Customers are coming to expect, and demand, more than a tired, tepid bowl of French onion or cream of chicken soup. Curried Roast Pumpkin—garnished with green pumpkin seed oil; Wild Leek and Red Lentil—with baby fiddle fern; or, Miso Mushroom Wonton—served with a flight of three sakes—are concepts showing up regularly on menus. In every major city, chefs are returning to the foundation of great cuisine…that is, great soups. And every great chef knows all truly outstanding soups must begin with a properly made stock.
In the mid 1970's, a 74-year-old Austrian Master Chef taught apprentices at a private club in Boston. There, over the course of a few years, Chef Bauhm taught the “144 basic sauces,” as well as the foundation of all culinary art. One of the original recipes given to the author by Chef Bauhm accompanies this article (see “Fond Brun” recipe). Compare this formula to a typical manufacturing formula used today. Obviously, the recipe is far too expensive for commercial use. However, soups made using this foundation as a beginning are incomparable. And, Starbucks Coffee (Seattle) has proven that a number of today's customers are ready to pay more for a clearly better product. Small “gourmet” manufacturers are beginning to respond to this demand for upscale products.