The Seasoned Chef
Course Outline

“The difference between the ordinary and the extraordinary, between good and brilliant, tasty and heavenly, hearty and unhealthy, can be summarized in one concept: HERBS and SPICES.” - Michèlle van Breda, editor of ‘Sarie’ Magazine

Week 1 - The Seasoned Chef's Pantry

“When you are selecting herbs and spices for your own pantry, there is no better way to judge character than with your senses of taste and smell. Buying spices and herbs should be a tactile experience, not just pulling a jar from a shelf.” – Tony Hill

A well stocked herb and spice pantry is one of the seasoned chef’s most important tools in developing more exciting, and healthier, dishes. Armed with a selection of fresh and dried herbs and a repertoire of proven gourmet pantry items the seasoned chef can improvise with poetic license.

The foundation of your pantry is a hand-picked selection of individual herbs and spices and a selection of home-made gourmet pantry items.

Once nutritionally maligned, butter is back, its role as a flavour carrier and palate satisfier rediscovered. Butter adds smooth texture, savor, flavour, and richness to such basic sauces as beurre blanc and béarnaise — not to mention a simple dressing for vegetables, proteins and pasta. In this week you'll learn how to make a selection of classic herb and spice butters.

The two herbs/spices you'll learn to use this week are garlic and parsley.

"Too much" and "garlic" rarely appears together in kitchen conversations. Garlic means instant success for prepackaged foods, and it can even make the novice cook's dishes taste like the pro's. As the most potent member of the onion family, it's grown widely across the globe..." - Tony Hill.

"A good theater production has one understudy who can play any part. Parsley fills this role in the kitchen with ease and versatility. The cook can direct it with confidence to star or support as needed. It requires little prompting, and its fresh green taste does not quarrel with those of other cast members." - Dille and Belsinger

Upon completion of this unit you will be able to:

• Stock your pantry with a basic selection of herbs and spices.
• Store your herbs and spices to retain optimum flavour and freshness.
• Add parsley and garlic to your cooking repertoire.
• Review a recipe like a pro chef.
• Make your own gourmet herb and spice butters to add to your pantry.

Week 2 - The Ultimate Herb Supply

Having a fresh supply of herbs and spices on hand is critical to your success as a Seasoned Chef. This week you will learn how to grow a few herbs of your own and you will learn how to add dips and spreads, rosemary and cumin to your cooking repertoire.

The simplest dips and spreads can be made by folding chopped herbs or spices into mayonnaise, cottage cheese, crème fraiche or yogurt.

The slightly tangy flavour of sour milk products offers the perfect base for dips and spreads served with vegetable crudités, crackers or breads.

Like herb and spice butters they are a quick and easy way to expand your seasoned chef cooking repertoire.

The two herbs/spices you'll learn to use this week are rosemary and cumin.

"Rosemary has one of those distinctive, strong flavours that convinces the palate that herbs aren't just delicate things reserved for dainty soups and sprinkling on baby vegetables. It takes hold of the taste buds with a woodsy flavour that reminds me of pine and sage but is buffered by a crisp herbal sweetness.

And then, just when you think you've got rosemary's number, it surprises you with a subtle approach in a savory scone or crisp cracker that's had just a hint baked throughout, lightening the mood of an otherwise mundane pastry." - Tony Hill

"Found in ancient Egypt, cumin may very well be the original cultivated seed spice. Used then both for ritual practices in the temple and for dinner practices in the mortar, it later made its way across Africa with the Moors.." - Tony Hill

Upon completion of this unit you will be able to:

• Describe the differences between fresh and dried herbs.
• Plant a few herbs of your own in the garden or in containers.
• Harvest and dry your own home grown herbs.
• Add rosemary and/or cumin to your cooking repertoire.
• Add dips and spreads to your home made pantry products list.

Week 3 - Guiding Principles

Knowing what to avoid is sometimes more useful than knowing what to do. The ‘7 disasters waiting to happen’ you’ll learn about this week can also be viewed as guiding principles whenever you add a herb or spice to your dishes.

Spiced oils and vinegars are close runner-ups when it comes to the most popular gourmet herb and spice products for the busy cook. You are able to capture a number of wonderful flavours in one bottle, all just waiting to come out.

From simple flavours to elaborate blends, these light (on calories), easy-to use products are revolutionizing menus. They are not for cooking but for flavoring: bread-dipping for a first course, mixing with other ingredients, or adding a sizzling finish to hot, cooked items.

Another factor that contributes to the popularity of herb oils in particular, is that they are virtually unavailable for purchase. If you are looking for a good quality herb oil, you must either make your own or you need to know someone who knows how to make it.

The two herbs/spices you'll learn to use this week are oregano and pepper.

