Knowledge Base > Eric Wynkoop - Ask Me Anything (Office Hours)

Ask Me Anything (Office Hours)

Eric Wynkoop - Ask Me Anything (Office Hours)

This event was on Tuesday, June 23, 2026 at 11:00 am Pacific, 2:00 pm Eastern

Join Chef Eric Wynkoop in his virtual office as he welcomes all of your questions. This event was created for you and we encourage you to Ask Anything – from cooking techniques to co… Read More.

Recorded

Question:

Do you recommend making your own spice blends or purchasing pre-made blends?

— Roy L. Cox

Answer:

I'll share the thoughts that come to my mind immediately, and that is that spice blends are often associated with a particular regional cuisine. In which case, I would recommend starting with a blend that you buy at the store. Okay? One that's already concocted in a ratio that is going to be aligned with somebody's palate in that homeland, and that's a great place to start. Then you Start to tune your palate to the flavor and aroma profiles of that particular blend from that particular part of the world. Then when you go off to blend your own version of that particular spice blend, you have a baseline to start with. And then you can go from there to make adjustments, staying true to the original flavor profile. Okay? Otherwise, you can find spice blends that might be particular to some preparation. Although, again, it's probably going to be linked to a particular region. So give it a try and see what you like. The important thing is to keep in mind that when you go out and ask people about, let's say, different brands of a given spice blend, you're going to get, of course, their preference, which may or may not align with your own palate preference. Also, I find that some of these spice blends across different brands can be kind of similar to one another, which means that you're relying upon your palate or training your palate, I think is really important and a good experience as well. So again, start with something from the store before you branch out on your own so you establish a baseline. All right. Thank you.
Eric Wynkoop

Eric Wynkoop

Director of Culinary Instruction

rouxbe.com