The Parts Create the Whole: The Importance Of Interchangeable Parts

We had spiced pumpkin bucatini for sale. We had nduja butter for sale. A customer asked if we would make a dish of the two. My first reaction was that the idea was absurd. But our model was that our pastas, sauces, and accompaniments were interchangeable parts to be mixed and matched. I paused, mentally tasted the combination, and realized it was brilliant in its simplicity. The gentleman wanted cacio e pepe done with the elements on hand. They had invented a new classic using the flavors of the season: pumpkin, cinnamon, cayenne, nduja. I learned two things. Interchangeable parts and ideas are essential to creating and developing something new. Something new is built upon what has come before, whether we like it or not. The third lesson is that nothing is absurd; rather, it is unknown and not clearly thought through.