🧄 Secret #3: Build Your Flavor Base First
Almost every great dish in the world starts with a flavor base — a combination of aromatics cooked low and slow in fat before anything else is added. In French cooking it's onion, carrot, and celery. In Italian cooking it's soffritto. In many Middle Eastern dishes it's onion and garlic with warming spices. Taking the time to properly cook your aromatics — until they are soft, sweet, and fragrant — creates a rich, layered foundation that carries through every bite of the finished dish. Never skip this step, and never rush it.
