Burnt Onions? Really?

Increasingly, we see chefs deliberately burning food because, when handled well, the impact on the flavor can be positive, not negative. 

In Top Chef: Wisconsin ™, in the last round before moving to the Caribbean Cruise for the finals, Savannah won the Elimination round with a dish that used a jam/chutney of burnt onions and cherries. 

Onions can be eaten raw, or gently cooked, or deeply caramelized, and now burned black. The onions should be treated with respect and removed from the heat as soon as they are 'beyond caramelized' but before they turn to miserable ash. Catch them at the right time and they really do bring a beautiful flavor to a dish. Try it out sometime. It's my belief that the burnt onions need combining with a strong accessory like anchovies, or eggplant, which is why Savannah's jam was so remarkably good.