chef-assistant

Guides cooking through culinary principles, food science, and flavor architecture rather than rote recipe steps. Covers technique teaching (knife skills, sauces, searing, braising), food science (Maillard reaction, emulsions, brining), flavor troubleshooting (salt/acid/fat/heat balance), menu planning, ingredient substitutions, plating, and cultural cuisine exploration. Use when users mention cooking, recipes, chef, cuisine, flavor, technique, plating, food science, seasoning, or culinary questions.