Concessions

I don't mean hot dogs and popcorn, I'm talking about the question.

When is the diner's wishes more important the intentions of the chef?

Dishes do not just appear magically out of tears in the fabric of space, they are often toiled over with great care and anxiety to reach the goals of the creator. Then it becomes something very important to that chef so to order it in his or her restaurant and ask that it not have mushrooms can have an big impact.

The chef puts mushrooms in that dish (I'm using mushrooms as an example because I typically will not eat mushrooms and if I order something with them, I do ask for them to be omitted) because he feels it is an integral part of that dish. To omit them alters the delicate balance of flavors and thus cheapening the dish.

Right?

Or is only the customer that is relevant? You can't make money if the customers aren't happy enough to pay or come back (or in the first place). So wouldn't it then be more important to serve the customer as the customer sees fit?

It's a fantastic dilemma. A chef is an artist through and through. If you told Van Gogh that starry night has too many stars, or that Beethoven's fifth symphony could use less intensity you would be insulting these masters of their craft. Suggesting you know how to do their craft better than they is a slap in the face. Such is the same with a chef and his dish. 

This is why I like the growing popularity of degustation (tasting) menus. Not to be confused with small plates or tapas*, a degustation menu can be as many courses as the chef is willing to prepare. It puts you, the diner, at the will of the chef. He can prepare whatever he feels like will be his strongest dishes in a couple of bites for each course. You submit to the food and the chef. If I am ever fortunate enough to go to places like Thomas Keller's The French Laundry or Per Se, or El Bulli, Charlie Trotter's in Chicago I would have no hesitation in requesting a degustation menu. Regardless of my aversion of seafood and mushrooms, whoever the chef in the kitchen may be they will prepare for me their absolute best. Degustation menus allow a chef to put his best foot forward in five course (or however many).

Hell, I would even go to Le Bernadin in New York and ask for a degustation menu. I would eat anything Eric Ripert, The Prince of Seafood, or his staff might prepare for me. Everything can be delicious if it's made right. Right?

I also admire the idea that condiments are not allowed. You might see this in high end sushi. It is considered a slap in the chef's face to season your sushi after it has been served. The chef strives to reach something as close to perfection as he yet knows and you are going to sit there and add soy sauce? How dare you!

I like that idea a lot.

But is all this just too dramatic. Yes what a chef creates is deeply personal, but isn't also the goal of the chef to please his diners? Chefs are very much a part of the pleasure business, and I know I am not alone in this sentiment. It's no coincidence the Puritans forbade taking in too much enjoyment a the dinner table. So then shouldn't the chef want for every person to eat at his restaurant to have whatever their heart's desire? Even if that means omitting the mushrooms of your signature dish or making sure you have a slue of condiments at the ready on each table?

My dad doesn't like tomatoes that much. He can't stand chunks, so whenever he makes something with a tomato sauce he makes sure to puree it so there aren't any chunks. This fundamentally alters the texture of a dish. This kind of concession would probably offend me in my hypothetical high end award winning restaurant. But would I do it anyway? I don't like mushrooms and that's exactly the same type of thing.

I like to think about Chef Marco Pierre White when pondering this. Notorious for tossing people out of his restaurant, he once charged a diner 25 pounds for a plate of hand made potato chips because the customer insisted on a side of potato chips when none was offered or available.

*small plates are not tasting menus because they are whole entrees reduced in size primarily for aesthetics and cost though are also currently quite trendy. Tapas is different still, tapas are just snacks served concurrently with drinks like at bars before dinner. This makes them more like appetizers than small plates or degustation menus.