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My mother regularly used whole-wheat flour in cakes. The results ranged from good (e.g. apple-sauce cake, which has a texture similar to banana bread), to dreadful and sad (e.g. angel-food cake, which should not have the texture of a washing-up sponge); most were not as appealing as the plain- and cake-flour versions, which were developed for these lighter flours. I've replaced plain flour with rye flour in one recipe (a Guinness and ginger cake, which also has a texture like banana bread), and it works; I've tried rye flour in brownies, and the texture was not great, rather pasty.

I'm wondering whether wine gums' composition varies from country to country, because where I've found these (EU and USA), their texture is less elastic/rubbery than that of gummy bears. The flavours are standard fruit flavours.

This would be a really strong way to position umami!

I'd present three small portions of plain rice to each, with sides of a mushroom duxelles, roasted tomatoes (if you can find really good ones), and soy sauce. You could try straight MSG, but on its own it tends to taste of mass-production, so I'd go for sources of umami that are more complex, and help the guests to identify their shared savouriness. ETA, are these personal guests, or clients? If they're clients, they'll probably be more open to an actual lesson, and feel that it adds value to the experience, but if they're dinner guests, they may prefer a more subtle, integrated approach to learning about umami.

I like few drops of bitters in a glass of water.

'Focaccia' does mean different things in different parts of Italy, and there's also been drift in the use of the term over time: for example, there are baked goods that were called 'foccaccia' in Florence when I was a kid, but no longer are, at least, not by everyone, and in some places, there are things now called 'foccaccia' that once had other names. I'm fairly certain that this is at least partly due to the increase in tourism, and efforts to make things more recognizable/appealing to foreign tourists.

The oude kriek was not the tartest kriek I've had (there was an amazing one that was remarkably tart and intensely fruity, but I forgot to make a note of the name, and just keep hoping it will show up again; I'll recognize the label), but the vinegar/acetic acid note (especially on the nose) seemed to overwhelm the entire profile, and that was what left me wondering. It may be part of the profile, it's not something I've been able to determine from what I've read.

Thanks, @FrogPrincesse. There isn't a large selection of kriek here (mostly Lindemans and Boon), and I hadn't seen 'oude' before, so thought it was something specific to the producer, Hanssens Artisanaal. The reviews on a number of sites have left me puzzled, as they range from 'mildly sweet with a pleasant tartness' and 'very tart but balanced', to variations on the theme of 'vinegary'. One thing that has leapt out at me is that the 'vinegary' assessments are overwhelmingly from Scandinavian countries (though the associated names suggest a variety of nationalities), so I'm wondering whether storage mightn't be a factor in the way it tastes (I'm in Denmark, where the storage of food and beverages is very, very, casual), especially as the summer was very warm, and air conditionaing is a rarity here. This is one of the more expensive krieks, here, so I'm on the fence when it comes to trying another bottle.

I love kriek, try all the various kinds I come across, and like most of them. Recently, a friend shared a bottle of Oude Kriek with me, and I found it remarkably, almost undrinkably vinegary (although I like most sour things, even extremely sour ones). Is this characteristic of this brand, or does it sound as though this was a bad bottle?

Usually, I lightly toast the rice (or oat, or millet) flakes first, which makes them more bread-crumb-like, but even when I've forgotten to, or skipped this, the results have been fine, perhaps a tiny bit denser.

Most health food shops carry rice flakes, and some supermarkets, too; if they seem really expensive, look elsewhere, because they shouldn't be outrageously priced. I've found that rice flakes don't add a noticeable flavour to meatballs, particularly the ones I make, which are fairly well-seasoned, so the herbs, spices, tomato paste, and so on dominate. The texture is not noticeably different to meatballs made with ordinary bread crumbs.

I regularly use rolled oats (both fine and coarse), rice flakes (my favourite, in terms of texture), rice panko, or millet flakes (I replace them 1:1 by weight) when I make meatballs, and the results are very satisfactory: I'm very picky about the texture of my food. I've used potato flakes and crushed potato chips in a pinch, but the results were heavier and a bit pasty in terms of consistency. ETA I also used gluten-free-bread crumbs on one occasion, but the results were similar to the potato-chip or -flake meatballs, probably because of the lack of gluten: no structure. ETA, I forgot to mention that I usually (i.e. unless I forget) lightly toast any grain flakes before I use them: a couple of minutes in a pan over medium-high heat does the trick. I think the texture is slightly better when I do this, but it may be imagination, and as I said, I'm very picky about food texture.

Do the programmes need to be in English/have English subtitles, or are you up for ones that are in Italian, if the recipe procedures are carried out clearly enough to follow by watching? I'm asking because I really enjoy La Cucina delle Monache (The Kitchen/Cuisine of the Nuns), which is in Italian only, but quite clear, as far are recipe procedure goes.

I never found an oil sprayer that met all my criteria, so I'm still looking. For now, I'm continuing to brush/flick oil onto the food with a pastry brush; when the surface is loose (e.g. breaded), I freeze the food, because otherwise it's a maddening mess. I've used this, https://www.kunstogkokkentoj.dk/product/dragsbaek-sprayfedt?variant=051-001-00 (it's rapeseed oil, which used and cultivated extensively in Denmark and the surrounding region), and held the can as far from myself and as close to the food as possible without defeating the purpose of the spray, because I've also been unhappy about the idea of inhaling an aerosol of oil (I thought about using a face mask, too). For most purposes I use grapeseed oil (it's the most affordable neutral-flavoured oil I can find on a regular basis), but I've no idea whether it would solidify in the refrigerator.

An online search should give you plenty of results; this is one option: https://www.realwasabi.com/pages/fresh-wasabi