Day one at any course feels like the first day at school, except
everyone is bustling around in their George Brown chef gear looking like
they are just about to make something tasty. It's a good thing I
arrived a good 45 minutes early like the keener that I am, since I
forgot my student id at work and had to circle a few times to find
parking. I also was the first student in my class to arrive surprise
surprise and was greeted warmly by my instructor Chef Klaus. Next was a
trip to the bookstore to collect my uniform. I was pleasantly surprised
to find that in chef land sizes, I'm a small. I know I'm not a small,
but it does feel good. As soon as I got back to class, I promptly put on
my garb for an Instagram photo, because that's how I roll!
Class
begins and it's showtime! Chef Klaus starts with the course materials
and the rules and regulations that we are to follow. He talks about
kitchen safety and knives and the tools that we are to bring with us at
the next class. And finally it's time to demo - a trio of stock, fish,
beef and chicken. I'm no stranger to making stock, I save everything
from veggie bits, shrimp shells, lobster tails and bones and I'm always
ready to whip up a batch of stock-y goodness, however, there is a LOT to
learn from the professionals and I'm soaking it up like a sponge!
We got to taste the stock straight out of the pot – the fish was overly fishy for me and I knocked back the chicken stock like a shot and burned my tongue. The beef needed more hours than we had in the class to taste like it should so we gave that a miss. We were invited to take some of the stock home if we wished to, so I took some chicken stock in a little container hoping to taste it for real after my tongue healed. Next class, Salads!
Things I learned
Roast your bones and veggies before you boil them to deepen the flavor
Start your stock with cold water
Adding salt is not necessary as you stock may be added to something that may already contain salt
We got to taste the stock straight out of the pot – the fish was overly fishy for me and I knocked back the chicken stock like a shot and burned my tongue. The beef needed more hours than we had in the class to taste like it should so we gave that a miss. We were invited to take some of the stock home if we wished to, so I took some chicken stock in a little container hoping to taste it for real after my tongue healed. Next class, Salads!
Things I learned
Roast your bones and veggies before you boil them to deepen the flavor
Start your stock with cold water
Adding salt is not necessary as you stock may be added to something that may already contain salt
Wow, this sounds like so much fun! You are going to learn so much and become an even better blogger... wooHOO... what a treat for you AND your readers ;-)
ReplyDeleteLooks like you really enjoyed yourself! My boyfriend just completed culinary school and he is teaching me a lot :)
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