Concepts: Flavor Development

Hey Everyone! I know its been awhile since I've last posted but we've been pretty busy out at the Inn so I really haven't had much of a chance to write. But now here I am delivering an interesting blog post to you!

So the last concept I've really been into and learning about at work is the idea of flavor development. Its interesting to dig deep and start to learn about the palate and how people see and perceive food. I think this becomes even more interesting because we do both a three course pre fixe menu and 5 and/or 8 course tasting menus at the inn. So its this idea of trying to balance out the palate of a customer through out a meal so it doesn't become overwhelmed at any given time but following flavors in a progressive order so the palate stays interested. For example, I don't want to lacquer on heavy sauces from start to finish because the mouth would be coated and all that would stay with the mouth is the flavor of the sauce and nothing else would on the plate would be represented.

To start this explanation we are going to start out with a list of courses and go through flavor profiles and why they match up for said course.

Bar Snacks - Sent out to guests while at the bar, typically a combination of sweet/salty or salty/spicy flavors. This gets the mouth started and while eating foods like that its pushes for guests to start the evening with a cocktail or a aperitif.
Examples of Bar Snacks: Popcorn, Kale Chips, etc.

Amuse Bouche 1 and 2: We typically serve two amuses, one hot and one cold (don't get me wrong sometimes its one cold and one cold but lets continue). So the purpose of the amuse is to open the palate up for the meal. Offering a small bite to get the palate churning. Nothing complex about the flavors, we simple and striaght forward. The purpose is to open up not overwhelm. And typically one of the amuses we do is a small bite that can be picked up with the hand and one small composed. To be able to use the hands "breaks the ice" so to speak for a fine dining restaurant.
Examples of Amuse: Cold Amuse - Gelled Borscht with pickled beet, creme friache, trout roe
Hot Amuse - Smoked Trout Brandade with Hot Potato Foam and Espallete Pepper

1st Course: So now we are going to start the formal courses, the 1st course is typically an all cold course. At the inn we like to highlight different textures/preparations of an item so we'll show this now and continue on with that idea. Here we'll start playing around with acidity and sweet flavors. Get the palate working, keeping elements very simple but putting little twists. For example we have several different varieties of heirloom tomatoes growing on property and each tomato has its own flavor profile. So yellow tomatoes are typically sweet and tart, red tomatoes are high in acidity. So to make the tomatoes more interesting than just adding olive oil and salt to them we incorporate different flavor profiles through vinegars, etc to rise them to a new level. So for red tomatoes to make them not so acidic and add just a touch of sweetness, a drop of Cabernet franc syrup we might use. To add just a drop of acidity to the yellow tomatoes and tone down the tart, we might use balsam bianco. Its all about exciting the palate further and hitting interesting tones on the palate.
Example of 1st Course: Variation of Heirloom Tomatoes, Mozzarella Cheese, Tomato Madeline

2nd Course: Developing flavor profiles through Sweet and Acidity
Example of 2nd Course: Cucumbers with Cucumber Gazpacho and Crab

3rd Course: The fish course, profiles of sweet, acidity and spice.
Example of 3rd Course: Miso Sable Fish with sweet peas and wasabi

4th Course: Main protein course, this is were we start to bring all the major flavor profiles together hitting an overall balance on the mid palate.
Example of 4th Course: Texas Prime Beef with Onion Soubise, Agire Doux, Rosemary Crust, Beef Jus and Pomme Puree

Pre-Dessert: This is meant to cleanse the palate after the meal and for us is usually fruit driven. 
Example of Pre-Dessert: "Kir Royale" - Dewberries, Dewberry Sorbet, Champagne Foam, Dewberry Gel

Dessert: Typically we follow up with a chocolate dessert, because its a good way to end the meal, most people expect it at the end of a meal to follow up with a chocolate dessert.
Example of Dessert: Mint Ice Cream with Mint and Chocolate Mousse, Chocolate Crumble

I didn't want to long draw out this blog post so I started to shorten it up the way I did. But in all honesty, the idea and practice of flavor development really makes me interested in developing style of cooking from chef to chef. Its a subject that can be dug in more deeper which really allows for further thinking. But go off, think, develop, test and work with what you have through the seasons and see what you can do.

-Garrett