Q:

How to clear your palate between different flavored dishes when cooking?

I found myself making a couple of disparate-tasting dishes. One was a salad dressing with blue cheeses and garlic, and another was meat flavored with thyme and rosemary.
I tried to taste both while cooking, but as I sit here and write this, all I can taste is the salad dressing.
I'm guessing this might be covered in some formal cooking education: how do you clear your palate when cooking multiple dishes, each with a strong and powerful flavor?  I am asking this from the point of view of the chef, not the diner.  
I would assume that this could become problematic as the size of the kitchen gets larger, and the number of strongly-flavored dishes would become more prevalent.

A:

My first thought is to tie them together or plan them in order to closest ingredients that might lend flavor to the next. 
On another note, here is an article at About.Com written by By Rebecca Franklin a French Food Expert: http://frenchfood.about.com/od/explorefrenchfood/a/palatecleanser.htm
Traditional palate cleansers:

Apple and Calvados Sorbet
Lemon Sorbet
Lime Sorbet
Mint Sorbet

Unorthodox palate cleansers:

Sparkling water, with or without a twist of citrus
Lightly brewed green, black, or mint tea, with minimal sweetener
Celery sticks or fresh tart apples
A sprig of parsley
Flat water with a twist of citrus

Here is, Fig & Brie “Bites” found here: http://entertainingiseasy.com/fig-brie-bites/
I would add fresh mint leaves and ice to a glass of water or ice cubes with mint leaves and put them into sparkling water or citrus in sparkling water.
I'd try mint or ginger tea, 
a creamy cheese or port wine cheese on table water crackers, 
or even something creamy like shrimp scampi might be helpful as well. 
Please let us know what you choose :)

A:

Unless you have to serve them close together then one of the best palate cleansers is simply time plus a glass of lemon water. 
If you want to serve close together then some sort of palate cleanser is not a bad idea. There are many traditional palate cleansers which have already been covered very well, if you want something different then try serving a small, strong cocktail like a gimlet or a lemon drop. It doesn't have to be alcoholic, although a bit of kick won't hurt - just keep it reasonable so your guests don't get sloshed. Of course you could just give them a piece of lemon to suck on too. 
Also keep in mind that the palate isn't just the tongue, your nose is at least as important as your tongue when tasting food - try pinching your nose while eating and you'll see what I mean. The upshot is that strong smells help clean the palate as well as strong tastes, try giving them some ground coffee to smell, that's what many wine tasters do in between tastes. 

