Long Time No See

I've been super busy lately with class and homework and basketball practice (I made the team!) so the blog hasn't been up to date. I end Skills 2 and start Skills 3 in the next 5 days but either tomorrow or Friday I will update the blog in a nice long entry with all the wonderful Skills 2 things I've accomplished over roughly the last week and a half.

Chef "big time slacking on the blog" Werblin

End of Skills 1, Beginning of Skills 2

The last day of Skills 1 was pretty awesome. We made pasta and tomato sauce... and then got to eat ALL OF IT. It was a delicious breakfast. The pasta we made was the standard dry pasta that is bought in grocery stores. The last thing we did before the end was take our final (super easy) and then practice tournes. Now for those who do not know what tourne's are, they are 7-sided football shaped knife cuts roughly 2 inches long and 1 inch across. We cut potatoes in half and slowly carve them down. The first time was pretty terrible and we all struggled. Our final knife test in Skills 2 is 8 of them in 30 minutes which is decently tough. I'm getting better.

Anyway the weekend was a nice relaxing time before the supposed chaos of Skills 2 ensued. Skills 2 is not as hectic as Chef described, just more production than Skills 1. Monday we made 4 different items, Glazed Beets, Braised Red Cabbage, Cocctte Potatoes and Duchess Potatoes. Glazed Beets are basically boiled beets covered in a reduction or orange juice, honey and butter. They were SO GOOD. Next was Braised Red Cabbage which cabbage in a sweet liquid cooked in the oven until tender. The two types of potatoes were easy. Cocotte is just tourne'd potatoes sauteed slowly in butter and garnished with parsley while Duchess Potatoes are pureed potatoes mixed with egg yolks and butter and then piped into little round flower-ish things and baked. It was a fun day and pretty easy, and everything came out well.

Today was Day 2 and it again wasn't terribly challenging. Rice Pilaf, Risotto, Sauce Robert, Sauce Marchand De Vin and Jardinere Vegetables. Turns out that Pilaf and Risotto are cooking methods, not types of rice. Pilaf is starting on the stove and finishing in the oven and Risotto is all on the stove but adding the liquid in installments. Both started by sweating onions in clarified butter, adding the rice to toast and then adding the liquid to do with it what you will. Risotto = awesome. The sauces were derivative sauces of the mother sauce, Espagnole. I'm pretty sure most of you have heard of Demi-Glace which is used as a base in many sauces. Demi-Glace is a 50/50 combo of Brown Veal Stock and Espagnole Sauce reduced by 1/2. These sauces were good but I preferred Robert. They started by sweating shallots and aromatics in clarified butter (Robert: peppercorns, Marchand: peppercorns, thyme and bay leaf) and then deglazing with wine. White wine for Robert and Red Wine for Marchand. Mustard is added to the Robert Sauce and then both get veal stock and demi-glace before being reduced by half and then finally swirled with a pat of butter. I enjoyed the Robert more but both were good. The last thing we did was cut 5 types of vegetables into batonnettes which are 2 inch long sticks (white turnip, yellow turnip, celery, carrot and green beans. They are cooked in salted-boiling water and then finally coated in a mix of water and butter reduced. A good dish but a bit scary when the girl next to me used clarified butter (all oil and fat), heated in up and dumped water into it... imagine an ice cube in a deep fryer. I kid you not when I say the flames hit the ceiling. So although I almost lost my eyebrows, it was minor in damage.

Tomorrow is an awesome day because we are making Fresh Pasta 2 different ways. Can't wait until the 3 day weekend.

Chef Werblin

ps. part 1 of basketball tryouts tonight

The 5 Mother Sauces

Our last week of Skills 1. Not terribly hard but a bit busy here and there. This week we focused on each of the 5 mother Sauces (Veloute, Bechamel, Hollandaise, Espagnole and Tomato).

Monday was Veloute. Basically just any white stock (non-roasted bones) that is thickened with Blond Roux (the second stage of roux cooking). We made Cream of Broccoli Soup and boiled broccoli to present to Chef. Turns out when making cream soups the exact same thing goes in to every single one but all you do is switch out the main ingredient. So the process in the same for Mushroom, Broccoli, Cauliflower or whatever other vegetable you can imagine which makes this so much easier. My soup was awesome but it seems like everyone in my class undercooked the broccoli (it is so hard to boil it without turning the florets to mush and the stems crunchy).

Tuesday was Bechamel Day. Also pretty easy, just milk thickened with white roux (first stage of roux cooking) and added to some aromatics and shallots. We then used this to make Sauce Mornay which is just the addition of shredded Gruyere cheese and Shredded Parmesan cheese making a tasty cheese sauce. We served this over-top of boiled Cauliflower which was much easier to cook then broccoli (add acid to any vegetable you boil that is white, it brightens the color).

Wednesday we had Hollandaise Day. I had never made this before although I knew what it was (egg yolks whisked into submission and then clarified butter is slowly added in making a creamy sauce). It is pretty easy but you need to whisk and whisk and whisk over a double-boiler and many people broke their sauces (separated them) and had to fixed. I did not. It came out really well and after that we made Mayonnaise. It's super easy, a little cider vinegar, lemon juice, an egg yolk, seasoning and then whisking in 1 cup vegetable oil. We ended up serving the Hollandaise over both Broccoli and Cauliflower but I liked it better over the Broccoli.

Today was an easy day, except for pots and pans because we had a million and of course I was on pots and pans today. We made Espagnole which is basically just Brown Sauce, brown stock thickened with brown roux and the usual mirepoix and aromatics. It was delicious and can be made into tons of other sauces.

As it turns out each of the Mother Sauces can be made into about 20-25 other kinds of sauces at least because of the versatility so if you want to be a Sauce Master, learn the 5 Mother Sauces and deviate from there. We took our written final today which was just like our midterm (89 on that) and it was again very easy.

Tomorrow is 0ur last day and we will be making our last Mother Sauce (a new mother sauce since traditionally there were only 4). Tomato Sauce! We are making pasta and tomato sauce which we get to eat so I'm pumped. Besides our Knife Test which is just a graded final of our knife skills in the morning tomorrow should be a fun-easy day as our last day there.

I'm very ready for Skills 2 and I think I might pull off an A- in Skills 1. That'd be excellent. Hopefully the weekend weather is a nice change from the current rain we are having.

Chef Werblin

ps. Basketball tryouts are coming up and I started getting in shape and ready with a friend. Here we go.

Fish Day, I Thought I Was Done With Fish Smell

Today was test day and Fish day. We started by making Brown Veal Stock again as well as a large pot of chicken stock like normal. Then before our knife tray cutting we made Fish Fumet.

Basically its fish stock. Water, fish bones, mirepoix (celery, leeks, onions, mushrooms), satchet (aromatics/herbs), lemon juice and a touch of white wine. Simmer for 45 minutes. Easy enough. Well it doesn't smell too great, bleh! Anyway, after that we used our fish fumet to make Fish Chowder. Also easy and not too bad even though I'm not really a fish person. Basically just bacon, mirepoix, potatoes, stock and roux (veloute aka a "Mother Sauce") all simmered to make a thick soup before cream and fish are added.

For those who don't know Roux is a mixture of half fat (usually clarified butter) and half flour. Here we use 60% flour and 40% butter but anyway you cook it until the desired type. Either white, blond or brown. The longer you cook, the more it thins out and the less thickening power it has. We used blond roux today. It creates a nice thick soup and any real "Cream Soup" is thickened with roux.

It was pretty good and of course I did an excellent job cause I am a soup pro. My knife tray was pretty solid and after lunch we had a big midterm, test type deal. It was super easy and I got 2-3 wrong at most out of a lot. A decently busy day but successful none-the-less.

The weekend is here and I'm excited. Supposed to be nice out so I plan on taking full advantage of that. When you wake up at 5:30-6:00am everyday and work/go to class/ cook for 8-9 hours you realize how precious the weekends are. Use them to make your life a bit easier. That's my advice for the week.

Chef Werblin

ps. I miss ultimate.

I am a Soup Master!

A week of soup... again. The kitchen is a busy, busy place and it is only going to get busier.

Tuesday was Consomme day. Consomme is stock or broth that has been clarified to a crystal clear and very flavorful liquid. Unfortunately the way to make it is a touch gross. Basically you mix eggs, some vegetables, aromatics, tomato and ground meat (chicken or beef depending on what type you want) and put it into a pot with stock. Then you stir... and stir and stir and stir. When it hits about 120 degrees you stop and then all that stuff that contains protein (egg and meat) coagulates with everything else and forms a "raft" on top. It kinda looks like gross meat loaf but then you wait. And in about 30 minutes you carefully strain it and you have a perfectly clear liquid that is beyond delicious. We did the usual chicken stock in large quantities and that was about it.

Wednesday was a decently fun day... Mashed Potatoes as well as Potato and Leek Soup. Pretty easy stuff, just boiling potatoes and adding milk and butter and seasoning for mashed potatoes. A fun hint, if you make mashed potatoes, heat the cream, milk and/or butter first before adding and it won't get too sticky. The soup is just everything simmered in a pot until it is pureed and cream is added. I was done first and super early (cause I'm awesome) and Chef loved it, "beautifully done" as he said. Good day.

