F is for Flavor | Culinary Boot Camp Day 1 | Stella Culinary School

Full video, plus rest of lectures series can be found here: https://chefjacobburton.gumroad.com/l.... Full video course includes bonus recipes and written curriculum.

This is the first video lecture in a series I shot at an in person culinary boot camp while I was still at Stella Restaurant. The culinary boot camp is a five day intensive course, that takes one day each to cover the five building blocks of recipe and dish creation; Flavor, Sauce, Technique, Execution & Preparation. Also known as F-STEP.

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Video Time Stamps and Links

00:00:00 - Introduction

* A little story about how a coconut macaroon changed my life.
* Why Technique is King.
* What is the F-STEP Curriculum and why was it created?
* The F-STEP Formula – (Flavor + Technique) X Execution =?

00:05:35 - Flavor Structure & F-STEP Formula

* Introduction to Flavor Structure and the F-STEP Formula
* The importance of execution, intuition and how to make decisions on the fly

* Understanding the five basic flavors
* Balancing the 5 major flavors

00:11:00 – Flavor #1 | Salt

* How does salt enhance flavors?
* Seasoning thresholds and ratios explained.
* How much salt do you need to properly season food?
* What’s the difference between expensive & cheap salt?
* Various types of salts & their uses explained; Iodide Salt, Kosher Salt, Finishing Salts, Fleur de Sel, Sea Salt, Maldon Salt, Smoked Sea
Salt, Lava Salt, Himalayan Pink Salt

* How does iodide salt affect flavor, and should you use it?
* Why is Kosher salt is great for cooking?
* What is the difference between kosher salt & sea salt?

00:29:14 – Flavor #2 | Sour (Acids)

* How to take your food’s flavor and seasoning to the next level using acids.

* Understanding the difference between cooking vinegars and finishing vinegars.

* How acid interacts with fat.
* The importance of acid as a seasoning.
* Using acid to balance your flavor structure.

00:36:00 – Strawberry Sorbet Intermezzo

* How walnut oil and salt enhance a sorbet.
* The importance of fat, flavor, and aroma molecules.

00:38:57 – Flavor #3 | Sweet

* Sweet (sugar) as a seasoning.
* Ratios of sugar used in various dishes.
* Use of sugar (sweet) in various savory applications.
* How to use sugar to balance the 5 major flavors.
* Piquancy & how sweet balances spicy food.
* Discussion on Scoville Units and the measurement of heat.

00:46:00 – Flavor #4 | Bitter

* The importance of bitter and balancing flavors.
* Contrasting flavors to create complex flavors.

00:51:20 – Flavor #5 | Umami (Savory)

* The story of umami and the creation of MSG.
* The Four Major Flavors.
* The tongue map of flavor (the 4 basic flavors).
* The discovery of umami (glutamic acids & free form glutamates).
* Ingredients that contain glutamic acids, umami, and savory flavors.
* The formation of Aji-no-moto Company (essence of taste).
* What is Mono Sodium Glutamate (MSG)?
* How the MSG craze was formed.
* CRS – Chinese Restaurant Syndrome
* Synergistic relationship of Inosine Monophosphate, Guanosine
* Monophosphate, and Mono Sodium Glutamate.
* Dashi broth and why it is so delicious.
* Savory ingredients you should stock in your kitchen.
* Is the tongue map correct?

01:08:12 – Palate Fatigue & Flavor X Factor

* What is palate fatigue and how do you avoid it?
* Adding flavor complexity through crunch and tactile sensation.
* Why restaurants serve small portions and tasting menus.
* Leveraging the olfactory system to make a memorable meal or dish.
* Duck Breast Reuben

01:21:17 – Flavor Punch & Interruptions

* How to create bold, powerful, flavors.
* Albacore Tuna Dish with Coconut Red Curry.
* How to make a complex curry sauce.
* Beef Bourguignon Dish

01:30:04 – Questions on Flavor Structure

* What does salt and pepper to taste mean in a recipe?
* What is a duck press?

You can buy a digital download of the written F-STEP Curriculum here: https://stellaculinary.com/f-step-wri...