The Chef-in-Editor

Editing has a lot in common with cooking, and it may be considered a fortunate coincidence when an editor shares both passions. Selecting the right ingredients from the abundance the market has to offer is the first step. Then you follow a recipe from somebody you can trust (not necessarily your own mother), throw in a little something following your inspiration, and you are bound to end up with something digestible: either a presentable dinner or the issue of a journal which readers will enjoy. Being a chef, however, gives you the additional amenity of an almost untouchable role. If he/she did it personally, it simply has to taste good. After all, it usually cost the consumer quite a bit to start with.

Yours truly is in the comfortable position that the market stalls are well-stocked and fresh produce keeps coming in by the pile, that he was trained in three-star establishments, and that he does enjoy his job immensely- always good prerequisites. Like many chefs he feels the continued urge to share his experience with others by publishing his own recipes.

For the potential contributor The Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgeon has therefore introduced completely new Instructions for Authors (see submission- or website, e.g.: the link http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/tcsurgeon). They are meant to be precise but concise at the same time, and, if followed, should provide the first step to success. Alas, like in cooking, you cannot expect to come up with a palatable result if you got your ingredients all wrong. A decent risotto does require the appropriate rice to start with: Carnaroli if possible, Vialone nano if you can find it, Arborio tends to come in very varied qualities, and other short-grained sorts such as Camargue round rice simply will not do. So if the basic concept of a study or its material is faulty, one can puff up statistics and put on lots of garnishment – it will continue to smack of something just not right. The connoisseurs won't like it.

If you do have the right ingredients it would be a shame to waste them. You can still overcook the best Carnaroli to mush or ruin everything at the very end by stirring in the wrong kind or amount of cheese and butter and forgetting to turn off the heat. Therefore, close adherence to a recipe is advised to prevent disappointment. The editor hopes that authors will find the new instructions helpful. They may seem a bit intimidating in parts, but a good dish does not come out of a bag. It has to be carefully assembled.

One last tip for the ambitious risotto cook: A vital situation is the refreshing of the slowly (!) softened shallots, garlic, celery or other root (if used), and rice grains with a generous shot of vermouth and/or wine after having turned up the heat. Do not forget to inhale deeply when the vapours start rising. The liquid must by all means be chosen according to the other ingredients planned to follow. Too strong a taste is to be avoided because of the danger of dominance. Noilly Prat (® Ets. Noilly Prat & Cie, Marseillan, France), for instance, is a very well balanced vermouth suitable for most white risotti. The chef has no financial interest to declare.