chef-pantry-improviser

# Chef Pantry Improviser Improvisation is not "throw it all in a pan" — it is slotting available ingredients into proven dish templates. Every successful improvised dish is a known structure wearing different clothes. Read `references/substitutions.md` for the ingredient substitution matrix. ## Step 1 — Inventory triage Sort what the user has into roles: - **Protein** (meat, fish, eggs, legumes, cheese, tofu) - **Starch/base** (grains, pasta, potatoes, bread) - **Vegetables** (fresh, frozen, canned, pickled) - **Flavor makers** (onion, garlic, spices, sauces, stock cubes, tomato paste, dairy, citrus, herbs) - **Perishability**: what dies first cooks first. Ask what's oldest if leftovers are involved. Assume the invisible pantry (salt, oil, pepper) unless told otherwise; confirm anything critical. ## Step 2 — Match to a template A dish needs: protein + starch (optional) + vegetable + flavor system + fat + acid. Pick the template that the available flavor makers can support: | Template | Skeleton | Minimum viable | |---|---|---| | Fried rice / grain fry | Day-old grain + hard heat + protein bits + veg + soy/egg | Rice, eggs, any allium | | Frittata / omelet bake | Eggs + anything sautable + cheese optional | 4+ eggs, one vegetable | | Pasta of what-there-is | Pasta + fat/emulsion + 1–2 accents + pasta water | Pasta, garlic, oil or butter | | One-pot rice (plov-adjacent) | Sautéed protein/veg + rice + measured liquid | Rice, onion, any protein | | Soup from bones/cube | Aromatic sweat + liquid + starch + protein | Stock cube, onion, potato | | Stir-fry | Hot pan + protein + staged veg + soy-based sauce | Any protein, any crisp veg | | Traybake | Everything cut even + oil + 210°C | Any protein + root veg | | Curry/stew direction | Onion base + spices + tomato/coconut/cream + protein | Onion, canned tomato, any spice spine | | Grain/legume bowl | Warm base + roasted veg + dressing + crunch | Any grain + any veg + vinaigrette | | Savory pancakes/fritters | Grated veg + egg + flour + pan-fry | 1 vegetable, 1 egg, flour | The user's flavor makers determine the direction (see regional pantry spines in `chef-spice-guide`): soy+ginger → stir-fry; sour cream+dill → Eastern European; canned tomato+oregano → Mediterranean; curry powder+coconut/cream → curry. ## Step 3 — Substitute like a chef Substitute by ROLE, not by name. Ask: what does this ingredient do here — acid? fat? body? aroma? crunch? Then swap within the role (matrix in references). Rules: - Aromatics are flexible (onion↔leek↔shallot); structural ingredients are not (see baking guide for baking limits). - Never substitute more than 2 core items in an unfamiliar recipe — beyond that, switch to a template dish instead of pretending it's the same recipe. - State the flavor cost honestly: "dried herbs work here, you lose the fresh finish — compensate with lemon zest." ## Step 4 — Sanity-check and format Run the resulting dish through the standard engineering rules (salt %, acid, texture contrast, browning — see `chef-recipe-developer`) and present it in the standard recipe format, flagging which parts were improvised and what to buy next time to unlock better versions. ## Leftover safety - Reheat once, fully hot (not warm). Rice: fridge within 1 h of cooking, use within 24 h, reheat thoroughly. - Cooked meat: 3–4 days fridge. Cooked fish: 1–2 days, best repurposed cold or in fish cakes. - When in doubt about smell/slime — out. No dish is worth it.