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50-question written final was very generously heavy on old exam material.
As I was studying last night, I was amazed at how much we really learned in this past 6 weeks.
From the history of cuisine, mother sauces, Les Cuissons, knife skills, equipment, measurements, conversions, to taste development, we got a good overview of what’s entailed in this profession. But all this just leaves me wanting more.
Thank you, Chefs Lentini and D’Addario! It’s been a great first block.
Looking forward to my advancement “upstairs.”
I did good.
Sharp knives. Steady Pace. Good glycemic level.
My pinwheel arrangement of orange supremes drew serial eye-rolling at the end of the exam when everyone lined up to present their tray.
Chef Lentini gave me very encouraging words and high marks.
I might just have a future in this.
Today’s Product ID Exam took all but 20 minutes. I’m just gonna come out and say it. Nailed it!
50 items ranging from knife kit items, small kitchen equipment, herbs & spices, and oils & vinegars splayed out on stainless tables, waiting to be had.
Last time I took an identification-type exam, it was neuro-freakin’-anatomy. Naming things you can eat is definitely better!
Wait…..brains are pretty tasty……hmmm……is that how I should’ve approached it back then???
herbs & spices
This beautifully made consomme is so clear and so free of impurities, you can read a printed page placed on the bottom of its container. I’ve never attempted a consomme at home so was never witness to the alchemy of its transformation from opaque restorative to crystal elixir.
A consomme is the essence of your food in crystal-clear liquid form. Its value is rooted in the technique. Taste comes from a well-made stock and precise seasoning but it’s the patience and care one dedicates to execution that elevated this dish to upper class status. I still prefer my rustic soups of comfort at home but seeing the production of a beautiful consomme is awe-inspiring. It would be a great skill to master.
Phew, feel a lot better after the mock exam.
There is hope!
In 70 minutes, we set up our station, performed & presented the following cuts:
- Ciseler — 1/2 onion (small dice)
- Chiffonade — 5 spinach leaves (thin strips)
- Tourne — produced 2 from 1/2 of a potato (football-shaped barrels)
- Julienne — as many as possible from 1 carrot (1/8″ x 1/8″ x 2″ sticks)
- Brunoise — as many as possible from the same carrot above (1/8″ cubes)
- Supreme — 1 orange (skinless, pithless, seedless wedges)
The time allowance was generous and the products were fresh. Feedback for me was to work on onions and straight-holding of the knife for chiffonades. Incidentally, these are the easier things to work on. Now if I just sharpen my knife tomorrow, I’ll be in good shape for the real thing next week.
One student sustained a gashing wound unsheathing his knife. It happened before the mock exam and was taken to the hospital. The student’s work station looked like a crime scene. Chefs said that if that were to happen on exam day, it’s considered an automatic fail. A sobering reality check for this line of work.
I need a source for veal bones. I’m about this close to begin making veal stocks at home.
The French can quickly brainwash you into believing that stocks lie at the foundation of all good food.
(Stock literally means ‘foundation’ in French, bonus point on the second quiz, score!)
A well-made stock calls for cartilaginous bones, aromatics, water, and love. And unlike Viagra warnings, this boner should go >4 hours (6-8 hours to properly extract all the goodness).
1 carrot, 1 orange, 1 potato, a few spinach leaves
Less than two weeks away from the knife skills practical exam and I’m happy to report that it is possible to improve over time. We’ve learned all the cuts we’ll be tested on and began devoting substantial time to practice in class. Slowly but surely, there is some sort of motor memory consolidation and my knife cuts are beginning to take shape.
[pun intended or just literal coincidence? hmmm.....]
Time management will be important and we’ll get a good feel during a mock exam next week. If I can keep this up, maybe one day my hands will be insurable. Maybe.
by Ruth Reichl
One of our assignments for Foundations I is to read a (non-cookbook) food book and write a 200-word “report” about it.
Sounds like something I know how to do!
Ruth Reichl is such a formidable force in food writing but I really haven’t been familiar with her work. And damn! That lady can write. Some passages read so sensually satisfying that it’s a wonder that no one’s tried to market a “Ruth Reichl diet” — You just read her words instead of eating.
An excerpt of this talented writer,
The waiter had just set a plate of black bass in Barolo sauce before her [disguise coach Claudia], and she was looking down at it with a dreamy expression. The fish was wrapped in translucent slices of potato that hugged it like a second skin. She reached out with the tines of her fork and watched, rapt, as the crisp potato coat shattered to reveal the soft, creamy flesh underneath.
I remember seeing this legendary Le Cirque plate on Season 3 of Top Chef. It was Hung who nailed the execution in recreating the dish. In this case, the experience via Ruth Reichl’s description more than equaled visual impressions made on TV.
I think I’ll be reading more Ruth Reichl from now on.
Learning about frying techniques means eating fried food for breakfast. Mmmmm……where’s that waffle for my chicken???
I always kinda knew that I have a stronger preference for deep-fried foods than pan-fried (no matter how much oil was applied to the pan). But to have the two methods tasted side-by-side really sealed the verdict — Deep-frying reins supreme. (erg….my brain is way too wired by TV).
The pan-fried cutlet was done using clarified butter and it was amazing how the flavors shone through. No wonder McDonald’s used to formulate their fries with tallow. I wonder what the next lynching target will be in food.
Jay Santos (aka. Smurf) and Salvatore Coppola of Hell’s Kitchen fame came and did a Steak n’ Potatoes demo for us.
Jay Santos (Smurf)
Salvatore
Can you keep a secret for 5 million dollars? Not to mention that casting decisions are made 2 years in advance. Selection is based on a 3-day personality test — no knife skills necessary. All cast member goes away for 2 months but is lucky to get 3 hours of sleep a night while filming. Show biz requirements undercut any achievable flow of production and Gordon Ramsay (who is supposedly awesome off camera) can only be satisfied with the highest of standards. In all, it sucked. But it is national TV and the name will get out there and the course of one’s professional cooking career will change.
Steak and Potatoes: flat iron steak, mashed potatoes, brown veal stock reduction sauce (with wine & mushrooms), quenelle of garlic-shallot-blue cheese, watermelon & cucumber salad dressed in vinaigrette, topped off with mache and edible flowers.
Demo Plate
Tasting Plate
Smurf’s autograph.
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