[jfb1060]

I have always been impressed with any cook that can come up with a good menu either at home or in the restaturant where they work.

How do chefs come up with these combinations and even wines to match? Is this just the culmination of years of experience, a culmination of what was learned at school, or a combination of both?

The reason I'm asking is because I seem to really suck at it.

Joe

[Suzanne]

Foods: Part of it is experience -- you put together what you've always seen put together. You might also call that tradition: fish cakes and baked beans (or fish cakes and spaghetti, as I grew up). Part is what you were taught go together, either in school or by other cooks. And part of it is what you like (at home, at least).

Culinary Artistry by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg give a ton of information about how chefs decide what to put together, both when creating dishes and writing menus.

As for wines, I'll let the wine experts here talk about that.

[AprilB]

I don't know how true it is of other chefs but I've depended mainly on my being able to imagine different tastes, smells, looks, in my head. Yeah, once they get out of my head and onto the plate sometimes it takes a little tweaking, but not much. (I've had the tag of having an intense imagination)

OK, for example, take something that you really REALLY like and picture it in your head to the point that you are slobbering. That's the degree of imagination I'm talking about. You can take anything you use and have tasted and are familiar with and learn to combine it in your head to see what fits.

I know at first it sounds weird, but that's what goes on in my imagination when I'm pairing foods or thinking of recipes and menus.

April

[siduri]

yes, sounds like the perfect way to create a menu. Not weird at all, unless you think of cooking as some routine job rather than the creative work it really is. Requires vivid imagination, like all art, and then good skill and technique to turn it into something someone else will experience. Great!

[shroomgirl]

If any of the moderators have time, there are some incredible threads in the archives on menu planning....balance in flavors, textures, richness.

[cheflayne]

For lack of a better way to describe it, "taste memory", is my best tool for designing menus and dishes. I can remember individual tastes, so then I try to pair it with other tastes that I remember. Practise is the best way for me to improve my memory. Envisioning, then actual experiencing of individual tastes and combined tastes, while working and eating, all help me to practise. As with any thing else, practise makes it come more naturally and expands my knowledge base. Any time you put something in your mouth, use it as a lesson, not a body function.