I am very weary.
I think people have a glamorous, romantic idea about culinary school. Or they think it's like "Hell's kitchen" where the chefs yell at you all the time. I am not to those parts yet, so I don't know either. This week I learned :
My uniform: Wear every aspect at all times, wear your apron if you're prepping food--but not in the hall! My commis (unsure if that's the correct spelling) is my skullcap hat that signifies my rank--lowest possible. Maggot. The cravat ties around the neck like a boy scout with the ends tucked in to catch your sweat. Neato chef coat, uncomfortable non-slip sole shoes.
My kit: it was like Christmas. It includes my knives (3), spreaders, peeler, corer, cake decorating tools, silpat cooking mats, rolling pin, measuring cups and spoons, spoon, spatula, etc. Very heavy.
History of culinary: lecture about important (but dead) French guys.
Knife skills: How to cut veggies into many shapes including seven sided footballs (chateau) , mini chateaux (cocottes), concasse (rough dice) batonetts (french fries) Julienne (1/8 in x 1/8 in x 2 in), brunoise (same size, dice), fine Julienne (1/16 in strips and dices), supreme (best part of the citrus, no peel or membrane), and other cuts. Getting used to the balance of the knife, getting a blister, trying not to lose any digits. This is basically what we did all week. And go home and practice, practice, practice! There will be a test.
Food safety: Keep the food in this temperature range or it will kill your customers and you will lose your business, etc.
Cleaning: I heard that people in the food industry spend 70-80% of their time just cleaning. We spend at least an hour doing it, even after just cutting. Washing dishes by hand (and rinsing and sanitizing), learning to use the big dishwasher, sweeping and scrubbing the floor, sanitizing tables, wiping walls and stovetops, and more. (Hopefully with all the mopping I'll drop some of this baby weight. Or not. Chef said many students gain about 30 lbs. during the program. Dang.)
The unexpected up side is: many of those veggies our class chopped turned into our snacks, cooked by us and the chef. He says, put that pot on the stove, add this, melt that butter, go get the food mill and rice the potatoes, etc. And he's always dropping tips that the Pastry and baking (P + B) students might never use, but good to know. Like, you make this recipe out of such and such an ingredient--like the carrots we cut at irregular angles (oblique) roasted on a sheet tray with oil, salt, pepper, and curry--never had that in the midwest before. For example, the onions we minced up, learning, turned into French onion soup and salsa one day, and the next we he reduced them with red wine and we ate them with mashed potatoes (yum!) We also had croutons with the soup made with cave-aged Gruyer cheese ($35/lb!!!!!--wasted on us maggots). The block he brought out was as big as my youngest child. A far as scraps, we try not to waste--inedible scraps go into the "pig bucket" and go to feed real pigs. And lots of stories from his career. Pretty interesting.
In short, even though we are P+B students, they are still teaching us the basics, and trying to cultivate an educated palate. It's all good.
But, class starts at 7 sharp every AM (no lateness is allowed, ever) and no one leaves until the room is spic and span. Then I go home and take care of kids, or go to work, only once or twice during the week. I'm basically working every weekend until this time next year. I've been ready for bed by 8:30 every night. My husband is doing such a good job with the kiddos in the morning. Anyway, I'm whipped, it's Friday night, and I can sleep in in the morning til the baby gets me up! Yippee!
I think people have a glamorous, romantic idea about culinary school. Or they think it's like "Hell's kitchen" where the chefs yell at you all the time. I am not to those parts yet, so I don't know either. This week I learned :
My uniform: Wear every aspect at all times, wear your apron if you're prepping food--but not in the hall! My commis (unsure if that's the correct spelling) is my skullcap hat that signifies my rank--lowest possible. Maggot. The cravat ties around the neck like a boy scout with the ends tucked in to catch your sweat. Neato chef coat, uncomfortable non-slip sole shoes.
My kit: it was like Christmas. It includes my knives (3), spreaders, peeler, corer, cake decorating tools, silpat cooking mats, rolling pin, measuring cups and spoons, spoon, spatula, etc. Very heavy.
History of culinary: lecture about important (but dead) French guys.
Knife skills: How to cut veggies into many shapes including seven sided footballs (chateau) , mini chateaux (cocottes), concasse (rough dice) batonetts (french fries) Julienne (1/8 in x 1/8 in x 2 in), brunoise (same size, dice), fine Julienne (1/16 in strips and dices), supreme (best part of the citrus, no peel or membrane), and other cuts. Getting used to the balance of the knife, getting a blister, trying not to lose any digits. This is basically what we did all week. And go home and practice, practice, practice! There will be a test.
Food safety: Keep the food in this temperature range or it will kill your customers and you will lose your business, etc.
Cleaning: I heard that people in the food industry spend 70-80% of their time just cleaning. We spend at least an hour doing it, even after just cutting. Washing dishes by hand (and rinsing and sanitizing), learning to use the big dishwasher, sweeping and scrubbing the floor, sanitizing tables, wiping walls and stovetops, and more. (Hopefully with all the mopping I'll drop some of this baby weight. Or not. Chef said many students gain about 30 lbs. during the program. Dang.)
The unexpected up side is: many of those veggies our class chopped turned into our snacks, cooked by us and the chef. He says, put that pot on the stove, add this, melt that butter, go get the food mill and rice the potatoes, etc. And he's always dropping tips that the Pastry and baking (P + B) students might never use, but good to know. Like, you make this recipe out of such and such an ingredient--like the carrots we cut at irregular angles (oblique) roasted on a sheet tray with oil, salt, pepper, and curry--never had that in the midwest before. For example, the onions we minced up, learning, turned into French onion soup and salsa one day, and the next we he reduced them with red wine and we ate them with mashed potatoes (yum!) We also had croutons with the soup made with cave-aged Gruyer cheese ($35/lb!!!!!--wasted on us maggots). The block he brought out was as big as my youngest child. A far as scraps, we try not to waste--inedible scraps go into the "pig bucket" and go to feed real pigs. And lots of stories from his career. Pretty interesting.
In short, even though we are P+B students, they are still teaching us the basics, and trying to cultivate an educated palate. It's all good.
But, class starts at 7 sharp every AM (no lateness is allowed, ever) and no one leaves until the room is spic and span. Then I go home and take care of kids, or go to work, only once or twice during the week. I'm basically working every weekend until this time next year. I've been ready for bed by 8:30 every night. My husband is doing such a good job with the kiddos in the morning. Anyway, I'm whipped, it's Friday night, and I can sleep in in the morning til the baby gets me up! Yippee!