Finally today, Thursday, we did another puree soup and legumes. Puree of Lentil Soup and Black Beans as well as a new stock, Brown Veal Stock. We'll start with that, to make the stock you put the bones in a 500 degree oven until the are deliciously brown and then put them in water into a stock pot and begin to cook. Unlike other stocks that are flavored with plain mirepoix (onion, celery, carrot) and aromatics, this is done by deglazing the roast pans the bones were in and browning the mirepoix before adding tomato paste and reducing it until its full of flavor. That is then added lastly before being strained.

Then we made black beans which is literally beans, a piece of pork or ham, and some aromatics simmered in water until they are done... and they take FOREVER, literally like 45-50 minutes. Easy but a pain. Lastly we did the soup. Just basically bacon and mirepoix sweated until the lentils and stock are added and simmered. We run it through a food mill once it is done to puree it and then season and serve. Again... "On the Money," which means I'm a good soup maker.

If I don't get an A in this class I'll be upset since I kill it everyday. My knife trays are getting better too and yesterday he had no complaints and today I was just slightly off on one thing. We only have 50 minutes now but I'm down to about 40-45 minutes. Love it here and everyday is exciting.

Tomorrow we do Fish Fumet (Fish Stock) which will be used for Fish Chowder. Pretty easy but it will be a busy day for sure. By now it is clearly defined who the best 3-4 people in the class are ( me being one), who the few decent people are, and the 6-7 AWFUL people who will apparently are in every class and will clearly struggle when we get to the big time.

One more day before the weekend. Get pumped.

Chef Werblin

ps. Literally ate the best dessert I've ever eaten here yesterday. Like a fancy churro with chocolate and caramel finished with caramelized bananas and candied walnuts. INCREDIBLE!!

Stocks, Soups and Sauces.... and so many Knife Cuts

So days 2-4 of Skills were interesting to say the least. Day 2 was mainly a day of some simple knife cuts again and learning how to make stock. The actual definition of stock is a flavorful liquid that has been cooked from aromatics (veg, spices etc) and bones from an animal. We make stock every single day. Usually 2 kettles of Chicken and 1 of something else, lately White Beef Stock but eventually Fish Stock, Veg Stock and Brown Veal Stock.

Anyway at the end of Day 2 we get our Vegetable Beef Soup recipe and notes. We turned our stock into broth by cooking it with the beef meat and doing everything all over again with meat and an aromatic blend. We walked into class on Day 3 and immediately the kitchen was bustling, everyone is running around trying to get mirepoix (for those who don't remember a combo of onion/leek, celery, and carrot/parsnip for stock flavoring) done for the day. 240 pounds of bones = 30 pounds of mirepoix, so 15 pounds of onions and 7.5 pounds of celery and carrot. Each day, each team is responsible for one of them. So we had celery which needed to be cleaned, peeled and chopped as well as the excess cleaned and bagged. All this is done while getting the things for our knife trays set-up (3 potatoes, 4 onions, 4 garlic cloves, 2 tomatoes, 1 shallot, a bunch of parsley and the stuff for a satchet). Finally, setting up our water bath's (basically a large pan with water to hold stock and butter and what not to keep it warm). A lot of running around.

Now the fun starts, at 7:30 whether your team is done or not, knife trays begin... 60 minutes. 2 onions sliced 1/8 in, 2 onions small diced, 1 shallot minced, 3 garlic cloves minced, 1 bunch parsley minced, 2 tomato concasse (peeled, seeded and rough chopped), 1 potato medium diced (1/2 x 1/2 x 1/2 in cubes), 1 potato batonnets (1/4 x 1/4 x 2 in sticks), and 1 potato half julienne (1/8 x 1/8 x 1 in sticks), half brunoise ( 1/8 x 1/8 x 1/8 in cubes). Let me tell you that cutting something to 1/8 of an inch is hard. All this must be done in 60 minutes with increasing speed so by the final we have 45 min. You go up, show Chef your tray and he tells you and if they look off will take out a ruler or his model of cuts and compare. So far I've done great on everything except the potatoes. My battonets and medium dice are pretty good but my brunoise and julienne need work, that 1/8 in is getting me.

After knife trays, it's on to demo time. Chef prepares Veg Beef Soup for us as we watch, he gives us a sample of his to compare for seasoning and says... GO! We run away and begin. 1 oz Clarified Butter heated to sweat the onions, carrots, turnips, celery, leeks, parsnip all that had to be medium dice before we could begin. After that, add the garlic for about 1 minute. Add 1 quart of beef broth and the satchet (parsley stem, thyme, cracked peppercorn, 1 garlic clove and a bay leaf or 2 all wrapped in cheesecloth). Simmer 25 minutes. When its ready, add the tomato, beef, and cabbage for 5 more minutes and then remove satchet and season. When I brought it for tasting he said veg were cooked perfectly, seasoned very well, the only complaint was a bit less butter next time. Not bad. Clean-up, lunch, lecture and then we were free.

Friday... Day 4. What Chef calls, "the easiest day of the class." It was. We went in and did stocks and knife trays until about 8:30-9. Then it was time for us to make Onion Soup! Easily my favorite soup of all time and decently easy to make. We took 1 oz of butter and heated over med-high heat and then dropped in 1 pound of onions and just let them sit and caramelize. After a few minutes, that brown stuff starts to form at the bottom (we call that "fond") and you take it off the heat and stir so that the steam from the onions deglaze's the pan the onions scoop up that brown, sugary delicious. After you do this a few times and your onions and nice and brown we add the chicken broth, and satchet and then wait. 30 minutes. Add 2 oz sherry wine and simmer 5 more minutes before removing the satchet and seasoning. Oh and we also toasted sliced french bread with butter and cheese to make croutons as a garnish. Well let me say Chef loved mine. "Excellent color, seasoned perfectly... Right on." Exact words so I certainly felt accomplished. And then for the last time that week, clean-up, lunch and lecture.

I'm excited for Tuesday (we have off Monday), because it's Consomme day which is basically the clearest and most flavorful soup you'll ever eat. But more to come on that.

This weekend I finally got to play frisbee at a tournament with a pick-up team about 45 minutes from here so even though my body hurts, it was great. The rest of the weekend is just me being lazy.

Chef Werblin

ps. I'd venture to say that in the last 4 days, I have said "Yes Chef" and "No Chef" at least 500 times... at least.

I'm Developing My Skills

First day of Skill Development 1. Obviously like any other first day, we spent a solid hour going over everything in the kitchen and getting acquainted with our home for the next 6 weeks (this is the same kitchen and people we have Skills 1 and 2 with). Then we started our normal production, Chicken Stock and White Beef Stock. Neither is terribly hard but we used 120 lbs of Chicken Bones and 60 lbs of Beef Bones for stock. We broke into the team we will have for the next 3 weeks and cut mirepoix (for those who don't know, mirepoix is a 2:1:1 ratio of onions, celery and carrots added to the stock in the last hour for flavor).

Of course each of the first 3 groups have the normal 4 people per group but since there are only 14 people in the class, my group has 2 people meaning we do double the work for the next 3 weeks... fun. Anyways, after that we each had to do our daily production which today was simply; mincing 1 shallot, mincing 3 cloves of garlic, mincing a bunch of parsley, 1 tomato concasse (a tomato that is peeled, seeded and roughly chopped) and 1 satchet d'epice (a herb mixture containing a garlic clove, some parsley stems, a spring of thyme, cracked peppercorns and bay leaves wrapped in cheesecloth). It wasn't hard at all. Then we just skimmed our stock (took off all the crap that comes out off of the bones) and went to lunch for an hour).

After lunch we finished our stock, bagged it up, cooled it down and then stored it. After an hour of lecture we were done.

Tomorrow is the when it gets for realsies. Walk in and start stock production right away and then make, broth as a team, clarified butter as a team, and our knife trays for the day each. Knife trays starting tomorrow consist of 2 onions sliced 1/8 in, 2 onions minced, 3 shallots minced, 4 cloves garlic minced, 2 tomatoes concasse, 1 potato into batonetts, 1 potato into julienne, and 1 potato into brunoise. Basically a ton of cutting that we end with a knife practical of all the same cuts.

Try some of these cuts yourself and then imagine doing all that in 1 hour.

Chef Werblin

Meat, Meat, Meat...

Excuse my long absence but between lots of work, moving my room down the hall, starting an ultimate team and just kind of forgetting a little I haven't updated this in about a week so this will be a long entry (giving fair warning). Well now that I am done with Meat ID and Fabrication, I'll give you the play by play of all the crazy things I did.

The first day of class was pretty relaxed but since we only have 7 days we still had to jump right into cutting. In class at 6:15am and cutting until about 9:30 until clean-up and then lecture at 10:30am till noon. So the first thing was do a little ID on Beef or Bovine. Then he demoed how to take apart a giant Shoulder Clod which was pretty easy, and then trim and separate a Beef Top Round and finally, de-bone a Beef Shank. None of it was super tough but since it was the first day and was all new, nobody's was really good.

