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

Video Description

Full video, plus rest of lectures series can be found here: https://chefjacobburton.gumroad.com/l/wmClU. 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. To get the most out of this content, please subscribe and listen to the Stella Culinary School Podcast found here, https://stellaculinary.com/scs, or anywhere else podcasts are available for download. 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-written-curriculum-digital-download