Getting creative in the kitchen

Michael Haase
November 16, 2017
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As a top chef, Frank Lantz has spent countless hours in busy restaurant kitchens, creating and perfecting new recipes. These days, his creative ideas are mainly directed towards his latest project, TastePlease, a global platform for shared food experiences. The joy of cooking, however, is still at the centre of his life.

Not surprisingly, Frank is the type of man who feels at home in the kitchen. Creating new recipes comes natural to him – it is usually not something he thinks about too carefully. If he is in the mood for a certain taste, texture or temperature, he will simply work from there. With the ingredients he happens to have in the fridge or the seasonal produce that catches his attention at the market.

“When you’ve created and cooked many recipes, you end up with a virtual catalogue in your mind, where you can juggle different flavours and ingredients,” he explains. “From my time in the restaurant kitchen, I also know that it takes certain elements to make a dish come together. You need to balance saltiness, acidity, fat, depth, texture… And not least create umami.”

With that in mind, there are some foods that you will always find in his kitchen. Bulk ingredients like onions, kale, tomatoes and mushrooms make sure the base is covered. Trusted helpers like quality olive oil, vinegar, freshly ground pepper and Læsø salt can add the final touch to new creative recipes – regardless if they are the result of Frank’s creative mind or a suggestion made by the Plant Jammer algorithm.

Surprising flavour combinations

As an entrepreneur, Frank is not afraid to try out new tools and technologies. When he first heard about the Plant Jammer project, he was naturally intrigued by the thought of turning a chef’s understanding of flavours and ingredients into an algorithm.

“With my chef background in mind, I’m used to combining ingredients in new ways, but I wanted to see if the recipe builder could offer me a different kind of inspiration,” he explains. “And I have to admit that it has presented me with many delicious, well-functioning recipes over the months that I’ve tried it out at home.”

Especially for the ones who are curious about the plant based cuisine but does not know quite where to start, he sees a great potential for a tool like Plant Jammer to help offer vegetarian inspiration that goes beyond classic side dishes and basic salads.

Everyone can cook

Through his work with TastePlease, Frank practices the idea that everyone can cook. His platform and app lets everyone – experienced chefs and new home cooks alike – show the world what they can make in the kitchen. With the introduction of Plant Jammer, he hopes that more people will recognize their own potential behind the stove.

“Personally, I would love to welcome more plant based dinners and dishes on TastePlease,” he states. “There’s a huge creative potential in the vegetarian and vegan cuisine, so it would be great to see what people can create when they take the plunge and use the recipe builder to navigate more confidently in textures, balances and flavour combinations.”

If you have finally perfected your own Plant Jammer recipe and want to share the result with the world – or at least the TastePlease community – it is easy to set up an account and do so. You can also use the platform to create private dinner events, sell tickets and let new guests taste your best creations.

Founder Frank Lantz and his team are frequent dinner hosts themselves – along with friendly foodies around the world, so if this article has made you hungry, it might be time to check out www.tasteplease.com for upcoming events near you.

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