"The smell of pure oregano is perhaps the most 'herbal' of all herbs. It has a clarity and intensity that other leaves in the garden can only hope to achieve" - Tony Hill

"The history of the spice trade is essentially about the quest for pepper. Trade routes where fiercely protected, empires where built and destroyed because of it. In 408AD the Goths demanded pepper as part of their tribute when they laid siege to Rome. Later pepper was traded ounce for ounce for gold and as currency to pay rent, dowries and taxes. In volume and value, pepper remains the most important spice." - Jill Norman

Upon completion of this unit you will be able to:

• Prevent ruining your dishes when cooking with herbs and spices.
• Add luxurious herb and spice oils and vinegars to your pantry.
• Add oregano and/or pepper to your culinary repertoire.

Week 4 - Basic Culinary Skills Part 1

There is more to cooking with herbs and spices than meets the eye. You need to know how to prepare them to maximize their flavour and you also need to know when is a flavouring a herb and when is it a spice.

Making your own herb and spice blends is the ultimate in culinary adventure. With a mere handful of different herbs, spices and other flavourings you can create a nearly endless variety of healthy gourmet dishes.

Your aim in making a blend should be to produce a balanced, complex flavour that makes your diners want to take another bite, not analyze it.

You will soon find out that by simply using one or two herbs and spices you won’t be able to achieve this aim. You will, most likely, be using three or four herbs, plus a spice or two, resulting in greater depth to your finished dishes.

The two herbs/spices you'll learn to use this week are thyme and cloves.

"Of all the classical culinary herbs, thyme is especially endearing to those who love miniatures; its handsome compact form growing close to earth perfumes the air around it, seemingly to the heavens"

"The Spanish, Italians and French grazed sheep and goats on thyme for the flavour it gave their meat. The herb was used in many rich dishes as it was believed to relieve the misery of gout."  - Dille and Belsinger

"Few are the dishes that cannot be improved by thyme. Its amiable and positive flavour blends well with many other herbs, especially rosemary, enhancing without overpowering them in the cooking pot." - Elisabeth Ortiz

"On the more pungent end of the taste spectrum, cloves can actually be intense enough to 'burn' the palate unless well blended in a dish.

During the 'great spice race' of the 1400s a small cargo of cloves could buy you a lordship and a very nice little castle in the countryside." - Tony Hill

Upon completion of this unit you will be able to:

• Describe the advantages of cooking with herbs and spices.
• Explain the differences between herbs and spices and give examples.
• Prepare herbs and spices to use in your dishes.
• Add herb and spice blends to your pantry list.
• Add thyme and/or cloves to your cooking repertoire.

Week 5 - Basic Culinary Skills Part 2

Setting up a standard workstation is just as useful in the home kitchen as it is in the professional kitchen. This week you’ll learn how to do that and you’ll learn how to read and follow new recipes.

Your pantry product this week is home made mustard. These popular and extremely versatile flavour boosters are back into the realm of the Seasoned Chef where they play an important role in sandwich spreads, marinades, salad dressings or dip (for chicken wings).

Making your own homemade mustard is fun and offers an interesting variation of how to use your herbs. The combinations are endless, delicious, aromatic and rewarding. Homemade mustard is cheap and makes a sought after gift.

The two herbs/spices you'll learn to use this week are sage and cinnamon.

"I never answer the question, "What's your favourite spice?" at my shop because I think it's both too difficult to choose and too dependant on my mood. Having thrown out that standard disclaimer and with the luxury of print to buffer my answer, it is most definitely sage." - Tony Hill

Cinnamon's subtle, complex, flavour is well suited to all manner of desserts, spiced breads and cakes.

"While the use of cinnamon in most European countries is limited to sweets, in the Middle East it is commonly added to meat stews, especially those made with lamb. It is also combined with dried fruit for poultry or pork stuffing's and is delicious on buttered squash or sweet potatoes" - Elizabeth Ortiz

Upon completion of this unit you will be able to:

• Set up a standard workstation in your kitchen.
• Read and follow a recipe like a professional chef.
• Make your own home-made mustard.
• Add sage and cinnamon to your cooking repertoire.

Week 6 - Culinary Profiles

Critical to the seasoned chef’s success is an intimate knowledge of the culinary profiles of a large variety of ingredients. The culinary profile is a kind of culinary shorthand for the flavour attributes of an ingredient or cuisine.

In this unit you will gain a better understanding of what makes up the culinary profile of herbs and spices, and you will look at different flavour groupings for herbs and spices. These come in handy when you want to develop your own recipes or when you need to substitute ingredients in a recipe.

The secret of a good salad is its dressing. Not only does a dressing add flavour and interest but it also marries the individual ingredients into a harmonious whole.

There is an old French saying that it takes four men to make a good vinaigrette: a spendthrift for the oil, a miser for the vinegar, a wise man for the salt and a madman for the pepper.

