The solution in 10 minutes: how to break through your culinary creative block
Discover five practical techniques to break creative blocks and create inspiring dishes quickly.
One moment ideas for new dishes are easy to come by, the next it’s a bit more difficult. Sometimes creativity just needs that extra push.
Of course, not only chefs experience a creative block sometimes. This occurs in all kinds of sectors. That’s why numerous creative techniques have been developed to help you with this. These techniques are often used in business, but they can certainly work well in the kitchen too. Try one of these 5 exercises and serve a creative and inspiring dish in no-time!
No idea is too crazy
To unleash your creativity, it’s important not to limit yourself. Collect as many ideas as possible at first and critically analyse them after. Which of the techniques below will you apply?
Braindump
5+ minutes – 1 person – post-its + pen
It may seem obvious, but when you really take your time, it may turn out that you don’t need that much help to be creative as you initially thought. Set a timer for 5 minutes and grab some post-its. On every post-it, write an idea for a new component or dish. After 30 seconds, this may be a bit more challenging, but keep on pushing yourself to use up those full 5 minutes. The more time you invest, the more creative your ideas will be.
Hidden relatives
10 minutes – 2 people – 2x pen + paper
Work together with a partner (this could be your sous-chef, or maybe an intern with a fresh perspective) and write down as many ingredients and cooking techniques on separate sheets of papers within 2 minutes. Put the sheets side by side and try to make quick connections between ingredients and techniques. Write down the combinations and choose the most interesting ones to test in the kitchen.
Superhero
5 minutes – 1 person – pen + paper
Who is your ‘non-culinary superhero’? An artist, character from a series or a historical figure? Take some time to keep this person in mind. Imagine this person is a guest in your restaurant, what would you cook for him/her? Think about certain ingredients or techniques. Write these thoughts down and use this as a base for your new dish.
Rediscovered memory
5 minutes – 1 person
Dive deep into your memory. Look for a special moment that involved taste and/or smell. Perhaps a visit to your grandfather’s vegetable garden when you were young, a romantic dinner with the love of your life, or having drinks with your friends in the evening sun. Try to relive these memories and try to think of what flavours, smells and techniques could be linked to them.
Seasonal scavenger hunt
20 minutes - 1 person - pen + notepad
Go on a virtual ‘creative scavenger hunt’ through the seasonal products currently available. Make a list of all the seasonal ingredients you can find, to do so you can use our seasonal calendar, for example. Think about how you can use these ingredients in new and surprising dishes. Get inspired by the colours, flavours, and textures the seasons have to offer, and experiment with incorporating these ingredients into your kitchen.
A fresh look
The goal of each technique is to offer a fresh look and a new perspective. Often, you experience a blockage because you’re looking at your dishes from a fixed point of view. From this limited vantage point, there are few options, so you tend to repeat and tweak the same dishes repeatedly.
Have you managed to get that fresh perspective? Get cooking right away with the components on Gastronomixs.
Don’t have an account yet? And you’re excited to discover how quickly you can apply components into your kitchen, using Gastronomixs? Then try the platform now for two weeks free of charge!