The flavor profiling quandary

I was amused recently to read the blog of a Top Chef follower who suggested a drinking game in which everyone takes a shot whenever someone says the words "flavor profile."

Contestants on Top Chef seem to really like using the phrase in discussing how fabulous their dishes taste. "I think my flavor profile was right on..." is a typical pronouncement, or "I think I constructed a flavor profile that was very fresh and innovative..."

But despite the explosion of analytic interest in flavors, I've yet to hear exactly what the heck a flavor profile is. Now I'm curious. Is it:

1) a portrait by Giuseppe Arcimboldo?










2) What the FBI might use when searching for a quark, e.g. "Suspect was a strangely charming particle from top to bottom...."







3) Or have I got it all wrong -- are they actually referring to a "Flava" profile?