For reference, the left is the Shoulder Clod, the middle are 2 Beef Shanks and the right is the Beef Top Round (easy to ID because of the spot of meat in the fat on top). Taking apart those bad boys is a ton of work and takes more finesse than you would think. Anyway, the parts of the Shoulder Clod include the "Heart" of the Clod and the Top Blade (this is has a thin layer of collagen right through the middle). The Top Blade is sometimes separated into two little steaks from the collagen and we know them as Flat Iron's. Basically everything here is best cooked braised or stewed except the Top Round which can be roasted (typical deli roast beef comes from here).

Day 2 was still a Beef day since there is so much beef. This time we did the more obvious cuts that everyone knows, the Beef Tenderloin (filet mignon) and the Strip Loin (NY Strips and tender roasts). We had to trim and clean the Tenderloin which really easy but just takes some time removing fat and connective tissue. Then was the Strip Loin which was a bit more challenging. You can leave the bone-in but for our purposes we de-boned it (kinda tough) and then cut one part into Strip Steaks and one part we tied into a roast.






The left is a package of Flank Steaks on top and a Beef Tenderloin on the bottom. Then on the right is a Boneless StripLoin that can be cut into steaks.

And right below is nearly every cut of Beef from a whole cow carcass broken down into the parts of the 4 main primal cuts of Beef (Chuck, Rib, Loin and Round from head to tail). The left is the Loin (top 4 pieces of meat) and the Round (bottom 2 pieces). The round is missing a few cuts but the Loin is basically there. On the right is the Chucke which is also basically all there (top 4 cuts) and then the Rib which is missing some cuts as well (bottom 3).














Day 3 was badass... although we only cut veal cutlets (Day 3 was Veal Day), we watched our chef break down an entire veal carcass. It was very cool and I wish I had a video to show you. But regardless we cut lots of veal cutlets out of the Top Round and Shoulder Clod (veal has the same cuts as Beef seeing as it is just a baby cow). Turns out I'm pretty good at doing this since Chef said my cutlets were excellent.

Day 4.

So the left is a whole side half of a pork carcass and the right is a Grass-Fed Cow (we got a local one in to compare with the normal Grain-Fed).

So Day 4 was Pork. It was a tough day, definitely. We took a center cut pork loin de-boned, cleaned and fabricated the whole thing into a piece of meat that could be rolled and tied into a BRT (boned, rolled, tied) Roast. I did pretty well but it was challenging. The rest of the day wasn't so hard but it was a day full of a lot of cutting in general. Then we took a Pork Boston Butt (pork shoulder) and boned it and separated it into pieces to try and cut it into cubes. This is difficult because there is so much fat running through the meat that you only get about 40% of the meat to be usable cubes but luckily for us, all trim from pork is basically usable for sausage. I don't have any pork pictures unfortunately but a Boston Butt is a large, square piece and a center cut rack is a large, long rack with the rib bones in.

Days 5 and 6 were both easy days too. Day 5 was lamb day and the only thing we did was tie a little lamb roast and French a Rack of Lamb (clean the bone that sticks out to give a nice clean presentation). Then again we cut pork cubes cause apparently they needed a whole lot of these for the last few days to some lovely Meat Music provided b our chef, which made it fun.

Day 6 was poultry and again we didn't do anything too hard. We trussed a pretty small chicken (trussed is tying it) and we broke apart the entire thing into bone-in breasts, boneless legs and wings. Once you get the hang its really easy and I did 4 of them in about 15-20 minutes. So if you ever want to know how to completely break down a turkey or chicken, just ask me.

Our last day was a freebie, sausage day. We just ground pork trim with seasoning and ice and then pumped it into casing to make sausages which we tasted, Italian and Breakfast, both good. Then we made pork cubes... again... I'm really good at making pork cubes.

So that was my week of meat class. I really enjoyed it and it was a pretty easy class. The weekend is boring. I really have nothing planned except for a frisbee practice on Monday (we have off). So starting Tuesday I enter Skill Development 1: Basic Stock and Sauces (and Knife Cuts). I'm super pumped for this class since this is the beginning of actually learning how to cook and prepare food.

Other than that, life has been pretty good here. Extremely tiring, but good. Oh and I got A-'s in both Meat and Fish which is pretty good since I'm the only one in my class who did that in Fish and I think 1 of 2 that did in Meat. Its funny how well you do in something when you really enjoy it. Hopefully everyone is enjoying the fantastic weekend weather as much as me.

Chef Werblin

ps. I moved my room to down the hall with a friend of mine cause my old room was awful. Pretty much the best move ever... and I'm no longer on the bottom bunk

Fish Smell Defeated

My last 2 days of Seafood were interesting. Monday we did Crustaceans after just practicing some basic fillet cuts. We picked crab meat and then went over everything from lobster to crab to scallops. It was a pretty easy day overall and the tasting was pretty excellent. Tasting was just a few types of crabs as well as lobster and scallops so even though it was 8am it was pretty good.

Then today was the big day... Finals Day. We had to shuck 300 oysters on the half shell for a kitchen and since we had 8 people the Chef made it a race... 37 a piece. I came in second! Then we took the 10 questions ID Final where he pulled out 10 fish, had us name them and some other facts about them. It was decently easy. Finally we had a quick 20 minute lecture and tasting. Today's tasting... Caviar and Smoked Fish. A plate of 10 caviars and some smoked fish which probably was $75 of food on the plate per person. Most of the caviar wasn't too bad, it isn't fishy like you'd imagine and they all have distinct flavors. I will say the most interesting one was the $99 per oz... thats $1600 per pound! It tasted like creamy pumpkin pie which is so strange but weirdly good. The smoked stuff just tasted like either smoke or what it was cured in. Last but not least was the written final. 40 questions and terribly easy. I did very well overall in the class.

Right now I'm still in the process of getting this frisbee team going and it's finally coming into form. Other than that, Meat starts tomorrow at 6:30 which is a nice change from 5am but it still pretty early. I'll be sure to report on how butchering meat occurs.

Stay Classy.

Chef Werblin

ps. Guava Glazed Ribs for dinner... might be the best thing I've eaten here.

Can You Say Sleep Deprivation?

Yea it's bad. 4 hours a night just doesn't cut it for me. Luckily class is entertaining enough to keep me awake. Thursday was the next family of fish, the Bass family. We did our usual, ID and some cutting to practice and then we shucked... and shucked and shucked and shucked. We had 700 oysters that got delivered and all needed to be shucked so with the 9 people in my class we each had to do 40-50 to get a jump on it. Let me tell you, shucking oysters is hard as hell. Once you get the hang of it, it's not that bad but it is insanely tiring. After my arms were thoroughly shucked out we had tasting and lecture. I figure since tasting is most interesting I'll go ahead and talk about that.

First we tasted a Wild Striped Bass which are large fish, it was very meaty and a bit sticky but all in all pretty good. Then we tried the Hybrid Striped Bass which is the farm-raised version of the wild that is much smaller and much less delicious. It kind of tasted like top-soil, actually that's exactly what it tasted like. Then we tried Vermillion Snapper, not terribly delicious but meaty, it would probably be good breaded and with a lot of sauce. Next were the "high activity" fish that are rich and flavorful. First here was Swordfish which I had never had before. For not being a "fish" person I really enjoyed it, very tender and moist, pork-like almost. Then Tuna, Yellowfin, not Bluefin because Bluefin are about to be extinct thanks to the friggin Japanese. It was very meaty and filling but has a metallicy blood-taste that is similar to red meat. Last we tried an expensive, expensive little anchovy. They were packed in oil in a big container that sells for a very large amount of money apparently but our chef let us taste them. Now when people think anchovy they think little gross brown things that go on pizza and are awful. Well let me tell you, these "Boccaronas" were amazing. basically salt and vinegar little fishies without a fishy taste. So good. An interesting day.
Friday was our Mollusks day. We cut a few fish each and then did our shucking, clams and oysters. We each did 1 clam and 3 oysters... then we ate them... raw... at 8am. Now I've only had clams once and they were cooked and it wasn't my favorite thing not because of taste but because of texture. But since I go to a school for food I'm expected to taste everything. The raw Quahog (most popular, also known as "Steamers") clam was gross, pretty much a gooey blob of saltwater. The oysters weren't awful. There are 3 types, Western (Pacific Coast) and then Northern and Southern (Atlantic Coast). They were a combination of briny and salty with different fat levels. None exceptional, although I thought the Southern one was better. After clean-up we tasted cooked mollusks. First was a blue mussell, surprisingly I enjoyed it. Next was a wellfleet clam, relatively small but actually one of the best things we've eaten in this class. Finally just Bay and Sea Scallops. If you've ever had them you know Sea Scallops are way better and if you like them, they're excellent, which they were.

The usual for the rest of the day. Lunch, nap, dinner and then weekend fun. So far its been a nice relaxing Saturday. I woke up late, had lunch, through a frisbee around for a bit and then did some homework and paperwork I had to get done before I head out tonight.

