It was apparent to me recently that my creative process was becoming an ossified series of systems, or a thinking template if you will. Every season I have the responsibly to change the Alinea menu virtually in its entirety, and recently I have been actively pursuing the task in a methodical way.
I call it the anti-creative way, because it rarely produces something truly original or new. Sure, dishes read differently on paper, ingredients are substituted for one other, and presentations vary slightly. And I might even go so far as to say that most of the guests of the restaurant would consider the creations "new." But I won't say that, and the frustrations go on. I joke to my sous chefs all the time, "You only come up with one Hot Pot a year." I'm referencing the Hot Potato-Cold Potato dish that we came up with in October 2006, which to me is a great example of creative thinking and originality.
