If you’ve ever dreamed about cooking like or becoming a professional chef, you’ve come to the right place. Hosted by Chef Jacob Burton, an executive chef by day, wanna be broadcaster by night, we feature instructional style episodes that unpack professional level cooking techniques in an approachable fashion, and interviews with culinary taste makers, including chefs, cook book authors, wine makers, brewers, coffee roasters, and anyone else who is passionate about the world of food and beverage.
If you're new to the Stella Culinary School Podcast, it is recommended you listen to the first 22 episodes in sequence, starting with episode 1. This is known as our "Core Content," and will give you the foundation you need to build a wealth of culinary knowledge.
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In this episode of The Stella Culinary School Podcast, picking out knives, and what to consider when purchasing a smoker, BBQ, or grill this summer. And YES, by popular demand, this episode now has time stamps!
INTRODUCTION
SEGMENT ONE - WHAT KNIVES DO YOU NEED?
The practical use of hydrocolloids are discussed, including Xanthan Gum, Lecithin, Agar Agar, and meat glue (transglutaminase). We talk about how these items can help you solve traditional kitchen problems, while not becoming the focus of a dish.
Mentioned In This Episode
In this episode, I lay out the "Greek Salad Challenge" as a homework assignment. The purpose of this challenge is to drill knife skills, and work on creating baseline seasonings through balancing fat, acid and salt.
We then carry this concept over into a lesson on how I would recreate the flavor of a hollandaise sauce if all I had was a recipe and had never tasted hollandaise before. This first principals approach to dissecting a dish through flavor structure will allow you to understand and replicate flavor structures at their most basic level.
In this episode, we discuss how to ace a chef tryout when applying for a leadership position in a professional kitchen, and how to successfully execute for a large group or banquet.
In the questions and comment section, I answer Robert's question on how to execute 10 steaks at once when cooking for family and friends, and Fran's question on how long his home made sausage will last under refrigeration.
Follow me on Clubhouse, @JacobBurton, and tune in to ask your questions live, every Friday morning, 7 am PST / 10 am EST.
In this episode, Chef Jacob discusses things you should consider if you plan on leaving your career to become a chef, some potential food safety issues with reheating and holding food, and then a break down on how exactly fat affects the flavor and texture of your bread dough.
The combi oven saga continues, with a deep dive into why I bought two more Anova Combi ovens for my professional kitchen, how we are using it to streamline our kitchen execution, and how this translates into the home cooking environment.
Topics discuss include:
In this live episode of the Stella Culinary School Podcast, we begin with a discussion on how I like to prep on my days off to make mid-week cooking execution fast and efficient. I then answer questions on food & wine pairings, how chefs create balance in their menus, and how the pandemic has affected the United States restaurant scene.
Audio only version of this podcast can be found on your favorite podcast app, including Apple, Google, and Spotify.
In this episode, I give a step by step breakdown of how to make gnocchi by feel, instead of using a recipe, whether it's potato, ricotta, or pumpkin.
Then I review Anova's new Combi Oven, also known to the nerd's as the APO (Anova Precision Cooker). There's a lot to like, but a few things that can be improved upon as well. Is it worth $600? You've gotta listen to find out ... that's kinda the whole purpose of this podcast thing ...
This episode goes off the rails quite a bit, but still turned out great, which I know you expect nothing less. We really hit our flow about 28 minutes in, once I figured out that the comments, ONCE AGAIN, were not loading properly!
In this episode, we talk:
In this episode, we get the ball rolling with an update on the pressure cooked ribs experiment, where I went wrong, and how I scrambled to fix the issue to still get a delicious dinner on the menu.
Then I give you an epic breakdown of how to create the best beef stroganoff ever, without using a recipe, by shooting the entire dish through the F-STEP lens. I walk you through the process I use when first trying to understand the basic building blocks of a recipe, and then how I reconstruct it using flavor structure, technique, and execution to make it my own.
Earlier today I jumped into our Facebook group on a whim to do a live stream just to say high. What was intended to be just a few minutes of awkwardly waving at the camera before signing off turned into a pretty good time!
Some of the main topics discussed:
IN THE DISCUSSION SEGMENT ...
We talk eggs, omelettes and the "French Omelette Falacy." I also walk you through how to make a classic, American style breakfast omelette (fully loaded of course). Original post by John: https://www.facebook.com/groups/StellaCulinary/permalink/1432663070250210/
Resources Mentioned
In this episode, I bring back The Stella Culinary Podcast after a long hiatus to answer community questions and respond to discussions going on in the Stella Culinary Facebook Group. Join the discussion by going to: https://facebook.com/groups/stellaculinary.