I know I said this once but I'll do it again. If you like hot sauce buy a bottle of Sean's Boo-Yah online (only $8). This stuff is fantastic.
Chef Werblin

ps. I've been thinking of team names for school... CIA Main Course. Tell me that isn't an awesome name.
pps. here's some pictures

My Body Hates Me

So this is how my day goes until next Tuesday... 4:15 alarm goes off, get up and ready for class, in class at 5am until 11am, quick lunch, shower for 20 minutes to stop smelling like fish, nap until 4pm, dinner, homework, sleep again.

My sleep schedule is so off that come Tuesday my body won't know what to do.

Anyway, yesterday we had our actual chef for our fish class. We started out at 5am with usual pre-class duties like getting ice and removing fish for ID and Fabrication. We scale the fish (take the scales off) which I must say is the worst thing ever since scales are literally in every crevasse of your uniform and body. After that we do an ID for the day and go over the families of fish (Salmon/Trout, Cod, Bass, Flatfish, Misc). Then for the first time we pulled out our knifes and started to cut. We each did 3 flounders which yields 12 fillets. This is a flat fish and requires a flat cut method that isn't terribly hard once you get the hang of it. Although the chef said we did well, all of our fillets were pretty butchered for the most part. This kitchen provides fish to the entire school and every other kitchen in the school so if we mess up, they don't get fish... we don't mess up. We then clean-up and are in the lecture room from 9am-11am. Probably the strangest part of my day aside from waking at 4am is tasting. We taste everyday and since we start so early and are in lecture by 8:30-9am, that's when we taste. So yesterday we tasted 5 flatfish. First was flounder, it was flaky and pretty tasteless. Next was Dover Sole which is a pretty prized fish that is quite expensive and tastes like butter. Third we tried Turbot (pronounced Tur-bo) and it was interesting with a firm texture and almost milky taste. Next we tried Halibut which was firm but not terribly flavorful and lastly, we tasted Skate which is a ray. Easily the most interesting because it was extremely soft and kind of tasted like vegetables... I know, weird.

After a lazy night of homework and tv it was time for bed.

4:15 again. Awesome. In class at 5am and then scaling and getting ready for ID. We had a bunch of new fish today and after our ID we learned our new cuts and practiced. Salmon/Trout are almost all soft-boned and require a very easy straight-cut method. Basically all other round fish are hard-boned and require the much harder up-and-over method. We practiced both and my straight-cuts are pretty god because they are easy but both of my cuts came out pretty well. After clean-up we went to the lecture room for tasting... 11 kinds of fish at 8:30am, bleh. First taste, Atlantic Cod which is literally flavorless. Then Haddock which most people know as a fish and chips type fish. Next was Hake which was kind of crab-tasting but very fibrous. Then we tried Pollock (fun fact, Pollock is the fish used for almost all commercial fish, Filet O' Fish and generic fish consumption), its not very good otherwise. Cusk was next and it was gross, chewy and flavorless. The next batch is all Salmon and Trout so they all have strong flavor. First here was Atlantic Farm-Raised Salmon which is the salmon most people think about when they eat salmon, no one will ever see a wild Atlantic on their plate. It was ok, kind of sticky. Next was a better salmon, Coho (Silver) and this was less greasy and much cleaner in flavor. Then Arctic Char which is trout, it was my favorite and was briny with a mild salmon flavor. The next two Trouts, Steelhead and Farm-Raised Rainbow were both pretty good but the Farm-Raised was sticky and firm.

The rest of my day was my standard de-smellifying and sleeping before homework and hainging out. Only 2 more days till the weekend and I can't wait.

Chef Werblin

3 Weeks New

So this weekend was my BIRTHDAY WEEKEND! It was pretty awesome. Saturday we woke up and went to the Hudson Valley Rib Festival. Tons of famous rib vendors selling tasty delicious food with amazing bbq sauces. I tried a few and then walked around and checked out some of the other vendors. Easily the best one was a hot sauce guy called Sean's Boo-Yah sauce. He had 3 heats I tried, Not-So-Hot, Sorta Hot and Real Hot. I ended buying a bottle of the Real Hot because it was so amazing and the best I've ever had.

Saturday night we went to the Drive-In movies and paid a whopping $5 for two movies, The Expendables and Dinner For Schmucks. The Expendables was ok, lots of gun fire and yelling in a rambo-style thing. Dinner For Schmucks was terribly disappointing, a few cheap laughs but not the constant laugh, insanely funny movie I had so hoped for. I guess for $2.50 a movie it was worth it. Sunday was a rainy, crappy day and the family came for my B-Day to have lunch and see the campus which they couldn't do because it was gross out. After they left I did about 2 hours of homework and passed out around midnight.

Today was... interestingly awful. Up at 4:15am, at class at 5am.... no one's there... obviously. Another few people showed up and we sat around until 5:30 when a chef strolls in and tells us our normal chef isn't here today and he'll be filling in. After he explicitly states we won't need our knives today we know this is gonna be long and not fun. We learned about the fish kitchen and watched him demo how to do the 2 cuts for Round Fish and 1 cut for Flat Fish. After a little clean-up we had a 2 hour lecture while the 8am class started in the kitchen... that chef didn't stop yelling the entire time we were in lecture and it was crystal clear to hear.We got out around 11am.

I'd say the best part of the day was when the TA and Chef told us about how our actual Chef will be a yelling machine. I can't wait until tomorrow when he expects us all to know how to somewhat do these cuts and we can't because we've yet to touch a knife. Oh, by the way, every other class did cutting today except for us... I shoveled ice. Good day. I tried to nap when I got back and slept for an hour before there was enough noise in my room to drown out 20 crying babies. I woke up, did some more homework, got dinner and now I'm taking a break for the homework and writing this.

Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day. I can't wait till we are done with Seafood and Meat.

Chef (not so sure anymore) Werblin

ps. I used to enjoy cooking
pps. The other chef we listened to yell today made roughly 3 people cry and I quote "Who do you think you are? You're nobody and you're going nowhere"... great way to teach... and this is supposed to be the best culinary school in the country/world.

Last Week of B Block!

This is a monumental week in my culinary college career. I finally get to finish these 4 classes and move on to kitchen activities... and it's my birthday on Friday so that makes it all the better. This week has been terribly boring because we are just finishing up and reviewing for the finals in each of the 4 classes (2 tomorrow and 2 Friday).

The food for the last few days has been pretty solid. A few boring things such as burgers, chicken sandwiches, etc, but a few very good meals too. I had an Antojitos Platter yesterday for dinner which consisted of 3 types of Quesadillas (Chorizo and Potato, Mushroom and Cheese, Peppers and Onions and Cheese) served with Red Salsa, Tomatillo Salsa and Rice. It was fantastic. Today I had another Southern American/Mexican inspired lunch as well. A sampler platter that had an Empanada, a Chorizo, Pickled Onion and Queso Blanco Tostada, and a Chicken and Rice thing in a Corn Husk with Guacamole and 2 Salsas. Again, fantastic and delicious. Most of the food that comes out of the Mediterranean Cuisine kitchen is excellent.

Oh and the other day I had fresh Ravioli stuffed with Cheese, Herbs and an Egg Yolk topped with Brown Butter and a touch of Balsamic Vinegar. I'm not a huge egg person but even I enjoyed all of it together.

Easily the best day of Product Knowledge happened this morning too. We had our last learning class (final on friday, a practical of 20 produce items from the whole 6 weeks) and we did Dairy/Nuts. I tasted nearly 20 cheeses today and it was paired with a whole variety of Nuts and some extra fruit we had leftover. It was an awesome day. Turns out there are 6 categories of cheese. Fresh (we tasted Feta, Goat Cheese, Cheese Curd and Mozzarella), Soft Cheese - Rind Ripened (tasted Brie and Camembert but also Limburger is included), Semi-Soft Cheeses which were my favorite (Fontina, Monterey Jack, Morbier - so good!, Tallegio and Muenster), Hard Cheeses (Cheddar, Gouda, Provolone, Manchego, Aged Dry Jack), Grating (Parmigiano, Asiago, Romano, Grana Padano) and finally Blue Cheeses which aren't really for me (Gorgonzola, Roquefort, Stilton and all the stinky ones). Either way it was an awesome class.

My personal favorites were the Morbier, Brie, Fontina, Monterey Jack, and Aged Dry Jack. If you get a chance to try new ones then you absolutely should.

Unfortunately for me the next two days are dedicated to studying and attempting to get a Frisbee team going at this school (I've got a big meeting today with the Dean of Student Activities). This weekend should be a blast though.

Chef Werblin

ps. Mountain Creek Waterpark... google it
pps. For those who watch Top Chef, Bryan Voltaggio was here talking and doing a demo last night. I couldn't go but my friends told me it was amazing. He has a restaurant in Frederick, MD called Volt so take a look.

Do Vegetarians Eat Animal Crackers?

The last few days have been pretty boring to say the least. Monday was just class again. Product Knowledge is still interesting because we do so many food groups each day. Monday was Peppers, Tomatoes and Pods (peas and such). Other than that Monday was very boring except for dinner which was from Americas. It was Southern cuisine so I had a BBQ Plate which was a Pulled Pork sandwich, hush puppies, and braised collard greens. The sandwich and greens were good but the hush puppies (usually a delicious food item) was absolutely terrible.

