Broaden Your Food Horizon

Important Rules When Cooking

As a Head Chef and leader in the Kitchen, I am always spouting off about my Number 1 Rules. The most important Number One Rule is to “always to have more than one Number One Rule”. The second Number One Rule enforced upon my doe-eyed first year apprentices, however, is to “TASTE EVERYTHING”.

Tasting as you cook is an important and most effective way to broaden your food horizons (not to mention easy and enjoyable). For myself, it is also the very first test I give to perspective candidates who wish to work for me. Surprisingly it has a failure rate of 95% amongst new candidates. Unfortunately, working in the hospitality industry is reserved for those with a great passion for it. Thankfully, tasting the end result of these trials is an affair we all can have.

Build your flavour memory

By tasting everything you can achieve greater experience for yourself. You get to experiment with these new flavours and entice the palates of your diners. We may need to call in the experts as to how it works, however I believe a person builds a flavour memory repertoire through the process of tasting. Your brain is then able to call upon this flavour memory when you are actively thinking of food. For me this is the best way to create new and tantalising dishes. By calling upon my own “flavour memory” when creating recipes I am able to share my flavour experiences with all my diners.

My advice to you all is to try a food that is different, strange or foreign to you. Yes, you may not like it. The alternative is that you may end up loving something you never thought of to try before. The one thing that is certain is that your dining experience will broaden, and you may just find a unique flavour that you want to share with others. So, roll up your sleeves, stick out your tongue, and taste. Broaden your food horizons.