Week 2 Critique

The second week started out pretty much the same as the first. Lecture, break, demos, then the cooking. I'll be the first one to admit that our team wasn't as prepared as we should have been. We were scrambling the whole time, but we got our food out on time. We were actually the only team that did that. Of course, we cut corners, and what we put out was crap, but we were ready. Of the many mistakes that were made that day, the worst was to pay too much attention to what the other teams were doing. We intentionally slowed down our service to match the other teams. This won't happen again. We are going to be ready, with our food plated and our butts at the table at the designated time. If this makes any of the other teams look bad, that's too bad. It's time to get cut-throat.

I'm not looking forward to this week's class. Rice is picky, especially for rookies. There is a pilaf, a jambalaya, a risotto, and a stir-fry. We'll get it done, but this does seem a bit much for this size class. These aren't easy dishes to get right- they need a lot of attention. Maybe I'm just being pessimistic, but after last weeks' performance, we're going to have to step it up a notch.

This is a bit late in coming, but here is (finally) the picture of my rolled omelet. It was made with a duxelle and Italian parsley. The omelet part was easy. The tricky part was finding the camera and manipulating the photo.

Promised PIcs

Here are the pics of the Onsen Tamago and the Arzak egg I promised. (In reverse order).

A New Beginning

I never thought in the proverbial 'thousand years' that I would publish my own blog. I'm not a big fan of the 'blogosphere', but as this is a classroom assignment, here goes.

I am in culinary school, and as part of our assignments, we are to create and maintain our own blog. I will begin mine by relating to you my first day of class. I don't mind saying that this class is a bit of a bitch. It is eight hours straight, with only one twenty minute break.

We learned about eggs, lot's of eggs. After our lecture and a tour of the kitchen, we cooked sunny side up eggs, over easy eggs, soft and hard cooked eggs, and finished up the egg portion with a Gruyere and chive rolled omelet. I was a bit out of practice, so it took me a couple of times, but I eventually got a product that I was satisfied with.

One of our students was cut. It was nothing major, just a nick, but no more than a few minutes later she got cut again, this time much worse. Some bonehead had left their chef's knife in a sink full of soapy water, and when she reached in, she really got it. She had to get stitches both inside and out. I'll tell you one thing- if this was one of my kitchens, I would most probably bounced the perpetrators' ass right out of there. Anyway, I hope she heals up well and at least I hope they both learned a valuable lesson.

I came across a couple of terms in my notes, and for the life of me, I can't remember their exact importance. One is "Onsen Tamago" , which means 'Hot Spring Egg'. It is basically a poached egg served in a bowl of miso with a few green onions and some shoyu, which is a popular Japanese breakfast dish. I'll try and find a photo to post for next time.

The next term was "Arzak Egg" This is an egg that is bundled in film with a bit of goose fat and truffle before poaching. Sounds good. I'll try and find a pic for that one also.

For my next post, I'll upload a picture of a classic rolled and stuffed French omelet, providing I can beg or borrow a camera.

Ciao, Steven