Tuesday I woke up nice and early and did a little practicing for my Rick Bayless Presentation in Gastronomy. Needless to say I KILLED IT! We rocked the presentation, had all our stuff down pat and easily answered all questions... I expect nothing less than an A. Lunch was not for me at all so I won't even bother explaining it (salmon again). But dinner was quite good from the Skills 3 kitchen (the third installment of "basic" cooking in the first semester). It was Beef Tenderloin with Potatoes Au Gratin and Corn, amazing. All of it. Whatever sauce was on it was awesome too. One of the best meals I've eaten here.

Today I had PK again and this time we did Herbs, Pears and Apples. Lunch was banquet but check this... I don't have to go to banquet anymore. Although to you all this seems ridiculous, why wouldn't I want a usually delicious 3-course meal everyday, it is tedious and time-consuming. So I can now eat wherever. Dinner wasn't bad, Roasted Herb Chicken with Potatoes, Onions and Mushrooms.


It was flavorful all around but the chicken was dry which is kind of a turn-off. I'll be posting lots of picture now of all my food.

Tonight was a fun, laid back night starting with a little tennis to get the legs pumping and then relaxing and messing around in the girl's room (that's how I'll refer to the room we all hang out in most of the time) until I returned to study a bit before bed.

2 quizzes tomorrow and 2 quizzes Friday... study, study, study.

Get ready for the weekend!

Chef Werblin

ps. I've been looking up all these "Fests" to go to around here and it's damn exciting. Garlic Fest, Buffalo Wing Fest, Rib Fest so if you live decently close to or in NY and want to get information ask me because all of these are inexpensive and well worth the drive.

Weekends are Supposed to be Relaxing, Right?

So Friday was a day dedicated to quizzes, exams or whatever you want to call them. I woke up nice and early (8am) to study for PK. Our quiz had 20 MC questions based on everything we've learned and a 10 question practical on the produce we've gone over. It wasn't too bad considering I had to know Lettuces (Cabbages, Cooking Greens, etc), Mushrooms, Stalks, Tubers, Onions, Roots and so on... a lot of produce. Anyway after that I made my way to banquet for my lunch. Lunch was good but something we've eaten before, Pork Loin with Yucca Cake, Chayote, Tomatillo Salsa and Chorizo Stuffing. The pork was much better this time and the salsa again was excellent. The other 3 were just ok, Chayote has a strange flavor and the Yucca and Stuffing weren't stellar. I took a nice nap that afternoon before I destroyed my Math Quiz. Dinner was the always delicious Taco Bell at the mall and the night was a fun night of hanging with my friends in the dorms.

Saturday I slept in and then met with my group to work on my Rick Bayless Project. To be honest the rest of my day was a blur of sleeping inside and outside (it was so nice outside) before our adventure. Now when I say adventure I don't mean a planned adventure. We heard about this really good diner about 25 minutes away but on the way we got lost/my GPS sucks and took us so far out of the way. We finally arrived and as it so happens, the place was pretty excellent. HUGE portions for reasonable prices. The only downfall was this Cannoli Cheesecake that they're famous for was discontinued this past week so we decided to keep going back and complaining until it's re instituted. We got back and watched a movie until sleep time (2am... big mistake)

Yet again I made the trek home at 8:30am for my Grandma's surprise birthday party and surprised she was. It was a very nice brunch buffet with lots of family and friends. Another long drive home and I was able to relax, about time. A little nap, some tv and some friend time before bed. Another week goes by and I get closer and closer to the kitchen, which by the way is Seafood Identification and Fabrication... at 5:30 AM!!!! I'm gonna be a zombie. For anyone that isn't a morning person like me but wakes up early, tips would be appreciated for me to stay alive (besides coffee and red bull).

Chef Werblin

Work, Work,Work

So much work! Yesterday started with my first Product Knowledge class after the break, we talked a bit about our experiences over the break and then dove right into our next topics... Onions and Tubers (Potatoes). It was interesting and we tasted roasted cippolini onions as well as roasted fingerling potatoes. Lunch ended up being from Cuisines of Asia and it was China Day. I had Braised Pork Belly with Bok Choy and Rice. It was excellent, something I could eat all the time. After a little break I met with my Gastro group to continue research on Rick Bayless (as it turns out it's really tough to find info on the guy which is weird since he's pretty famous). After an easy math class, we headed to dinner where I had Pasta with Bacon, Peas and a Shallot Cream Sauce. The pasta was undercooked and kind of hard but the sauce was delicious. After dinner was pretty boring, homework and hanging out before bed.

Today I once again had the class I enjoy least, bright and early, and it didn't disappoint. She did seem kinda mad when she realized no one had watched the videos for homework but since we couldn't "discuss it" we got out nice and early. Lunch was back to banquet for our 3-course meal and the menu consisted of Tomato Salad with Fontina Cheese and Watercress as an appetizer. Pretty good, I'm not a huge fan of plain tomatoes but all together it was tasty. The entree was Meatloaf with Creamed Corn, Mashed Potatoes and some sauce. Something they have served before and it was all still very good. Finally dessert was a Strawberry-Rhubarb Cobbler which was fantastic, probably my favorite type of cobbler. Then against my better judgment I skipped Food Safety, hopped in my car at 4pm and drove 3 hours home to play in my semi-final summer league frisbee game. I played pretty well (covered the mvp of the league most of the game) but we lost 15-12 and so I had a 5 1/2 hour car ride for a loss which was extremely disappointing. I got back safe and saw my friends before retiring to my room to study for my 2 quiz/exam type deals tomorrow, one in PK and one in Math.

After I bang out those quizzes I'll be free to relax this weekend.

Chef Werblin

I'm Back!

So I'm finally back and all moved in to school. Yesterday consisted of a relaxed day of just unpacking and catching up with all my friends about breaks and listening to crazy stories. Today was a thrust into reality again with class at 9:15 (Gastronomy... bleh!). Turns out the next week will consist of a decent amount of homework because of the ridiculous group projects we have to do. After Gastro was lunch at K16 (for those who don't remember its the main production kitchen that has 5-6 options for lunch and dinner everyday). Since new students have 2 days of orientation just as I did 3 weeks ago, we don't have our 3-course banquet meals again until Thursday. For lunch I had Pasta Pomodoro with Fresh Mozzarella and Arugula. I enjoyed it but I really like arugula and its peppery taste and it paired well with the fresh cheese and light tomato sauce.

After lounging around some and completing some homework, I made my way to another lecture in the oh-so-stimulating topic of food safety. After wanting to rip out my eyeballs with my knives we had dinner. Dinner was also at K16 and was pretty good too, London Broil with Chimichurri Sauce and Mashed Potatoes. Chimichurri sauce is a favorite of mine that's made with oil, vinegar, parsley, garlic, usually jalapeno, onion and some salt and pepper sometimes food-processed together or just whisked together. In this case it was put through a food-processor and came out very nice. Most people bolted right away for Writing class but I stayed with a friend and relaxed and chatted.

After a brief tennis match to get the legs moving, I did a bit more homework and continued to watch a few episodes of some shows I'm catching up on (Modern Family and How I Met Your Mother) before going to hang in a friends room. That was the last stop of the night before hitting the books one more time before bed.

It feels great to be back and only 3 more weeks until I'm finally in a kitchen! Since there's a new crop of students starting, we are now not the lowly new kids who know nothing and that is pretty excellent.

Chef Werblin

ps. Live to eat, don't eat to live

Bored at Home

Home 2 days and I'm already bored. Since its 2:30am and I'm not tired, what better thing to do then update this blog. Yesterday (Saturday) I had lunch with my mom and sister at El Meson. I'm assuming everyone can guess what type of cuisine we had. I had chicken tacos with tomatillo salsa, they were good but not anything stellar. After that I took a nice walk around the Farmer's Market that's close by. The produce was good in some areas and terrible in others but after obtaining roughly $20 worth including basic stuff like lemons, limes and shallots and also some more interesting things such as jicama, tuna (cactus apple) and bok choy, I returned home. Dinner was a production from myself in which I created Dry Rub London Broil with Jicama Slaw. The meat was easy and delicious and for the Jicama Slaw I julienned a whole jicama, some carrots and then diced red and green bell peppers and red onion before dressing this with a Honey-Ancho Chipotle Vinaigrette. All in all I'd call it a successful day.

Today (Sunday) was pretty boring (I slept until 11am). I woke up and went food shopping grabbing the usual assortment of snacks and drinks (As most people know that I consume more than the average daily amount of food, I also consume so much liquid). I picked up some stuff for today's dinner which I've made before and decided to take a crack at again, Chili-Rubbed Chicken with Honey-Lime Sauce and Fresh Salsa. The chicken got rubbed in chili powder and a quick sear in hot oil before finishing in the oven and the sauce was basic with some butter, chicken stock, lime juice, honey and salt and pepper. Fresh salsa is also pretty basic, tomatoes, jalapenos, onion, a bit of olive oil and some salt and pepper. It came out pretty damn good and I polished off about 1.75 pounds of chicken with my dad. Tonight I did nothing but tomorrow I will spend the day at the beach to get my tan back so I can look pretty when I go back to school. I also plan on traveling to any other Farmer's Markets I can find decently close to me so if you are near me and bored during the week you can come learn about produce with me while I practice my identifying skills.

