Eddie’s food grievances: flavor combinations that make no sense

Adeline (nickname: Eddie) loves food, a lot of it and often, both at home and out. Usually that goes well, but sometimes it doesn’t. In the series Eddie’s food grievances you can read about the latter. This time: those flavor combinations that make no sense.

Ever since chocolate with caramel and sea salt, I’ve become much more flexible with my flavor combinations. But you can also take things too far. We need to discuss those flavor combinations, once again with the enormous risk that I’ll never be invited to dinner anywhere again. But in the hope that I’ll never again be served a schizophrenic dinner.

Complete confusion

Wáááy on earth would you not stick to one region or cuisine when putting a meal on the table? I understand absolutely nothing. So recently I was served hummus with focaccia, and it felt so inappropriate. Not because it’s disgusting—it’s probably somewhat tasty—but it’s so unnecessary. You have divine flat bread to mop up your hummus with, just as you have perfectly good pesto to dip your focaccia in. Why throw that perfect order into disarray? Why assume you know better than the creators? Just don’t do it.

A little obsessive

I always get restless when the origins of a cuisine can’t be identified at the table. Ideally, I want to see at a glance what I’m dealing with. It doesn’t matter whether it’s lunch, a drinks platter or dinner. Asian? Delicious. Lebanese? Wonderful. French? Bon! I also immediately panic at a bring your own party without a theme. Becoming slightly obsessive, I start asking well in advance what all those random offerings are planning to bring, so that I can perhaps-maybe-possibly make the connections between all those dishes myself. Which of course never works. Leaving me with an even more schizophrenic shopping list.

Back to back

Now I have to admit that my head is already thrown off when I’ve had three sips of wine and dessert is already on the table. I’m capable of letting the ice cream melt, so that those two flavors don’t get mixed up. It does help if you tell me in advance that I’m going to be eating my way around the world. Not that it would then occur to me to spread hummus on my focaccia with Italian herbs—I’m still processing that in stages—but my outrage is just a little less intense. A buffet is truly hell, by the way. Especially when the creators didn’t have the decency to stick to one theme. Lasagna lying back to back with a little sausage—disgusting.

My own boyfriend

Tell me you’re a chef and know the divine connection between these two, and you won’t hear another word from me. But it immediately shows just how far my food tolerance goes. If a chef wouldn’t even think of mixing Indian cuisine with Italian, why on earth would you and I do it? Point made.

And just when I thought I had things reasonably safe and under control at home, my boyfriend asked whether I wanted some naan with the Greek appetizers. Taste-less.

Also read:

• Eddie’s food grievances: those people who don’t like anything
• Eddie’s food grievances: the battle with plastic wrap
• The grossest restaurant dining scene ever