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Hey there! Are you new to Stella Culinary? Then I'd like to introduce myself and tell you a little bit about Stella Culinary, a website dedicated to teaching anyone who wants to learn, how to cook like a professional chef. My name is Jacob Burton, and I'll be your chef instructor.

Stella Culinary is a website dedicated to teaching passionate cooks the same professional level cooking techniques, theories and philosophies you would learn in a traditional culinary school. Whether you're a beginner just starting out, and need lessons on how to hold a chef's knife, make stock or blanch vegetables, or a seasoned pro looking to up your knowledge in food science, basic & advanced level Charcuterie, or pick up a few tricks on sourdough bread baking, we've got you covered. And unlike a traditional culinary school where students spend a finite time, Stella Culinary is continually adding new content for both basic and advanced level cooks, so your knowledge can grow as we do.

If you're ready to learn how to cook like a professional chef, or a professional just wanting to take your game to the next level, follow these five easy steps:

 

  1. Sign-up for the Stella Culinary e-mail newsletter to stay up to date when new educational content is released, receive subscriber only bonuses, and get notified about our advanced level and in person cooking courses. And look, I hate spam just as much as the next guy (unless it's fried and served over steamed rice), but lucky for you, I'm a professional chef who loves to teach people how to cook, not a Russian spam bot trying to sell you pharmaceuticals. The best part is, if you're ever like "wow, Jacob, this content is just too awesome, I can't take it any more," then simply hit the unsubscribe button I provide at the bottom of every e-mail and my feelings won't even get hurt...some people just can't handle the awesomeness that is Stella Culinary.

  2. Create a free Stella Culinary username and password so you can post comments, ask questions, and share your own knowledge on our friendly community forum. One of the reasons I do Stella Culinary, is because I truly believe to master something, you have to teach it. If you get stuck with a concept, have a disastrous dish, or just want to know the how's and why's behind cooking, then ask it on our forum and one or more of our friendly community members will help you out. And then maybe one day, you can solidify what you've learned and return the favor by answering someone else's culinary question with the knowledge you've obtained. I like to call it the "circle of educational reciprocity;" I teach you, you teach me, and before you know it, we're culinary super geniuses that together rule the world (or can at least throw a killer dinner party).

  3. Listen to the Stella Culinary School audio podcasts starting at episode one.

  4. Watch the videos found in our How To Cook Video Index, focusing on the Knife Skills, Kitchen Prep and Cooking Technique categories, especially if you've never had any professional level training.

  5. Tell your family and friends about all the super awesome educational content and friendly people you've found on Stella Culinary. The more passionate, dedicated cooks, the better.

That's about it. Follow those five easy steps above, and even if your greatest culinary achievement to date has been cutting the crust off a PB&J with maximum yield, we'll have you cooking like a pro in no time.

Already Subscribed ...

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GOOD NEWS!

You're already subscribed to Stella Culinary's super awesome newsletter, which means you were one of the cool kids all along!

Now here's the bad news...if you haven't received your bonuses, it means my e-mails are probably ending up in your spam folder.

But hey, it happens.

If you add my e-mail address, jacob@stellaculinary.com, to your e-mail contacts, you'll never have this problem again. Plus, if you ever have a cooking question you need answered, you have my e-mail on speed dial.

Here's my most recent bonus. It's the first section of my F-STEP Curriculum, F is for Flavor.

F is for Flavor

 

How to Use Stella Culinary

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On this page you will find video tutorials explaining how to use the various features of StellaCulinary.com including how to register for a free username, how to edit your profile avatar and signature, and how to post a picture to the forum.

How to Register For a Free Username and Password

Registering for a Stella Culinary username is quick and easy. Here are some things to keep in mind while you're registering:

  • Choose an appropriate username that's easy to read, pronounce and remember.

  • Make sure to click the confirmation link to finish the website registration process.

  • You can sign in with your username or e-mail address (neither are case sensitive).

How to Add an Avatar and Signature to Your Profile

In this video I demonstrate how to add an avatar (profile image) to your Stella Culinary user account, and how to edit your signature. Here are a few key points to remember, as discussed in this video:

  • Profile image must be no bigger than 85X85 pixels, and the file size can not exceed 30kB.

  • Please do not place links in your profile signature until you've become an active, contributing member of the Stella Culinary Community.

Adding Additional (Optional) Information to Your Profile

Enhance your profile by adding optional information about your location, website link, etc.

How to Post to the Stella Culinary Forum

Please remember that new users who post a link in the Stella Culinary forum or comment section will be blocked by our spam filters. Once you've made a couple quality posts, this ban will be lifted and you'll be able to post helpful links to articles, recipes, techniques, etc.

How to Add a Picture and Format Your Post

Learn how to add a photo and stylize your forum posts with our feature rich, text editor.

Edit: SCS Community member Marco099 created a step-by-step post specifically for using flicker.

How to Send a Private Message

Learn how to send a PM (Private Message) to other Stella Culinary users.

What Are Stella Stars?