Apart from the classic vinaigrette, there are many types of dressings, including mayonnaise, yogurt- and cream-based mixtures, and special seafood dressings. The most widely used dressings are as follows: vinaigrette, mayonnaise, oils like corn-, herb-, nut-, olive-, and sesame oil, vinegars like balsamic-, cider-, and herb vinegar.

The two herbs/spices you'll learn to use this week are cilantro and coriander.

Cilantro, an ancient annual herb, a member of the celery (carrot) family, is one of the distinctive flavours of Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisine. Also used extensively in North-African cuisines.

It was called a "very stinking herbe" by Gerard, the 16th-century herbalist. It continues to provoke both dislike and enthusiasm.

A few plants serve as both herbs and spices, and of these coriander is undoubtedly the most widely used in both forms. It is one of the unsung heroes of the spice world. The undercurrent in flavour in a variety of dishes and blends, it give the seasoned chef a savory base to work from and a bright top note to which to aspire.

Upon completion of this unit you will be able to:

• Describe the attributes that makes up the culinary profile of herbs and spices.
• Group herbs and spices according to their basic flavours.
• Group herbs according to how well they stand up to cooking and how they blend with other herbs and spices.
• Add salad dressings and vinaigrettes to your pantry list.
• Add cilantro and/or coriander to your cooking repertoire.

Week 7 - Building Blocks of Flavour

“Flavour is perceived by taste “buds”—groups of taste receptor cells that cluster together like the segments of an orange. The average adult has 10,000, although the number varies widely. (Inexplicably and unjustly, cows have 25,000 even though they eat only grass). Taste buds can be found not only on the tongue, but on the soft palate, pharynx, larynx and epiglottis as well.” – Karen MacNeil

According to the Culinary Institute of America good cooking is the art of capturing the most appropriate flavours in a dish. The first step in this art form is to understand exactly what constitutes flavour.

In this unit you will explore flavour in more depth and you will look at ways to maximize it in your cooking.

Sauces showcase the individual qualities of herbs and spices exceptionally well. With a few signature sauces such as pesto and chimichurri on hand you have meal-making magic for every occasion.

But beware, don't take your sauce making lightly.

"Sauces are often considered one of the greatest tests of a chef's skill. The successful pairing of a sauce with a food demonstrates technical expertise, and understanding of the food, and the ability to judge and evaluate a dish's flavours, textures and colours." - The Professional Chef, 8th Edition.

The two herbs/spices you'll learn to use this week are basil and ginger.

Much like chilli peppers, basil is not a plant but an obsession – nearly a religion. And like chilli peppers there are more varieties than chocolates in a candy shop to choose from.

"The uses for ginger in the kitchen are many. It adds a clean fresh bite to seafood, picks up the flavour of dull foods, and cuts the fattiness of rich meats such as duck or pork." - Elizabeth Ortiz

Upon completion of this unit you will be able to:

• Name the five basic tastes.
• Describe the 6 levels of Kaun’s flavour pyramid.
• Describe the 4 primary techniques for developing flavour.
• Add herb and spice sauces to your pantry list.
• Add basil and ginger to your cooking repertoire.

Week 8 - Expand Your Culinary Boundaries

By now your cooking repertoire will have improved phenomenally. And what’s more is that you will now know more about cooking with herbs and spices than most food professionals.

But don’t rest on your laurels. If you do your cooking will become just as boring as it was before you started on this course.

This week you will acquaint yourself with 10 international cuisines that will help you push your herb and spice cooking boundaries. And you will look at the basic principles all great food have in common.

You also learn how to add marinades to your repertoire. From the simple to the elaborate, marinades are a powerful weapon in the seasoned chef’s arsenal. They will make just about any barbecued food taste better.

A good marinade will bring out the 'soul' of a rack of ribs, fish or whatever it is used with. The seasoned chef can hardly cook without them and with their explosive flavours they turn up everywhere. Fact is marinades are hot, and we don't mean just those that contain chilies.

The two herbs/spices you'll learn to use this week are chives and paprika.

"Garlic, onions, and the like are all wonderful aromatics. Sometimes, however, they can be too much of a good thing on the taste buds. That's where their mild mannered cousins, chives, can come in and impart the same impression of taste without running wild down the hill of potency." - Tony Hill

"The sweet peppers which are dried and ground for paprika have a complex history. The plant originated in the southernmost tip of Mexico, was taken to Spain and Morocco by the Spanish and then found its way to Hungary, where it became naturalized and an essential ingredient in local cuisine." - Elizabeth Ortiz

Upon completion of this unit you will be able to:

• List the basic principles all good food have in common.
• List ten international cuisines that will help you push your cooking boundaries.
• Add marinades to your pantry product list.
• Add (garlic) chives and/or paprika to your cooking repertoire.