What's a tasty dish that you invented?

The definition of the word “invent” is to design something that has never existed prior to that point.

Hanaya Yohei invented modern sushi in Japan around 1824. Jean-Louis-François Collinet invented Béarnaise sauce in France in 1836. Pat Olivieri invented the Philly Cheesesteak in the U.S. in the 1930s. Sam Panopoulos invented the Hawaiian pizza in Canada in 1962, but I wish he hadn’t. Regardless, it’s going to be difficult to find individuals on Quora who have truly invented a dish that was never created prior to that time. It’s a very unique accomplishment to innovate a recipe with no precedent. And although I’m engaged in perpetual culinary experimentation, I certainly cannot claim such a thing. But I can give you examples of a few dishes I’ve created that have very few identical versions in existence.

I developed a 15-layer bean dip in 2019 that is staggeringly delicious. With ingredients like ground chipotle chile peppers, chopped elote, homemade salsa, Barber’s Sweet Red Cheddar from England, and Tillamook Hot Habañero Jack from Oregon, it’s a combination of flavors with no equal. I doubt anyone else has ever made a dish that tastes precisely like this. However, did I actually invent its mother dish, the layered bean dip? Absolutely not! One Internet search reveals hundreds of recipes! So I would never claim this as an invention, merely a unique development in flavors and textures.

I was instantly thrilled with the French toast cupcakes I created in 2015 with a homemade maple bacon buttercream frosting. They’re delicious! At the time, I figured it was a relatively unique invention, especially with that subtle but noticeable bacon flavor in the buttercream! Later, I discovered well over 100 recipes for French toast cupcakes. And there are at least nine recipes for maple bacon buttercream, albeit not in combination with French toast cupcakes. So alas, this is hardly my invention. But it’s certainly unique.

I accidentally developed some incredible Nashville hot fried pickles one night in 2018. Impressed by the finished product, I thought surely there couldn’t be many recipes like this. But the Internet is a massive network, and the world is a huge place with a lot of experimental cooks! To date, there are now 26 recipes for Nashville hot fried pickles on the Internet. But I’d say few are as wonderful as mine.

The only three options that could remotely be classified as inventions

Scouring the 316 recipes I’ve developed, I can only find three items that had no known equal at the time I created them.

Option 1: I was preparing some hot chicken one night in 2020 when I found some tilapia filets in the fridge, slightly altered the remaining batter to complement fish, and spontaneously created Nashville hot tilapia. After some Internet searches, it didn’t seem to have any equal at that time. But since then, the Blue Horizon company in Houston started selling a Nashville hot tilapia.

A Reddit user also posted their version of this dish on February 22, 2023. Obviously, it isn’t clear if they had just created their version in 2023, or if they actually preceded my 2020 concoction without posting it online. This could loosely be called a culinary invention of mine. But I also see the similarity between hot tilapia and numerous other Nashville hot fish recipes that date back to the 1980s (typically halibut, catfish, or whiting). So I’m very hesitant to take credit for something that isn’t really that revolutionary, just a change in the type of fish.

Option 2: I experimented with chocolate milkshake cookies in 2010 that turned out pretty stunning, with the delicate flavor of a classic milkshake combined with the malted goodness of Whoppers candy! I even developed a malted milk buttercream frosting that tops the cookies now. Honestly, I don’t even like cookies, nor chocolate, and originally made them for my family of chocolate lovers. Yet they were so perfect, I actually won myself over! There are at least four recipes out there now, but none existed on the Internet in 2010. So perhaps I can lay claim to this dessert.

Option 3: In 2010, I defied the Internet and cookbook guidelines for chicken cordon bleu and ventured into unknown territory. Experimenting with different combinations of meats and cheeses, and major innovations in the sauce, I finally developed a pretty stunning finished product that was only loosely based on the original cordon bleu from 1940s Switzerland.

And then I did what any good southerner in the U.S. does. I surrounded it with a buttermilk biscuit. My homemade biscuits are different, extra buttery, extra peppery, with a secret ingredient that makes them unforgettable. The cordon bleu sauce proclaims its richness and depth but still shows restraint and doesn’t overwhelm the dish. The organic chicken and Italian Prosciutto and a thin slice of pork chop, and the Gruyère and Parmigiano Reggiano and aged Swiss, and everything from fresh basil to panko breadcrumbs all beautifully complement each other. And thus, I created the chicken cordon bleu biscuit. It looks messy, but the taste is fabulous! And I found no mentions on the Internet in 2010.

But because it’s still chicken cordon bleu at heart, perhaps this fails to qualify as a culinary invention. As originally stated, it’s nearly impossible to find someone on Quora who has truly invented any dish. But it was a fun trip down memory lane recalling the journey of some of my most unique concoctions.

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