Olfactory flavour layering: more than taste

Let’s get this straight: taste is just the overture – salty, sweet, sour, bitter, umami. Flavour is the symphony. Flavour happens when volatile compounds reach your olfactory receptors, flooding your brain with memory, pleasure and synaptic fireworks.

Layering like a perfumer – A perfumer never simply tosses scents into a bottle. They construct a pyramid – top, heart and base notes each chosen for volatility, persistence and resonance. In the kitchen the same logic applies.

Top notes – These are your first impressions: those aromatics that leap from the plate, flow through your sinuses and vanish before you can grab them.

Think:

• Torn basil on a Margherita

• Zest of lemon on grilled fish

• Sichuan pepper oil over silken tofu

• The hiss of fresh ginger as it hits the wok

Principle: Top notes are volatile. Apply them late, just before serving, or even tableside.

Heart notes – Now you’re in the body of the flavour. Heart notes are broad, round and persistent. They give a dish character and identity.

Think:

• Slow roasted tomatoes

• Caramelised onions

• Toasted spices in ghee

• Roasted root veg, crusty bread, braised lamb

Principle: Heart notes need time and coaxing – browning, simmering, emulsifying to unlock mid-spectrum aromatics.

Adam Moore

“Base notes often require patience – fermenting, ageing, roasting to the brink”

Base notes – Base notes linger on the palate and are the reason diners remember your food days later.

Think:

• Mushroom, soy, and dried seaweed

• Smoked meats

• Aged Parmesan

• Black garlic, miso, anchovy

Principle: Base notes often require patience – fermenting, ageing, roasting to the brink.

The science of layering

The great cuisines of the world – Indian, Thai, Indonesian, Chinese –layer flavour like seasoned perfumers. The French call this “fond” (foundation).

The trinity of flavour – Every culture has its “holy trinity”:

·  French: onion, carrot, celery

·  Cajun: onion, capsicum, celery

·  Chinese: ginger, garlic, spring onion

·  Indian: onion, ginger, garlic (or in some regions mustard seed, cumin, curry leaf)

Controlled volatility – If you toss everything in at once, you get mush. If you layer carefully you get depth, resonance and that elusive quality memory. Add aromatics at intervals. Let one ingredient brown while the next remains fresh and green.

Emotive cooking – The right base note, properly revealed, can make a diner tear up with nostalgia. A top note can transport them to a childhood backyard or a hawker stall in Penang. That’s not luck. That’s design.

The chef’s toolkit: practical layering

Lay the foundation (base notes):

• Start with aged, fermented, or deeply roasted ingredients. Miso, soy, fish sauce, black garlic, toasted grains, dried mushrooms.

• Build slow. Sweat onions for sweetness; brown meats for Maillard complexity.

  
  Build the body (heart notes):

• Add spices and veg in sequence. Let each unlock its own volatiles.

• Use emulsions, dairy, and stocks to carry aroma compounds.

  
  Lift with top notes:

• Add herbs, citrus, and fresh spices last. Zest, microgreens, fresh oils, a drizzle of vinegar or verjuice.

• Serve immediately; let diners inhale before they taste.

Manipulate texture and temperature:

• Contrast crispy and creamy, hot and cold, for maximum aromatic effect.

Finish with memory:

• A whisper of smoke, a shaving of truffle, a drop of sesame oil.

Tasting menu examples

1. Smoked citrus-cured ocean trout Charred cucumber, native finger lime, sesame oil, puffed wild rice, nori powder

Top notes: Freshly zested finger lime pearls, micro coriander, a finishing drizzle of toasted sesame oil

Heart notes: Charred cucumber ribbons, ocean trout cured with citrus, pink peppercorn and salt

Base notes: Nori powder, puffed wild rice, hint of cold-smoked oil

2. Charred eggplant & smoked tomato broth Caramelised onion, burnt butter, miso, crispy garlic, bronze fennel

Top notes: Bronze fennel fronds, a spoon of burnt butter, whisper of lemon oil

Heart notes: Charred eggplant flesh, fire-roasted tomato broth, caramelised onion

Base notes: White miso, roasted garlic, crispy shallot, deep stock

3. Wagyu short rib, black garlic & fermented chilli Fermented chilli caramel, pickled shimeji mushrooms, smoked bone marrow butter, native herbs

Top notes: Native river mint, pickled shimeji mushrooms, fermented chilli caramel glaze

Heart notes: Sous vide wagyu short rib, sticky pan reduction, roasted native root

Base notes: Black garlic puree, smoked bone marrow butter, beef jus reduction