Pascal Barbot

L’Astrance

Often in the world of cooking, a certain combination of tastes takes us to a place, be it to somewhere unknown or to a strongly familiar territory, where we think “I know this taste!”. Umami is a crucial part of this phenomenon. Take the perfect example of dashi: it has a very simple, marine-like taste with hints of salt, smoke, iodine and acid, which gives a hearty, rich and altogether pleasant sensation. The use of several flavours is crucial in the creation of a dish: sweet and sour, bitter and fatty, salty and sour, bitter and umami.