Umami

Last week was a pretty interesting and diverse week - it seems like there is always something new to discover. I spent 1 day in the 2nd quarter kitchen, 2 days in the 1st quarter kitchen and 1 day bussing for one of the restaurants. There are two restaurants associated with the Seattle Culinary Academy, One World, a finer dining restaurant where the food is prepared by the 4th quarter students, and Square One Bistro which is a more casual menu prepared by the 3rd quarter students. The 1st and 2nd quarter students are the wait staff and bussers for both restaurants.
But first, back in the 1st quarter kitchen... I was team lead on Thursday, which meant Wednesday involved doing prep for Thursday. That actually meant pulling products for the next day and setting them aside; also known as doing ones mise en place. I also had to have a plan for managing the team and submit it to our Chef instructor for review. This involved prep a couple days in advance to review the recipes and be ready. This was a crazy day involving getting all the ingredients and containers together at the same time the 2 other leads were doing it too, as well as trying to stay on top of tasks for Wednesday (chopping etc). I ended up with about a 10 minute lunch because I was so squeezed for time. It got me thinking about how that might be the pace for a sole proprietor to run their restaurant where there is no breathing room and hardly a moment in the day. There is always something to organize and prepare for - did I mention Mise En Place - my new mantra.
Thursday went well with all the up-front prep, we had a deliverables (Greek Salad) ready by 11:00, our mise en place for Friday was completed, our stations were cleaned, everyone had at least 20 minutes if not a full 30 minutes for lunch, and as I mentioned in a Facebook post - no one cut their fingers on my team, unlike and unfortunate classmate who took off a small "almond sliver" of thumb-tip.
Friday also went surprisingly smooth. I say surprisingly because I had been told horror stories involving one of the students I would be working with, but alas, no issues arose. Part of it had to do with decisions on ensuring the restaurants did not overlap menus (sitting in Square One and ordering food from One World). Additionally, I ended up working with one of the students who was very well organized and we talked enough before-hand to ensure a smooth flow. Tuesday I am back bussing, but will be working with some new people, so it will be a matter of making sure we are all on the same page again.
As to Umami; we were discussing taste, flavor, seasoning and what goes into creating a flavor profile. I have heard the term Umami bandied about over the years, but in class it was made more concrete. There are 5 documented flavor receptors in the mouth - Sweet, Sour, Salt, Bitter and Umami. The first 4 most of us can describe fairly well, if not we can at least "...know it when we taste it..." But Umami, hmmm, this was described as kind of a meaty, savory sensation, or mouth filling presence. It is triggered by the presence of glutamic acid/glutamates, which is found in cheeses, tomatoes, proteins, and mushrooms for example. Given this, I have tried to be more aware of Umami as I have tasted different foods. Being able to focus on one particular taste stimuli or be more aware can be a challenge. How does one move through the list and narrow it down. As much as we exercise our minds and bodies, exercise the taste buds can be another rewarding activity. The next question then is how do you bring Umami into ones cooking and by extension one’s life? Yep, life. I have heard people describe life as sweet, sour or bitter, even salty (for you dogs out there), but to think about life as savory, meaty or filling - I think that is a good description, and one I am finding easier to identify every day.