1. Teaching Taste The Most Fundamental Skill for the Successful Chef Chef Christopher Koetke Executive Director Kendall College School of Culinary Arts Vice President, Laureate International Universities Center for Culinary Excellence chris.koetke@kendall.edu

2. Teaching Taste Setting a taste context Role of taste Taste 101 Teaching taste

3. Do Our Students Taste? How we train our children –Johnny –Jean And voila—what should we expect?

4. The Role of Taste Interpretation of food as: –Safe to eat –Nutritional needs –Define who you are –Delicious to eat-- pleasure Quality control

5. Taste 101: Visual Precursor to the chemical /physical appreciation –Is it safe to eat? –Do I want to eat it? Consider color, height, shape –Color and shape ex. What is absurd? Open kitchens Action stations

6. Taste 101: Hearing Can you really hear food? Bubbles Crunch Sizzle Kitchen sounds

7. Taste 101: Olfaction First chemical interpretation of food –Is it safe to eat? –Do I want to eat it? Two pathways –Nasal –Retronasal Alert system

8. Taste 101: Olfactory “Taste” 20,000 aromas Many levels of intensity Some very small Complexity Memory Nostril differences Social training Thermal role

9. Taste 101: Taste Final Chemical Analysis of food 5 tastes: sweet, salt, acid, bitter, umami The tongue map—taste buds in the mouth Super tasters: 25% population (2/3 women) Importance of finish

10. Taste 101: Texture Mouth “feel” Thermal Particulate Slimy, fatty, sticky, etc. Spicy

11. Taste 101: Other factors History and associations Social groups Religion Individual perceptions and biological differences Others??...

12. Teaching Taste Assessing our assumptions –Assume the students can’t recognize taste –Assume they have no taste library –Assume that they have no words for taste –Learn about our own taste, preferences, and preconceived ideas

13. Teaching Taste Objective: –Build skills –Build tasting library –Build vocabulary (not with a list) –Build an impulse to taste –Build a control

14. Teaching Taste The basics: –Ask lots of questions, prod and struggle –Assign words and categorize them –Make students write down words –Have fun! Disarm them –Make sure everyone contributes

15. Teaching Taste Organized tastings: –Up and down tasting –Redefine a familiar definition/experience –Comparative tastings (start very diverse) –Single tastings (start with familiar, build on library experiences)

16. Teaching Taste Non-organized tastings: –Reinforce tastings through curriculum –Take every chance to build library –Do not give answers! –Use the individual experience to teach the group –Use extremes –Use comparative tastings—i.e. the sauce

17. Teaching Taste TAAT: –Taste –Analyze –Adjust –Taste T A A T

18. Teaching Taste Advanced techniques: –Complexity Maillard reaction BBQ potato chips Spicy nacho sauce –Balance and the circle Vinaigrette Sauces

19. THANK YOU Teaching Taste The Most Fundamental Skill for the Successful Chef Chef Christopher Koetke CEC CCE HAAC chris.koetke@kendall.edu