Subscribe to my YouTube Channel here: https://youtube.com/jacobburton
In this episode, Chef Alex Downing, who long time listeners of the SCS Podcast will remember as my Sous Chef at Stella Restaurant. After I left Stella a few years ago, Alex took over as the Executive Chef.
He just recently moved on from Stella to become the Executive Chef of Ranchera Restaurant & Country Club in Reno. NV.
We talk about his progression from a young cook to a fine dining chef, how the transition from fine dining to catering has been, and what his plans are for the future.
Also joined in studio by Renaissance Reno Chef de Cuisine Sean Munshaw.
In this episode, I'm joined once again by Chef Sean to discuss options for party foods and to answer listener questions covering topics such as:
... and much more.
Join The Discussion
In this episode, I'm joined by Chef Sean Munshaw to discuss what he's cooking for Christmas, and we answer some listener questions including:
Questions & Comments?
In this episode, I hop on YouTube and broadcast live, answering listener questions that come in via the Stella Culinary Hotline and live chat box.
If you'd like to call the show and leave a voice mail, you can do so by dialing 775-204-8389.
I do plan on doing more listener call in shows, so stay tuned for announcements and times.
I welcome sous chef Sean Munshaw to discuss Thanksgiving tips, the launch of our fine dining concept "Pips Pass," and industry talk in general. Sean has been working with me for a little over a year and a half, and has been an integral player in our culinary program's growth.
Links for Sean
Connect with the Show
Paul Lebeau travels around the world, studying and spreading the gospel of freshly milled grains. He joins us on this episode to discuss what top chefs and bakers around the world are doing with freshly milled grains.
Have a question or comment? You can call the listener hotline at 775-234-8389, or leave a digital voicemail.
Can't get enough bread content?
Check out our bread baking video index found here: https://stellaculinary.com/sb
In this episode we discuss advanced artisan bread baking with bread baker and instructor Nicole Muvundamina.
Follow Nicole on Instagram: @nmuvu
You can call the show and leave a voicemail: 775-204-8389
In this episode, more listener questions and voicemails answered. Some sample questions include:
Crispy Skin question from Philip
I'm back with two in-depth questions regarding the F-STEP Curriculum to answer.
The first one from Dave:
"I’ve been through your book, and I love the idea that I might be able to learn to cook without using recipes, something I hate doing and something that stresses me out in the kitchen. I had already decided that recipes don’t work for me, and I realized I am still missing steps, but I had only added the prep stage to my process, not the F-STEP steps, so your book has expanded my thinking, which is good.
In this episode I discuss ancient grains, fresh milled flour, and sourdough bread baking with the President of Grand Teton Farm & Mill, Jade Koyle. Jade also owns and operates AncientGrains.com & Einkorn.com.
A few of the topics we touch on include:
Have a question you'd like me to answer on an upcoming episode? Leave a voicemail, call the Stella Culinary Hotline at 775-204-8389, or e-mail me, jacob@stellaculinary.com. You can also post your questions, comments, success and failures, to the Stella Culinary Forum, or our Facebook Group.
In this episode, listener bread questions are answered!
In part three of our culinary boot camp series, we cover the science and best practices behind various cooking techniques including braising, steaming, pressure cooking and a deep dive into sous vide.
If you have any questions or comments on this episode, you can send me a voice mail or call our hotline, 775-204-8389, post it to our friendly forum or Facebook group, or shoot me an e-mail, jacob@stellaculinary.com
In this episode, listener questions covering flavor structure and sauce making are answered. If you want to have your question answered on an upcoming episode of the show, you can leave me a voicemail thru this page here, call the hotline (775-204-8389), or e-mail me, Jacob@StellaCulinary.com.
Questions or comments? E-mail me, jacob@stellaculinary.com, call 775-204-8389 to leave a voicemail, or post on our Friendly Forum or Facebook Group.
In episode 47 of the SCS Podcast, I introduced the concept of the three modern mother sauces, a technique based approach to sauce making.
In this episode, we continue our discussion, with a deep dive into emulsifications and purees.
Questions or comments? E-mail me, jacob@stellaculinary.com, call 775-204-8389 to leave a voicemail, or post on our Friendly Forum or Facebook Group.
Question or comments? E-mail me, jacob@stellaculinary.com, call me, 775-204-8389, or post to our friendly forum or Facebook Group.
We start this episode on a somber note, acknowledging the passing of Anthony Bourdain and all he contributed to the culinary world.