If you want to try these recipes either comment or email me and I'll send em your way.

Chef Werblin

ps. "Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first – Ernestine Ulmer"

End of the Beginning

The last two days at the Culinary were interesting to say the least. Wednesday in Product Knowledge we did Mushrooms and Stalk (things like celery, fennel and rhubarb). Turns out I need to know roughly 20 mushrooms and 10 stalks on top of the 15 types of lettuce and 15 types of cabbage which is a lot of produce to say the least. Since banquet was closed for the last 2 days (because its 3 weeks later from when I started so a class is graduating) they had what is called "Grand Buffet." This is basically a showing from the graduating students who prepare dishes of their choice and everyone gets to eat including the staff and President. We decided to give it a whirl and the food was all so extravagant. More terrines (a terrine is a loaf of force meat) and foie gras (duck or goose liver) and truffles (a very expensive item, white and black truffles) then you have ever seen. Anyway, most of this stuff is out of our culinary and palate bounds but we tried everything we could. I tried a seafood terrine and a truffle and foie gras terrine. I couldn't tell if I liked them but since I'd never had foie gras, or truffle, or terrine it was certainly a new and interesting experience. Later that day we had math... which is terribly easy and boring and then bolted for dinner which turned out to be just McDonalds since most of the food kitchens were closed. Wednesday night we just hung out and waited for our last day of class.

Thursday started off the morning with a nice end of the week quiz in Gastronomy (don't worry, I killed it) and a few presentations. In that class we were assigned to groups and we each have a person that influenced Cuisine in some way to research and present. Yesterday Careme and Escoffier were presented. Lunch again was tough to find because banquet wasn't open so there was an 80-person line for K-16 (no joke) and this then forced a few of us to drive down to Planet Wings (a good wing place) for lunch. I spent most of the afternoon packing and then made my way to Food Safety for one last quiz before my group of friends went out for one last dinner together before we parted ways. I stayed the night last night to drop someone at the train station at 6am (I know, I'm a great friend) and then made my way home today. I plan on going to the Farmer's Market roughly everyday to explore and I'll be sure to update the findings. For now, time to relax and enjoy 3 weeks off.

Chef Werblin

ps. look up Chayote (mexican squash) because I have to research it. It's pretty cool and tastes like a Cucumber and Zucchini had too many drinks, did naughty things and 9 months later this happened.

Last Days Before Summer Break

Yesterday was a pretty fun day of class even though everyone knows Monday's are awful. In Product Knowledge we started our Cabbage group. Believe it or not this group includes everything from standard green cabbage to broccoli and brussel sprouts. After I became well rehearsed in all my cabbage vegetables, we had lunch. Lunch was pretty good. The appetizer wasn't really my thing but I did try it. It was a seafood salad that consisted of squid, scallops and shrimp in a light sauce. It tasted good but I don't love the texture of too many seafood items except scallops. The entree I enjoyed, Saltambocca (Veal pounded thin and wrapped in prosciutto) with potatoes. The veal was kind of overcooked but I'll assume that's because it was so thin. Finally dessert was simply Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Sauce. A little relaxing before math and then dinner which was pretty basic, just tacos from the production kitchen. We decided after that to play some tennis which is the new fad for us and we pay all the time.

Today started off my morning with the worst class of all time where we did some tasting to determine flavor as a different thing then taste. She must have known I hate that class because the tasting was all chocolate which helped ease my frustration. I left not as angry as usual and made my way down to lunch at banquet where we had a so-so meal. The appetizer was strange but delicious. Two types of pasta, Fettucine Puttanesca and Penne with Andouille Sausage, Kale and Cheese. Both excellent and I would've been more than happy to just eat those for lunch even though heavy pasta for an appetizer was quite strange (served family style). The entree was Grouper with Horseradish Potatoes and Broccoli Rabe. I don't really enjoy fish that isn't fried or grilled so I tasted it (tasted like nothing because it's so mild but I hate the texture of fish prepared that way) then ended my lunch. Dessert was disgusting (only to me) because it was White Chocolate Mousse and I absolutely despise white chocolate. I took a nap this afternoon cause I was very tired then we had Food Safety ( fell asleep in class) and finally made it to dinner. Today I decided to go to Cuisines of the Americas where the cuisine was Southwest so I enjoyed Pork in Red Chili Sauce with Corn Fritters and Refried Beans with Salsa. All of it was excellent and I ate a plate and a half because someone didn't finish before yet again returning to my dorm to nap and read. Again a bit more tennis and some basketball and that about wrapped up the day. Two more days until summer break and I can't wait.

Chef Werblin

ps. I'm getting better and better at tennis so be on the lookout for my Wimbledon debut sometime soon
pps. Now that we have our knife kits I'll be trying so many new things at home as recipes and since the blog won't be about school I'll make sure to update it with all those.

The Second Weekend

Friday was another typical boring day of classes except for the fact it brought on the weekend. Unfortunately nothing stellar in the food department this weekend either. Saturday was pretty uneventful too except for some homework and relaxing. The best part was the trip to NYC we decided to take on Sunday. The city is great and we arrived at around 11 and walked around Times Square and such before hopping on the subway to go to Canal Street/Chinatown/Little Italy where we ate, bargained for cheap souvenirs and tired our legs out. When we got back we watched some of the fireworks that you couldn't really see and played tennis (our new fad) for a few hours. I'm actually getting kinda decent so hopefully I'll be a tennis pro in no time.

There's only 4 days of classes left before summer break for 3 weeks. Thursday brings 2 midterms so most of the week will be dedicated to homework, dare I even so that dreaded word.

As for now its watching last week's episode of Top Chef (I know how nerdy that sounds coming from a culinary kid) and getting some much needed sleep before class tomorrow.

Chef Werblin

Wednesday/Thursday

Yesterday was yet again a typical day. Product Knowledge in the morning where we started finally getting into produce identification. We did lettuces yesterday and after our quiz on Friday we'll move into Salad Greens and such. Lunch was pretty excellent, an appetizer of Salad with Bacon, Egg and a good dressing. The entree was amazing... Duck Leg with Mashed Potatoes and Fava Bean Stew. If you are going to eat duck... eat it this way. The duck was flavorful and fantastic with the potatoes. Finally dessert was Chocolate Mousse flavored with something we couldn't quite figure out that gave the mousse a lighter color and interesting flavor. After our math quiz at 4pm which took me 20 minutes (I got 100 no doubt) we hung around until dinner. For dinner I decided on Grilled Chicken Sandwich with Cheese, Avocado, Tomato on Country Bread with Fries which was good. The desserts at the dining hall are INSANE. They just bring out massive loads of crazy cakes and custards and line them up to take. Once I get a camera I'll make sure to make you all even more jealous. Last night was pretty relaxed just hangin out.

Today was another dreadful Gastronomy class. Let's not get into the details but basically my face was beet red and I wanted to put my fist through a wall because she makes me so angry. Either way, lunch was full at banquet so we went upstairs to the regular meals and ate at Cuisines of the Mediterranean where it was Italian day. I got Risotto with Sausage, Asparagus and Leeks and it was excellent. I also tried Ryan and Leah's dishes just to sample. Ryan had Osso Buco (braised veal shank) which if you haven't had is amazing and Leah had Potato Gnocchi with Duck Ragu which was also fantastic. We hung around until Food Safety at 4. If there is one thing I hate, it's being treated like a 5 year old in COLLEGE. These teachers with their ridiculous methods and baby-like voices to a bunch of 18-21 year olds is so frustrating. We're big boys and girls, we lost the Pampers a while back now and we can handle it. Hopefully after this block of classes it is different. Dinner was pretty boring and since nothing looked terribly good I just got a burger and fries then went back to my dorm for a nap while most other people went to writing class (I'm exempt!). When they were done with that we met at a dorm, relaxed and then took a trip to Applebees for Halfitizers (half price appetizers) which was delicious to say the least at 10:30pm.

One more day before the weekend which I can't wait for. Hopefully tomorrow's PK quiz is nice and easy.

Chef Werblin

ps. seriously... play Skip-B0
pps. I've been doing externship research (our externship is 18 weeks working at a approved place of your choice after your first 8 months here before you come back to finish) so if you have ideas feel free to shed some input. Right now I'm leaning towards Rick Bayless' restaurant in Chicago cause I love Rick Bayless

Monday/Tuesday

The last 2 days have been pretty standard, classes, fun food and outdoor activities with my new friends. Monday was pretty boring in terms of class, but I'll let you know about all the great food I ate so you can be jealous. Lunch consisted of a Tomato, Fresh Mozzarella and Basil Salad with Balsamic which was something I could easily eat every day of the week and twice on Sundays. The entree, Sauteed Duck Breast with Potatoes Au Gratin. I'm getting used to the idea of duck since I've now eaten it 3 times in a week and both were very good. Finally dessert was Profiterole Dipped in Chocolate. Another win in the dessert column for this school. Dinner was pretty plain... Beef Burrito with Salsa, good but not out of this world. Monday night consisted of bball and an hour or so of homework (believe me when I say I'm surprised I actually did homework too).

