Top Chef 4 and Taste

Last night I was watching TopChef 4 Cheftestants try to put together a meal reflecting their favorite movie. Some people got it spot on, others not so much. So I ask myself how do some people come up with extraordinary dishes with interesting taste? Answer: Educating their palates.

So how do you educate your palate? Well, first off you have to cleanse it. Learn to leave salt off your plate, learn to lower the volume on your sugar intake. If you go at least a week without the normal amounts of salt and sugar you are currently taking in, you will see and taste a change. Things are suddenly a lot sweeter and saltier than you could have imagined.

Next make sure your dental hygiene is up to full health. If you have problems with your teeth or gums, it can affect the way you taste things. Make sure you are doing all you can to make tasting a good experience by taking care of your oral hygiene, using your toothbrush often, flossing and having regular check-ups.

Those two factors will make a huge difference in the way you taste things, and in the way you can begin to experiment with flavor.

My favorite dish of the evening was the Smoked Salmon with faux caviar and white chocolate and wasabi sauce (courtesy of the Bravotv website):

Andrew's recipe:

Tapioca:
1 box tapioca pearls
3 quarts water
2 cups mushroom soy
1 cup white soy
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil

Dale and Richard's recipe:

Salmon:
8 pieces sushi style salmon, cut into 1-oz pieces
2T cayenne pepper
2T black sesame seeds
Salt to taste
3 oz rice flour
2 oz lime juice
2 oz ginger juice
Maldon sea salt to taste

Richard's recipe:

Sauce:
1/2 lb white chocolate
1 pint heavy cream
1 celery root
2T wasabi paste

Andrew's recipe:

Tapioca:
Bring water to a boil. Add tapioca and cook for 17-20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes to avoid clumping. Once tapioca is three-fourths cooked (centers are still white) drain in chinoise and wash with cold water for 5 minutes. Once starch is washed out combine all ingredients with exception of olive oil and submerge tapioca. Afterwards, float tapioca with olive oil and allow to sit for at least 1 hour.

Dale and Richard's recipe:

Salmon:
Season salmon lightly with cayenne, black sesame seeds and salt. Dust skins with rice flour. In hot pan, add oil to cover, then pour out excess. Sear salmon skin side down, take out of pan then brush with lime and ginger juices. Season with maldon sea salt. Lightly smoke salmon.

Richard's recipe:

Sauce:
Heat white chocolate and all but a few tablespoons heavy cream to make white chocolate ganache. Cook celery root in remaining heavy cream and puree; season. Mix wasabi, celery puree and white chocolate for sauce.