Potatoes & Starches
Potato Varieties
Waxy potatoes (Charlotte, new, red): hold their shape when cooked — ideal for roasting and salads. Starchy potatoes (Maris Piper, King Edward, Russet): fall apart when cooked — ideal for fluffy mash and chips. Using a waxy potato for mash produces a gluey, dense texture; using a starchy potato for salad produces mush.
Perfect Purée
Boil in cold, salted water — starting cold ensures even cooking through. Pass through a ricer or tamis (drum sieve) while hot — never a food processor, which overworks the starch and creates glue. Add warm cream first to loosen, then beat in cold butter vigorously to emulsify. The best restaurant mash approaches a 1:1 potato-to-fat ratio.
Rice & Pasta
Pilaf vs Risotto
Pilaf: sweat grains in fat before adding all liquid at once — fat coats each grain and limits starch release, producing separate, fluffy grains. Risotto: sweat grains in fat, then add hot stock ladle by ladle while stirring constantly — this releases starch into the liquid, creating the creamy, semi-loose consistency that defines proper risotto.
Pasta Cookery
Cook pasta in water that tastes like the sea — at least 10g salt per litre. Cook until al dente (with bite). Finish pasta in the sauce for the final 60–90 seconds, adding starchy pasta water to emulsify and bind sauce to pasta. Pasta water is not waste — it is the most powerful sauce ingredient in the kitchen.
Vinaigrettes & Emulsions
The Chemistry of Emulsification
Oil and water are immiscible. An emulsifier (mustard, egg yolk, honey, garlic paste) reduces the surface tension between them, allowing one to disperse in the other as tiny droplets. Vinaigrette is a temporary emulsion — it separates eventually. Mayonnaise is a permanent emulsion, stabilised by lecithin in egg yolk.
The Classic Ratio
Classic vinaigrette: 3 parts oil to 1 part acid. This is a starting point — adjust for acid strength and oil richness. A sharp sherry vinegar may need 4:1. A mild rice vinegar works at 2:1. Always season the vinaigrette itself, then dress the salad lightly.
The Technical Side Dish Trio
In one service: (1) perfect pomme purée — silky, glossy, no lumps; (2) a risotto at correct consistency — flowing, creamy, mantecato-finished; (3) a classic vinaigrette — emulsified, balanced, and properly seasoned.
Success criteria: Purée passes through a tamis and is glossy with emulsified butter. Risotto flows slowly when the plate is tilted — not stiff, not soupy. Vinaigrette stays emulsified for at least 60 seconds after shaking.
Phase 5 Practice Exercises
12 exercises to build skill through direct application.
Waxy vs Starchy Test
Boil one waxy and one starchy potato. Mash each. Observe the texture difference.
- Potato variety recognition
- Texture prediction
- Application understanding
Purée Drill
Make potato purée through a ricer three times until consistently silky.
- Ricer technique
- Butter emulsification
- Texture consistency
Rice Pilaf
Cook a basic pilaf. Every grain should be separate and tender.
- Fat coating technique
- Liquid absorption
- Grain separation
Risotto Practice
Cook a risotto. Add stock ladle by ladle. Mantecato finish with butter and parmesan.
- Ladle-by-ladle technique
- Starch release
- Mantecato finish
Al Dente Timing
Cook the same pasta at 1-minute intervals from 6–12 minutes. Identify al dente.
- Timing sensitivity
- Texture vocabulary
- Al dente identification
Pasta Water Emulsification
Finish pasta in sauce with pasta water. Observe the emulsification.
- Pasta water use
- Sauce binding
- Emulsification in practice
Classic Vinaigrette
Make 10 vinaigrettes adjusting oil-to-acid ratio. Find your preferred balance.
- Ratio variation
- Acid balance
- Preference development
Scratch Mayonnaise
Make mayonnaise from scratch using only egg yolk, oil, and acid.
- Emulsion construction
- Yolk role
- Permanent vs temporary emulsion
Perfect Roast Potatoes
Parboil Maris Piper, rough up surfaces, roast in hot goose fat.
- Parboiling technique
- Surface area creation
- Fat temperature
Gratin Dauphinois
Make a potato gratin. Cream fully absorbed, top golden, potato tender.
- Gratin technique
- Cream absorption
- Layering precision
Pilaf vs Risotto Compare
Same base grain as pilaf and risotto. Compare texture and method.
- Method contrast
- Starch behaviour
- Application decision-making
Seasonal Side Dish
Create an original side using one starch, one emulsion, and one seasonal vegetable.
- Creative application
- Technique combination
- Seasonal awareness