Today we had Gastronomy with the teacher who I don't care for too much. She just rubs me the wrong way although the material is decently interesting... the odds of me even remotely enjoying any part of that class in the next 6 weeks is highly unlikely. Today for lunch was not a good day... the appetizer was Gravlox (cured salmon) with Arugula, Fennel and a Chive Oil. I don't care for salmon much as is, especially if its cured which I learned today. Not a good appetizer for me although I did try it. The entree was Chicken Roulade with Fresh Mozzarella and Sage over Couscous with Broccolini. The chicken wasn't bad but the sage overpowered most of the flavor, the couscous tasted ok but seemed softer than any couscous I've had before and broccolini is very bitter and was covered in red pepper flake which did not mix well with the bitter. The only highlight of this meal was the dessert (again!) which was a Chocolate Pot De Creme which is basically a little bowl of delicious chocolate, mousse-like pudding that was topped with whipped cream and strawberries. Excellent but too rich for me to take more than a few bites of without developing a headache (thank you genes from mom). Tonight for dinner was Roasted Herb Chicken with Potatoes, Onions and Mushrooms... not bad.

I hit the gym for about an hour, ran to go get some food cause I'm a fat ass and I'm starving at 10pm and finally I'm gonna go to a friends room to hang and play Skip-Bo (a fun card game kinda Uno-ish... look it up if you're curious) before I come back to do some homework... sorta.

Chef Werblin

ps. Today we learned that food aversions are something that people develop usually for strange and non-nonsensical reasons and that overcoming them is very possible so I pose to you this. Pick one food you dislike whether it be from a bad memory or another reason and for 2 months, incorporate it into your diet and meals and overcome that aversion so that your cuisine palate can be expanded.

Sunday, A Block Party

I wasn't going to write about today cause not much happened but I'm sitting in my dorm and kinda bored so why not. Today was the Stars and Stripes Block Party which was right behind my dorm. Set-up were some inflatable things, a slip n' slide, a dunk tank and a whole mess of food. Myself and a friend who are new members of the Brewery Club went to the tent to serve our Root Beer Floats with Guinness Ice Cream (that the two of us made). We did that while it was busy then walked around and saw some friends and had some food, including cotton candy, smoothies, frozen bananas, flavored popcorns, fried oreos and twinkies, burgers, hot dogs, and watermelon. After some slip n' slide fun we ended up just hanging out till around 5.

We parted ways to take showers and then three of us went to dinner at this restaurant right on the Hudson. It was excellent and we split Brie in Puff Pastry (incredible!) for an appetizer and I got Ribs and Crab Cakes which was awesome. The rest of our friends decided to grill outside for dinner but didn't do so until around 10pm so when we got back we met them and I had my second dinner of the night... Grilled BBQ Chicken, Corn, Mashed Potatoes and Watermelon. All in all a successful day eating. This week classes really get into full swing so hopefully I'll be learning a whole lot. Looking forward to next weekend when we are going to NYC on Saturday. Time to go read.

Chef Werblin

The First Weekend

Yesterday was a pretty typical Friday. Woke up, went to class, had lunch, poked around the storeroom, hung out, went to class, had dinner and hung out with a new group of friends. I won't go into details because it was kind of boring since now classes are pretty standard. I will tell you about lunch though. The appetizer was Risotto with Sausage, Parmesan and Herbs. It tasted good and would have been perfect if the rice wasn't very undercooked. The entree was Breaded Salmon with Mustard over Sauteed Spinach and Horseradish Mashed Potatoes. I'm not big on salmon so I tried a few bites but it wasn't my favorite thing. The spinach was just alright but the potatoes were excellent so I devoured that. Finally dessert was just Cheesecake with Strawberry Sauce, good but very rich.

The way meals work here if you don't eat at the 3-course Banquet is just to go to K-16 which is a kitchen class where they change the menu everyday of about 3 options and you use a meal swipe and grab what you want to go sit down. The other option is to go to one of the Cuisines classes. These are Cuisines of the Asias, Americas and Mediterranean that each have around 3-4 options and you do the same thing, swipe and grab. For dinner yesterday we decided to do Asia. I had Bulgogi with Scallion Rice and Kim-chi. Its basically pork in some delicious sauce so it was great.

Our night consisted of hanging in a dorm cause the weekends here aren't exactly wild although we're slowly finding new and fun things to do like the drive-in movie theater, the roller rink and how it only takes an hour to get to NYC.

Today we woke up, and 9 of us went to a diner for lunch and then came back and parted way until we're going to meet for the fireworks tonight on campus. Tomorrow is the Stars and Stripes July 4th festival and I get to serve my homemade Vanilla Ice Cream with the Brewery Club. Hopefully it came out good.

Chef Werblin

Brewery Club

So my friend and I went to a Brewery Club Meeting to check it out. Turns out its awesome. They had finished brewing an Apricot Wietbeer which is a Belgian-style wheat beer which just needed to be carbonated (I tried it non-carbonated and it was bangin). They also brewed a home Guiness which I wasn't quite ready so I didn't try and finally a homemade Root Beer for the week early 4th of July fest this weekend. As new found members of the club the head guy asked us to make Vanilla Ice Cream... from scratch... so we found a recipe online and made it happen while they finished the brew.

After separating 40 eggs and whisking that with 5 cups of sugar (which almost made my shoulder fall off), we combined vanilla bean, 20 cups of both heavy cream and milk and let that come almost to a boil. From there we slowly whisked the cream mixture into the eggs and sugar and put it over the heat again just to thicken some before we chilled it. It will be put in the ice cream maker on Sunday before the event. It tasted incredible and will go down as the first thing I created at CIA. A fun night so I thought I'd share.

Chef Werblin

First Day of Classes... Kinda Again

Today we had 2 new classes for the first time so it's sort of like the first day all over again. As per my usual which I'm sure I'll manage to sustain throughout the semester, my alarm buzzed at 8:15 and I happily rolled over, shut it off and took an extra 20 minutes to sleep.

The first class today was Introduction to Gastronomy which is all about how people and culture affect food and such things like people such as Escoffier (one of the most famous chefs) and Careme (another famous chef) have shaped cuisine today and so on. The class seems moderately interesting but we unfortunately got stuck with Raider (her last name) who isn't a well liked teacher to put it lightly. Yes shes a feminist sort of and when she lectures its fine but whenever a male spoke in her class she either kept nodding or trying to interrupt as if she didn't want him to finish or answering in what came off in an extremely snobby way, as noticed by most of the class at lunch. Either way I guess we're stuck with her and I'm sure you'll hear plenty more about her in the future seeing as I get pissed pretty easily at people like her so please don't be offended when I use moderately derogatory terms to identify her.

After that we went to lunch at the Banquet Room (3 courses). Appetizer was strangely not a "fine cuisine" food unlike the last 6 meals there. It was Fried Sole (type of mild fish) in almost like a fish stick type presentation with a Slaw and sauce resembling tartar sauce. It was very good but just didn't seem like the typical thing we would eat there. Anyway, the entree was Spice Rubbed Pork Loin with a Tomatillo Salsa, Chorizo Corn Cake, Potato thing and Sauteed Chayote (Mexican Squash... no I didn't know what it was, had to ask). The Pork Loin wasn't great neither was the Potato thing that was like a thick short tube of super thick mashed potatoes without flavor, needed salt. The Chorizo Corn Cake was very good as was the Chayote which kinda just tasted like mild squash in butter. The Tomatillo was a really small spoonful but was so good and I wish I could've taken some back to my room.

Lunch finished and we had about 3 hours to kill so we took a trip down to the storeroom to dig through produce and look at everything.... SO COOL!! There's so many different foods there it would blow your mind, everything from lots of bags of red onions to HUGE wheels of cheese to caviar and quail eggs. We spent about 30 minutes in there with wide eyes trying to guess the things we didn't know (when you ask the guys who work there they make you guess). A quick run to the bookstore where I bought a $5 on sale book called "A Drink For Every Occasion" which is hilarious and a great investment and then a nice run through the rain to the dorm.

Myself and my new friend from class and from my dorm went to hang out in the lounge at the dorm to watch soccer and relax till our 4pm class which was Food Safety. Shoot me now. This class is so ridiculous but unfortunately literally everyone must take it. People here have certifications up to wazoo but are still stuck taking this class and even though the teacher was very nice, spending an hour going over Cross-Contamination will put anyone to sleep.

The end of my day in some sense was walking to the Cafe in the Rec Center for dinner because the dining hall was packed at 6pm. Another friend and I got some dinner and had a beer (the Cafe has a bar with about 6 stools, 15 bottled beers and 4 beers on tap which is awesome) before he headed back to his off-campus apartment and I made my way to the room.

In store for tonight is the NBA draft at 8, a Brewery Club meeting at 9 in the Rec Center where we will be brewing from scratch Guinness, Root Beer and another something I didn't catch when the guy did his little plug and then my bball workout which on Thursdays and Mondays consists of about an hours worth of shooting drills and then a 3 mile run.

One more day until the weekend and the week-early 4th of July festivities here.

