I agree with not seasoning before you tase. However, when I cook for people, I want them to enjoy their meal to the fullest extent possible. If that means they add seasoning, I don't care. The point is for them to enjoy, not for them to eat food seasoned at the same level I eat it. As for restaurants, when I'm paying for a meal I'm going to enjoy it. Not everyone has the same tastes. I am the customer. I pay the chef's salary, and customers like me are the reason the restaurant remains open. If I want pepper on my brocolli I'm going to add it.

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While I agree that minor alterations (i.e. cheese, salt, pepper) are acceptable, I usually feel that I shouldn't have to make any adjustments to my food when I'm dining out. I feel like my food should be ready to eat when the waiter puts it in front of me, and if isn't right then I'm just not going to order it again.
This is what drives me crazy about a restaurant like Olive Garden. I don't want a waiter hovering over me topping my food with cheese at the table -- if it was supposed to be on there they should do it in the kitchen.

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My mom (a full-blooded Italian) would never allow the grated stuff on anything with shrimp, clams or any other type of seafood. She also for some reason banned it from mushroom-only sauces.

I don't agree with such gestapo-type rules, but I usually trust the chef's instincts with regard to his/her unique preparations.

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i have a friend who went to cooking school, and she always tries to tell me the "right" way to prepare something or season it. i normally counter this with a "i don't WANT it like that" like a five-year-old. i pay absolutely no attention to any sort of food rules - i much prefer inventing things on my own, like a macaroni and cheese taco... i wonder how many rules that's breaking.

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I agree with Michael and Astin.

I love to cook. I am by no means a chef, but I cook often, and (I believe) I cook well. Nothing in this world drives me more insane than when I cook for someone who immediately douses their dish in generic hot sauce (ie, regular Tobasco) **before even tasting it**.

My boyfriend used to do it all the time when we first met, and I slowly tailored my cooking to be spicier and we slowly built up a collection of hot sauces so I wouldn't have to feel like he was dousing my food in spicy ketchup.

How hard is it to give someone one spoonful, a moment of consideration to even TRY the food the way it was prepared for you before adding what you will? Now, granted, if I was making him fries, or chicken nuggets, or some other 'i dont want to cook tonight lets make something quick and easy' type meal that's different. But if you slave a way for an hour or so trying to make someone good food and they dont' even try it? Maybe I'm sensitive but it's such a let down, so deflating.

I like seeing someone react at their first few bites of the food I made them. I consider it an exentsion of myself to cook a good mean for someone, and am satisfied when they are.

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If one chooses to expose oneself as a 'rube' by pouring a bottle of catsup on a $50 steak (or whatever) that's their business. A gracious host should overlook that as it would be even more rude to make a scene, and, in a restaurant, said 'rube' is also a Customer. The Customer, while they may be ignorant, a barbarian, and are butchering the food, is also the one who is paying for the food.

If I ever had somebody on the waitstaff refuse to provide a condiment or chide me because I wanted a beverage that 'didn't go' with the meal, their tip would disappear very quickly. They would also lose repeat business and recomendations.

There should be some knowledge on the diners part regarding certain cultural aspects of a meal, especially when dining in somebody's home (soy sauce on rice for a Japanese meal for example) - that's just doing due-diligence, but any gracious host can overlook faux-pas such as that.

As for the 'pure intent' of the prepared meal, I think it's always good to taste before seasoning, but lets face it - everybody has different tastes, preferences, and comfort levels. Tweaking the seasoning to taste/familiarity is always acceptable.

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Well, let's see...The Italians have been making "grana" type cheeses for at least 1000 years. They have been harvesting seafood of every description since before the Roman Empire. Do you really think you are going to stumble upon a magical combination that some short order cook in renaissance Siena didn't try and promptly throw out? If you're talking about true fusion cooking, then experiment away, but in Italian food for certain, the "rules" are there because they are the benefit of the experiences of generations. Short answer, you want Romano on your spaghetti con le vongole, I throw you out...And I make fun of you afterwards to everybody that gets to stay....

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