CULINARY IMPROVISATION Skill Building Beyond the Mystery Basket Exercise Jonathan Deutsch, Ph.D. and Sarah Billingsley with Cricket Azima Pearson Education New York Boston San Francisco London Toronto Sydney Tokyo Singapore Madrid Mexico City Munich Paris Cape Town Hong Kong Montreal
Cover Art: Design by Landers Miller Design, LLC Copyright 2009 by Jonathan Deutsch and Sarah Billingsley All rights reserved. Permission in writing must be obtained from the publisher before any part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system. All trademarks, service marks, registered trademarks, and registered service marks are the property of their respective owners and are used herein for identification purposes only. Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 2009800015 MP www.pearsonhighered.com ISBN 10: 0-558-33729-5 ISBN 13: 978-0-558-33729-2
CULINARY IMPROVISATION Skill Building Beyond the Mystery Basket Exercise
CULINARY IMPROVISATION Skill Building Beyond the Mystery Basket Exercise Copyright 2009 by Jonathan Deutsch and Sara Billingsley All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. Design by Landers Miller Design, LLC ISBN 978-0-9824139-0-6
THE AUTHORS WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE FOLLOWING REVIEWERS: Dr. Victor A.L. Gielisse The Culinary Institute of America Hyde Park, NY Michael Carmel Culinary Institute of Charleston Charleston, SC Abby Nash Cornell University Ithaca, NY Joseph Wollinger Blackhawk Technical College Janesville, WI Michael Riggs Bowling Green Technical College Bowling Green, KY About the Authors Jonathan Deutsch Jonathan Deutsch is a classically trained chef and is Assistant Professor and director of the Culinary Management Center at Kingsborough Community College, City University of New York. He earned his Ph.D. in food studies and food management at New York University and is Secretary of the Association for the Study of Food and Society and education editor of the journal Food, Culture and Society. He is the co-author of Jewish American Food Culture (Greenwood, 2008) and co-editor of Gastropolis: New York at Table (Columbia University Press, 2008). A graduate of Drexel University and the Culinary Institute of America, he has worked in a variety of foodservice settings including product development, catering, institutions, luxury inns, and restaurants, both in the US and abroad. He currently teaches, writes, and consults on food and foodservice and culinary arts and entrepreneurship education. For more information on the author and improvisation go to: culinaryimprovisation.com. Sarah Billingsley Sarah Billingsley is a cookbook editor, food writer and experimental home cook. She earned her masters degree in food studies and food management at New York University and is a member of San Francisco Professional Food Society. She worked at an editor on the 75 th anniversary edition of Joy of Cooking, and was a dining critic and food writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, she has worked in publishing, public relations, product development and market research. Sarah currently lives and works in San Francisco, where she cultivates a backyard food garden during the endless California growing season. Wilfred Beriau Southern Maine Community College Gray, ME Joseph Schultz Cabrillo College Asptos, CA
UNIT 1 1/ Introducing Culinary Improvisation 1 Why We Wrote this Book....................... 2 How To Use This Book......................... 5 The Games...................................6 Rubrics and How to Use Them..................6 What is Culinary Improvisation?................6 Molecular Gastronomy Extreme Culinary Improvisation........................... 7 Go Ahead Play with Your Food!............... 10 2/ The Basics 17 Equipment (Batterie de Cuisine)............... 19 Preparation and Cooking Equipment........... 21 Basic Flavoring Combinations................. 23 Making Stock................................ 25 Soups....................................... 27 Sauces......................................30 Cooking Methods............................34 Choosing and Storing Meats...................36 Poultry...................................... 37 Fish........................................ 38 Vegetables...................................40 Pastry....................................... 41 3/ Expanding The Basics 47 Menu Composition...........................49 Composition and Design......................50 table of contents/ Knife Skills.................................. 55 Salads......................................56 Beans and Legumes.......................... 59 Charcuterie..................................60 Cheese......................................64 Chocolate................................... 67 Olive Oil and Other Oils......................69 Ideas for Appetizers and Hors D oeuvres........70 Well-stocked Pantry.......................... 67 Salt......................................... 79
4/ Flavors 83 Culinary Backstory...........................86 Developing Flavor Concepts................... 87 How to taste................................. 91 Molecular Gastronomy........................ 92 The Flavor Plate.............................96 How to transport flavors..................... 100 Flavor Principles............................ 101 The Flavor Map of the World................. 101 7/ Flavor & Palate Development Games 193 From the Line: Case Study................... 196 Game: Same Recipe Different Style.......... 201 Game: Unlikely Marriage.................... 213 Game: Crab Libs............................ 222 Game: Reverse Food and Beverage Pairing..... 231 Game: Quick Fix............................ 238 Chapter Summary..........................244 Food with Personality........................ 104 UNIT II All in the Family............................ 106 A World Map of Spices and Seasonings........ 109 A Review of Common and Not-So-Common Spices...................... 110 Global Techniques............................112 Classic Food Pairings.........................114 5/ The Food System and Cooking Seasonally 119 Why Cook Seasonally?....................... 123 Seasonal Food Associations................... 129 Peak Season of Fruits........................ 132 Peak Season of Vegetables.................... 136 Peak Season for Nuts, Meats, Poultry, Shellfish and Fish........................... 140 6/ Problem Solving Games 145 From the Line: Case Study................... 150 Game: Hands-On Eating..................... 154 Game: Guess Who s Coming to Dinner..........161 Game: Technique Trio....................... 170 Game: Today s Special....................... 177 Game: Alternative School Lunch.............. 185 Chapter Summary........................... 189 8/ Teamwork Games 247 From the Line: Case Study...................250 Game: Team Cooks......................... 254 Game: Sensory Perception................... 261 Game: Find Your Match.....................266 Game: Ingredient Trade..................... 274 Game: Kitchen Entrepreneur.................280 Chapter Summary..........................284 9/ Communication Games 289 From the Line: Case Study................... 292 Game: Mood Food.......................... 295 Game: Scrambled Recipe.....................305 Game: Shift s Over..........................308 Game: Welcome Aboard......................311 Game: Teaching s Not as Easy as it Looks!...... 315 Chapter Summary...........................320 10/ Creating Your Own Games and Continuous Improvement 325 Creating Your Own Games................... 326 Game Template............................. 329 Assessment and Continuous Improvement..... 333