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

Full video, plus rest of lectures series can be found here: 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.

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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: stellaculinary.com/f-step-written-curriculum-digit…