‘Chaos Cooking’ Is Coming — Are We Ready⁠↗

Part of the driving force behind many of these menus is chefs of color pushing back against the expectation that they must only cook the food of their families.

Like similar buzzwords “unhinged” and “deranged” that have gained more popularity recently as descriptors, “chaos” has become a positive. Something chaotic is wild and weird in a way that inspires a barking laugh in joyful disbelief. Chaos is the opposite of composure, which sounds like rules and order and boredom. Chaos represents a freedom from standards of aesthetic perfection and authenticity. As a wise steakhouse once said: No rules, just right.

Some of this may also have to do with the pandemic, which Argoti says forced enough people to learn how to cook the basics, and now the bar is higher. “The romanticism behind even a simple rice noodle dish and selling it as something you can’t get anywhere … it’s not as rare anymore,” he says. You have to make something people can’t make at home. He also notes that where once you had to watch a whole show or a half-hour YouTube video to learn how to make something, TikTok influencers are throwing things together in minutes. And half the time they’re basically pranks. Watch enough videos of butter wrapped in fruit roll-ups dipped in Tajín, mashed potatoes made from Pringles, and purple alfredo pasta, and a gentle marriage of Mexican and Italian flavors just isn’t going to cut it anymore.

But just as Picasso started breaking the rules after beginning as a profoundly talented realist painter, these chefs know exactly what they’re messing with.