Chef Werblin

ps. I don't have a ps but its been a trend on the posts so I can't break a 4 day tradition

First Day of Classes

My alarm went off at 8:15 this morning and I miserably rolled over, shut it off and went back to sleep for 15 minutes in my true, natural college fashion. Finally I managed to get up, shower and get ready for class at 9:15. Red bull in hand I made my way to my first class at CIA ever... Product Knowledge. I knew or recognized most of the kids in my class which made it pretty ok to sit there while we waited for our professor.

Product Knowledge is basically an identification course. By the end of these 6 weeks we will know how to properly identify 235 different types of produce as well as knowing how to determine if they are ripe/usable and what they are used primarily for in cookery. After the tedious explanation and introduction of the class we went down to tour the storeroom where all the produce and such is kept. The place is extremely cool and has more types of food then you could ever know (we are expected to go down there at least once a week just to poke around and look at things).

After 2 hours of intro for a class that will clearly be awesome, I went to lunch at 11:30 with a few people from class at the Banquet Dining Room (the place we eat 3-course meals) and had a nice lunch. An appetizer of Tomato and Roasted Pepper Gazpacho which was ok, there was no heat which I would have liked and I also am not a huge fan of the raw tomato taste. The Entree was a Veal, Pork and Beef Old Fashioned Meatloaf with a sauce I can't recall the name of, Creamed Corn, Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Green Beans wrapped in Bacon. The meatloaf was very good as was the corn and green beans, unfortunately the mashed potatoes were a bit dry. Finally dessert was a Strawberry and Rhubarb Cobbler with Creme which was fantastic (so far all the desserts have been delicious).

After lunch, about 12:30, I took a walk back to the dorm and relaxed until around 3:45 when I made my way to my 4pm class, Culinary Math. The professor for this class was upbeat and funny. The class is all about food costing and yields and such. It will easily turn out to be the easiest class I'm taking and if I don't get an A I'll probably throw myself into the Hudson. The class ran till around 5:30 and then 2 of my new found friends and I decided to skip out on dining hall food, take a ride to the mall, grab some dinner and walk around.

We made our way back and now I'm headed to the gym (yes, again) to start the first set of 3 weeks (5 sets of those) of conditioning and practice for basketball before I head back to meet up with some people to watch Top Chef. Everyone here is a food nerd so its kinda cheesy that we all talk about Food Network and Top Chef every 5 minutes but it makes for a fun place.

Tomorrow Gastronomy and Food Safety.

Chef Werblin

ps. My Wednesday/Friday bball workout consists of 10 Suicides, 5 17s (run the court 17 times, hopefully in under 60 seconds), 5 60 second Line Jumps, Wall Passing 20 times, Full Court Dribbling 50 times and ending with 50 made Freethrows.
pps. These 3 ducks live outside my dorm near the mini-lake on campus and eat all day... until you accidentally walk to close and they start hissing at you uncontrollably... don't do that.
ppps. If you've ever seen I Love You, Man, this school is just like that movie because all the new students aren't housed together so making friends requires starting conversations with random people and then attempting to attain their phone numbers (kinda awkward between dudes) so you can stay in touch outside of class.

Orientation Day 2

Today was the last day of orientation before classes. We went to the huge, awesome theater in the library to listen to 3 people spend 2 1/2 hours telling us all about a whole mess of meaningless survival skills. Finally after the torturous lecturing we broke for lunch.

Talk about eating well, this place is ridiculous. The appetizer was Melon with Prosciutto and Port Wine Gastrique (a sauce that is thick and reduced down). The sweetest cantaloupe you've ever eaten mixed with the delicious salty prosciutto and with a little of the gastrique was one of the best things I've ever eaten. The entree was a Roast Striploin (again) with Pancetta Stuffed Twice Baked Potatoes and a Vegetable Medley. All very good. And dessert was Vanilla Tapioca with Fresh Berries. Easily the best tapioca pudding I've ever had.

The afternoon was then filled with more meaningless talking except for the one chef who was hilarious is telling us about Life Through a Chef's Eyes. We had an hour break after in which I took a quick 20 min power nap to recharge. Next was a meeting with the big dog himself, President Tim Ryan (the youngest person to receive the CMC at 26... most people spend 25 years studying for it!). We did a little Q&A with him and he was very funny and interesting to talk to (plus we got him to sing).

The last part of the day was the part everyone had been looking forward to forever. Schedules, knife kits, and books. We filed in the lobby and received our things. The knife kit is insane with more tools and utensils than you could imagine and our schedules finally came so we all found out about AM and PM. For classes here you either have morning or night classes and then next semester you switch and so on. For our first 6 weeks the four classes I have, Culinary Math, Food Safety, Product Knowledge and Intro to Gastronomy are more like normal college classes instead of AM/PM. I have class everyday from 9:15-11:15am and then a break on MWF until my 4:00-6:00pm class and a break TTH until my 4:00-5:20 class. Not so bad.

After taking about a half hour to drop things off at the room we went to go have dinner which I can officially say is now the most awkward thing ever. Since other students now will be having 3 course meals as well with us, unless you are with a friend or two you get seated with 5 or 6 random strangers for an hour and a half to eat. Luckily today I knew everybody at dinner, tomorrow is another story.

Dinner was exciting and new for me. An appetizer of Split Pea Soup with Mushroom and Ham, not too bad, not my favorite soup. The entree was something I've never had, Roast Duck with a Pineapple Jus and Rice and Braised Bok Choy. The duck was good, different but good and the Bok Choy is an Asian leafy type deal that tasted like butter mostly. Finally dessert was Fresh Berries with Marscapone Cream and that was incredible. A dinner that definitely was out of my usual culinary bounds but was cool to try.

Tomorrow class starts and so I'm hitting the gym for an hour or two before I have to read some of my new textbook that has to be dragged by a rope to class its so freaking huge (1200 pages!).

Chef Werblin

ps. If you want to know what the CMC test is, its a 7-day, $5000 exam that only roughly 90 people have ever passed and you can only take and fail twice in your lifetime. If you want full details just follow this link CMC Exam.

Move-In and Orientation (Day 1)

Yesterday was move-in day. I got here around 2pm and spent the afternoon arranging my triple. Yes that's right a triple dorm, as in with 2 roommates, which is a big change from a house. Both my roommates seem cool and the dorm is decently big and with its own bathroom. We took a tour of the campus after that around 5 and then had a "meeting" where they tell you all the dumb crap about dorms for an hour but then feed you pizza at the end. I finished the night by absolutely destroying some helpless chefs in basketball at the gym which is 10 steps from my dorm for about 3 hours until my early 10:30pm bedtime.

Today was the first of a two-day orientation and we had to be at the Admissions Office at 7:45am in business casual (the required dress code for classes not in the kitchen and for most places on campus including meals). We filed in, were handed massive packets of material and then shuffled around the building for 2 hours while acquiring such things as IDs, parking passes, mailbox keys and measurements for our chef's whites (uniform for those not in the lingo). I made some friends while waiting for lunch at 11am and we walked around and chatted until lunch time.

As part of the meal plan, we are required to eat one 3-course meal every day for 6 weeks in either lunch or dinner which is made and served by second-year students in the Banquet and Catering class. As for orientation, we ate 3-course meals for both lunch and dinner. Lunch consisted of Mushroom Ragout in Puff Pastry as an appetizer, Roast Lamb with Ratatouille and Potatoes for the entree and Creme Brulee for dessert. The appetizer was excellent and I'm not a huge mushroom fan as was the two enormous slices of lamb cooked perfectly medium rare. The Creme Brulee might've been the best dessert I've ever eaten.

After lunch we listened to some lady talk about school and values and all that crap and I almost wanted to punch her. She was one of those people who asks ridiculous rhetorical questions like, "Who came here to be mediocre?" Obviously she was trying to get us hyped but after 45 minutes I wanted to kill her cause it got really old and the dumb question thing is one of my top 5 biggest pet peeves. Either way we made it through and then quickly hustled back to the dorms to put on casual clothes and do some cheesy team-building at the gym. After an hour doing cheesy and fun puzzles with my group we had a 45 lecture on alcohol and sexual harassment before dinner. Dinner was also fantastic. An appetizer of a piece of salmon over a salad of spinach with a warm-bacon vinaigrette. The entree was a strip sirloin in a red wine jus (which is sauce) that was massive with mashed potatoes, green beans and carrots... all excellent. And finally for dessert was an apple and cherry crisp. Then a few guys and I drove to Target to grab some missing stuff and now I'm writing this blog before heading to the gym again.

All in all a moderately boring and long day but filled with crazy good food. Tomorrow we have day 2 which is spent mostly sitting around and then Wednesday we start classes.

Chef Werblin

ps. I'm definitely trying out for basketball in October so I'm now on a "get fit" regiment to prep. The basketball coach said they could use some new blood... look out old scoring records cause Kobe (the skinny white one) just arrived

Learning How to Really Cook

So this will be my blog for culinary school which I start tomorrow with move-in day. A whole bunch of people asked me to keep them updated all about it so I figured this was the easiest way to do it.

I'll probably keep it updated at least every other day so if you wanna know what culinary school is like feel free to read and follow.

Chef (to be) Werblin