Find out what the heck Stella Stars are and why they matter.

Join the Stella Culinary E-Mail Newsletter

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The Secrets of Salt Explained

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Sign up for our free e-mail newsletter below to receive your copy of F is for Flavor. It's important that you understand the concepts laid out in this PDF, because in my next video series, we will talk about how you can take your understanding of flavor structure, paint it over the three base sauce making techniques (something I refer to as the Three Modern Mother Sauces), and use it to create any sauce you could ever dream up.

Chef Jacob Burton

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Hi, I’m Jacob Burton, Executive Chef of Stella Culinary, and host of The Stella Culinary School Podcast.

Before I started culinary school, I realized there were many books, websites, and shows devoted to cooking, but very few ever teach you how to cook. Every one of them was “a pinch of this, a teaspoon of that, simmer for 20 minutes and it will be the best (fill in the blank) you’ve ever tasted. ”

For me, that just wasn’t enough. I had to know the whys and hows of cooking, and if it meant dropping $60,000 on culinary school so be it.

Being frustrated by the lack of cooking technique available to the general public, and always having the dream of someday being a professional chef, I took out a student loan and attended culinary school in San Francisco. While there, I was lucky enough to beg my way into a high end French restaurant and work as an intern.

As I moved on and graduated, eventually becoming an Executive Chef, I never forgot my roots. I never forgot what is was like to crave technique over recipes.

That’s why I started the The Free Culinary School Podcast, which later evolved into this website, Stella Culinary. This site was never intended to be another recipe site (although we do have a recipe section), but instead it was established to teach passionate cooks professional techniques; forever breaking your bonds to uninspired recipe books and soulless cooking shows.

Whether you’re in the industry or a passionate hobbyist, this website wasn’t set up for me to talk at you, but instead talk with you; to learn with you; to become a better cook with you. That’s why I always encourage the listeners and readers to interact, and is why we have the Stella Culinary Forum, where you can ask questions, make comments, and connect with other passionate cooks and professionals.

If you're new to Stella Culinary, I recommend you start here.

If you're interested in taking a hands on cooking class or attending one of our pop up dinners, you can view upcoming dates and register online at shop.stellaculinary.com.

 

Sincerely,

Jacob Burton
Executive Chef
Stella Culinary
Cedar House Sport Hotel
 

About Stella Culinary

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Stella Culinary is a versatile culinary concept lead by Chef Jacob Burton that specializes in recipe R&D, online education, hands on cooking classes, conceptually themed pop-up dinners, and custom dining experiences.

Our website's purpose is to be an ongoing educational site. Our flagship show, The Stella Culinary School Podcast, strives to replicate the same lectures you would find at a top rate culinary school, starting with the most basic concepts, with each subsequent episode building on the last. These lectures are reinforced by in-depth, HD video series, such as knife skills, kitchen prep and cooking techniques. You can reinforce your knowledge by taking a quiz, asking a question on the Stella Culinary Forum, or even submitting "home-work" assigned at the end of most audio lectures.

Unlike regular culinary schools, Stella Culinary is always growing and evolving. In a normal culinary school, you're expected to get through a certain amount of curriculum in a defined period of time. Stella Culinary aspires to grow with you, adding fresh content on a weekly basis, much of which is spawned from questions and requests from passionate cooks like you.

All of the recipes offered on Stella Culinary have been tested by the Stella Culinary Team and certified by Chef Jacob. This, however, should in no way inspire you to follow our recipes. In fact, the whole purpose of this site is to give you the knowledge and techniques required to create your own recipes -- It's the difference between learning how to read music and how to write a song, or even a symphony.

Stella Culinary is located in Truckee, California, and is part of The Cedar House Sport Hotel.

If you would like to attend an upcoming cooking class or dinner, you can do so by going to Shop.StellaCulinary.com.

If you would like more information on having the Cedar House and Stella Culinary team custom build a cooking class or private dining experience for you and your group, please contact Patty Baird of the Cedar House Sport Hotel. 

If you have a cooking question for Chef Jacob, you can submit it via audio to be answered on the Ask Chef Jacob Podcast, or post it to the Stella Culinary forum.

The Flavor Series

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Here are the three videos in the flavor series. Below these videos, you'll find an e-mail sign-up box that will give you access to our F is for Flavor PDF.

An Itroduction To Flavor Structure

An Introduction to
Flavor Structure

The Secretes of Salt Explained

The Secretes of
Salt Explained

The Five French Mother Sauces

Understanding the Five
French Mother Sauces

How to Wash Your Hands

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This video will teach you how to properly wash your hands before preparing food.

Further Information

Live Culinary Q&A Tonight at 5pm PST

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Download the MP3 - Right Click Here. This is also Available in iTunes

I will be hosting a live Culinary Q&A at 5pm PST. The broadcast will be streamed live in the above embedded video. If you would like to ask a question, either shoot it to me through e-mail, jacob@stellaculinary.com, with the subject "Live Q&A," or you can join the hangout and ask the question live via your webcam.

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