Recipe development

Hey all, I try to not be too serious and am enjoying the cooking and such but have a question on how everyone out there deals with recipe decelopment. As some know I travel a fair bit (am sending this from the airport) and I find that for every day cooking when I am home it is ok, but am a little flustered (selfishly) with the lack of development time toward new recipes, flavors and such. The meatless cheesesteak came from an idea I had while I was in Montreal (and planning last night's dinner) and the curry mole well.... was from a cs fb share so not original (even if quite good). What do you all do for development etc? I don't mind the food I make but it's not pushing things ahead in my mind (feels stale). Those who eat what I cook really like it which is good, but I'm not able to push things (my skills and other's palettes). Would genuinely appreciate what others do to push forward?

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FrankM_3301

I'm not exactly sure what you are asking, Todd. For me, having someone to develop ideas with is crucial. I'm an avid home cook, but, with a buddy, do occasional catering. We create entirely new dishes/menus each time we do this. The creative process...shooting ideas back and forth, challenging each other...etc...is what we are interested, and what pushes us to do new things. We take these ideas and independently try dishes on our families and unsuspecting guests, as we perfect our creations. Of course creativity is based on a lot of reading, scouring the internet, and eating out. We have some themes and individual skills that guide us...but the biggest factor, in my mind, is that we are amateurs. Being so, means that we don't really know the "rules"...or have any rules to play by, so we are free to try things that others might not consider. In my mind it is about finding delicious flavor combinations. We will sometimes start with an ingredient...or a cuisine...or a season...and look for ways to showcase that in a surprising way, or a comforting way. We even once developed an entire menu based on sonata form (my colleague is a music theorist).

Robert_Conn_II_123023

What a great topic Todd! I can totally relate. Here is what I have learned (so far) in that department. When I get an idea, I try to cook it within a week. Even in it's most primitive form. This will usually give me an idea of if it's worth pursuing or not. If my initial test shows promise I will write everything down about my initial idea, the test, and anything I learned from it. Then I forget about it for at least a week. This is easy to do because of day to day distractions. But, then when I go back to it I have a much better (realistic) idea of the dish, and it's merits...and hopefully an idea where to go next. But what I gain most is perspective. When it isnt so immediate, I can be more balanced in evaluating it. I believe you are like me (and probably everyone else in this forum) in that you demand more from yourself than others do from you. This is the greatest attribute you can have as a Chef (in my opinion)! So, then I nit pick the dish. What is good, what fell short, and what can I do to move it forward. I try not to be too picky about details (logging exact metric measurements and such) and focus more on the dish as a whole. I then rely on my experience to make corrections (undocumented) to the dish and see where it goes from there. Remember that we got good at cooking from repetition so think of your idea like that. Each time you make it, you should feel like; this is a good idea and worth tweaking, or this just isn't going to work out and I need to stop throwing ingredients at it. I think one of the greatest aspects of being a Culinarian (whatever the heck that is) is the marriage of intellect and instinct. Dishes that really shine usually make themselves known early on. But some.....well, they take years to develop, at their own pace. The fact that you even ask this question tells me you are already on the track for obtaining Yoda-like cooking skills. I hope this helped... even a little.

tshewman

Thanks Frank. Not many of similar minds here (I know a couple chefs and no real interest in developing recipes. One of my biggest problems is allocating time and coming up with a structural approach. With such limited time and all the travel I am finding it challenging (putting it mildly)

tshewman

Hi Robert, yes this does help. Setting the timeline from idea to first test is an awsome idea. I do tend to measure though

but the timeline to first test is great, thanks!!! Now my next big issue is I'm a bit like a dog grabbing the pant leg once the first test is done, I have a rough time not wanting to jump at it again and again (then family gets bored). So that's good advice and I'll have to learn some meditation.

FrankM_3301

There's always this board. While it is always risky to "put yourself out there", we both know this is a supportive community. Tell us about an idea...post a pic...I am sure you will get a ton of suggestions and new ideas. ...probably give us some too!

Johan_Edstrom_5586

Spot on, both of you. And infused compressed things are pretty much banned in my house after a year of that and hydrocolloids....

HammeredChef_DEFINITELY_does_NOT_work_at_22134

There are some great points here especially the time line..and Johans comment about wiping out the family...Everyone has their own style. I use "composition books" and have them dating back to 2001. While I am a "digital guy" and use my notes app to help remember ideas, they really begin to take shape as you write them out with diagrams. I have found, for me, that thinking of how it would look on the plate influenced the development of the recipe

.....i.e. that would look great with a grilled lemon..shit, i'm going replace some of the vinegar with lemon juice...but then again I'm usually buzzed....

@Todd_Shewman_38102 this could be a lot of fun on a plane...

tshewman

No problem sharing or anything. Time is more the issue. Not short of ideas that's for sure. Sometimes I think too much (Kangai sigiru I believe is the Japanese term). Robert's idea of setting a timeline for myself will be helpful and I'll definitely use the forum for recipe and refinement ideas.

tshewman

LOL ya the eatless cheesecake idea was the recent idea. I may work on a parmesan meringue for the bun and shape the gell/fluid gels. Dunno. The flavor is there but for me is almost boring because well, it tasted like a philly chees steak which I know I was after but..... I also want different....:-)

tshewman

if only we could remember the flight. ;-)

riiupw_1250042

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