The end of culinary confusion
In my youth, I thought that cooking was a complex labyrinth where talent was measured by the ability to take many detours. I believed that the more steps, rare ingredients, and convoluted techniques a recipe had, the more worthwhile it was. It was a vision of gastronomy as a demonstration of force, a permanent spectacle. But after sixty years of practice, I have understood that these detours add nothing to the truth of the matter. They only create noise, confusion and, ultimately, fatigue. Maturity taught me to look for the straight line: the shortest and most honest path between the raw ingredient and deep satisfaction.
The straight line is the refusal to get lost in artifice. This is the end of the culinary confusion that pushes us to add sugar to balance poorly controlled acidity, or starch to give consistency to a broth that is too light. By eliminating these crutches, we force ourselves to an absolute requirement. We can't cheat anymore. This direct trajectory is of rare elegance, but it requires a courage that complexity ignores. It is the choice of clarity against darkness, of truth against lies. In cooking as in life, the straight line is the mark of those who know where they are going.
The direct path to satiety
From a metabolic point of view, the straight line is the most efficient route. When you eat a meal consisting of a quality protein, a green vegetable and a little sea salt, you are sending a clear and direct signal to your body. There are no glycemic 'detours', no insulin peaks that disrupt the process, no unnecessary storage. The body receives nutritional information, assimilates it and transforms it into pure energy. It is the most direct trajectory from hunger to real, lasting satiety.
This efficiency is the key to a diet naturally low in carbohydrates. Fast carbohydrates are, by definition, energy detours: they provide immediate but ephemeral satisfaction, forcing the body to manage surpluses that it does not know how to process. By following the straight line, we eliminate these disturbances. We discover that the body does not need complexity to be happy; he needs accuracy. This economy of means releases immense vital energy. We no longer eat to knock ourselves out, we eat to elevate ourselves. The straight line is the secret to quiet power.
An aesthetic of strength and clarity
There is an intrinsic beauty in the straight line, an aesthetic of strength that speaks for itself. Look at a plate where perfectly grilled fish rests next to a handful of crunchy vegetables. There is nothing to add, nothing to take away. It is an image of completeness and serenity. This beauty of essentiality is something that complexity can never create, because it relies on trust. Confidence in the product, confidence in the gesture, confidence in the body that will receive this food.
This aesthetic is reflected in clarity of mind. When we eat 'right', we think 'right'. We are no longer burdened by the mental fog of laborious digestion or hormonal fluctuations. We find a sensory and intellectual acuity that allows us to see the world as it is, without the filters of fatigue or irritability. The straight line is a discipline of the eye and the palate which ends up sculpting our character. She teaches us that true elegance lies in paring, not in accumulation.
Taste without the veil of artifice
When we remove everything superfluous, when we follow the straight line to the end, what remains is the truth. And this truth is of unsuspected richness. We discover that the taste of a pure ingredient is infinitely more complex and satisfying than any industrial mixture. We no longer need fast carbohydrates to 'enhance' the taste, because the taste is already there, vibrant and complete. It’s a revelation that radically changes our relationship with food. We no longer seek to be entertained by artificial flavors, we seek to be nourished by reality.
This revealed truth is the foundation of unshakable health. The body recognizes the truth and responds to it with vitality. The dietary lie creates illness and decline. By choosing the straight line, we are choosing biological honesty. We stop cheating with our own metabolism. It is a process of respect for oneself which brings a satisfaction that no sugar, no flour can ever offer. The truth is tasty; you just need to have the courage to taste it without artifice.
Clarity as a compass for future generations
What I leave as a legacy after sixty years of life and cooking is this compass of clarity. I want my children and grandchildren to know that cooking, like life, can be simple and profound at the same time. That the straight line is often the most elegant and the most effective. I want them to understand that true satisfaction comes from honoring simple things, never from the sound and fury of unnecessary complexity.
This heritage is a tool of freedom. In a world that constantly seeks to complicate our lives in order to better sell us ready-made solutions, the straight line is an act of resistance. It is the ability to say 'no' to the superfluous in order to say a big 'yes' to the essential. It is the wisdom of maturity placed at the service of youth. If I can convey this clarity to them, then my work as a cook and a man will be accomplished. The straight line is drawn; all they have to do is follow it with confidence and joy.
The elegance of the direct trajectory
Ultimately, cooking as a straight line is a celebration of life at its purest. It is the refusal of compromises that weaken and detours that lead astray. It is the choice of power, health and beauty.
I invite you to draw your own straight line. Simplify your plate, purify your actions, and listen to the truth of your ingredients. Do not fear emptiness, for that is where true fullness is found. The straight line is the shortest path to yourself, to your health and to your happiness. Follow it without hesitation, and let clarity illuminate every bite of your existence. True satisfaction is not at the end of the labyrinth, it is right there, in front of you, in the simplicity of the essential.
