[Banks2334]

One of my favorite chef/authors is Anthony Bourdain. In his book A Cook's Tour, he does a good job describing what an experience at Thomas Keller's French Laundry is like. Keller gives some insight into what he is trying to accomplish and that is to create a memory. A memory that when the person goes somewhere else, they will say "This remeinds me of the French Laundry". Bourdain goes on to write-

Memory-that's a powerful tool in any chef's kit. Used skillfully, it can be devastatingly effective. I don't know of any other chef who can pull it off so successfully. When you're eating a four-star meal in one of the worlds best restaurants, and tiny, almost subliminal suggestions keep drawing you back to the grilled cheese mom used to make you on rainy days, your first trip to Baskin Robbins, or the first brasserie meal you had in France, you can't help- even the most cynical of us- but be charmed and lulled into a state of blissful submission. It's good enough when a dish somehow reminds you of a cherished moment, a fondly remembered taste from years past. When those expectations and preconceptions are then routinely exceeded, you find yourself happily surprised.