My adventure at Top of the Hub began on Wednesday. I was there for just a few short hours getting the gist of the kitchen and the station I would be on mostly, Pantry. I learned some general things and then they let me go home.
The next day was my first real day of work. I arrived at the bright and early time of 2:45pm. I helped set up my station, mostly cutting vegetables with some light grilling of chicken and frying potato chips. Basically my Pantry station is plating all salads, some cold appetizers, and finishing and plating desserts. Pretty easy once you figure out what goes on what and how to read the tickets. I spent the night doing just that and got the hang of it very quickly. It was a Thursday so it was a pretty slow night, especially with 3 people on the station (2 plus the trainee... ME). Anyway, we finished service at 10, cleaned up and went home.
I had off Friday and spent the day just hanging.
Then I woke up and went to work today at 12 assigned to Brunch and having no idea what that meant. Turns out it was pretty easy. I had a long list of prep for Brunch tomorrow. Anything from poaching 100 eggs to making little frittata's to just chopping vegetables. Since I was being taught what to do I was there a full 8 hours but I can imagine once I get going I'll knock it out quick and have more time to help. By the way, as my first "test" according to the Sous Chef I had to peel and sm dice 5 pounds of parsnips (white carrots basically). Boy was that a pain.
Anyway, so far work has been fine. Hopefully I can master the Pantry station quickly and then ask to move to the Saute or Grill station. I will be doing a Banquet with the Banquet crew this week so I'll be sure to update on that.
After my shift on Pantry tomorrow, I have off until Friday so there won't be too much blogging unless I do something really cool.
Keep on cooking!
Chef Werblin
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Saturday, February 12, 2011
I'm Back!
Ok so after the stress of the last lets say 12 weeks, I'm leaving for extern tomorrow at Top of the Hub Restaurant in Boston. The restaurant is at the top of the Prudential Tower in the Prudential Center on the 62nd floor with an incredible view. I start Wednesday at noon so I'll be sure to update.
As for the classes you missed out on, I'll give a quick overview of each to try and play catch-up.
Skills 3 - The production version of Skills 1 and 2 serving students with practicing fundamental cooking techniques, Saute, Grill, Braise, Stew, Poach and so on. Horrible chef, ok class since we were mixed with new people from Skills 1/2 (our class from here on out). 4 groups of 4 - 2 do one dish, 2 do the other and then switch the next day.
Cuisines of the Americas - 7 Regions: New England, Midwest, South, Caribbean, Northwest, Mexico and South American. More intense. 6 teams, 5 dishes, soup and salad team. About 80 plates for service. Ok chef, fun class to cook in.
Cuisines of Asia - Same deal as before, 6 teams, 5 dishes. Regions: China, Vietnam, Thailand, Japan, Korea, and India. Fun class, amazing chef, interesting change. Cooking fundamentals were the same but with new equipment and ingredients. Killed and filet'd a live eel.
Quantity Food Production - The most intense of the kitchens, 7 days of breakfast and 7 days of lunch. Typical class is 15-16, my class was 8 people. Smallest lunch class ever in that class. Breakfast was easy and fun putting out about 150 covers a day. Egg station was exhilarating and tough. Lunch was a pain, so much work and so hard to keep under control. 300-450 plates per day with LOADS of work. We managed to get through but it was very challenging. I thought Chef was a great teacher but I refuse to acknowledge that Chef as a good person because of political issues. Good class though. Stressful.
Lastly, Garde Manger - the "art of cold food preparation." Fun, easy, laid back and awesome Chef. Did 3 days of prep for a Cocktail Reception making 4-5 hor d'ourves per team (4 teams). Sausage Day, Forcemeat day with terrines, and pates. Then 2 days of prep and service for Plated Appetizers. Finally, 3 days of prep and service for Grand Buffet. A large reception for people before extern to present their Garde Manger work to other students.
Thats it. I leave tomorrow. As soon as I start I'll be sure to update. I'll be living with relatives so that's nice.
Stay Hungry.
Chef Werblin
As for the classes you missed out on, I'll give a quick overview of each to try and play catch-up.
Skills 3 - The production version of Skills 1 and 2 serving students with practicing fundamental cooking techniques, Saute, Grill, Braise, Stew, Poach and so on. Horrible chef, ok class since we were mixed with new people from Skills 1/2 (our class from here on out). 4 groups of 4 - 2 do one dish, 2 do the other and then switch the next day.
Cuisines of the Americas - 7 Regions: New England, Midwest, South, Caribbean, Northwest, Mexico and South American. More intense. 6 teams, 5 dishes, soup and salad team. About 80 plates for service. Ok chef, fun class to cook in.
Cuisines of Asia - Same deal as before, 6 teams, 5 dishes. Regions: China, Vietnam, Thailand, Japan, Korea, and India. Fun class, amazing chef, interesting change. Cooking fundamentals were the same but with new equipment and ingredients. Killed and filet'd a live eel.
Quantity Food Production - The most intense of the kitchens, 7 days of breakfast and 7 days of lunch. Typical class is 15-16, my class was 8 people. Smallest lunch class ever in that class. Breakfast was easy and fun putting out about 150 covers a day. Egg station was exhilarating and tough. Lunch was a pain, so much work and so hard to keep under control. 300-450 plates per day with LOADS of work. We managed to get through but it was very challenging. I thought Chef was a great teacher but I refuse to acknowledge that Chef as a good person because of political issues. Good class though. Stressful.
Lastly, Garde Manger - the "art of cold food preparation." Fun, easy, laid back and awesome Chef. Did 3 days of prep for a Cocktail Reception making 4-5 hor d'ourves per team (4 teams). Sausage Day, Forcemeat day with terrines, and pates. Then 2 days of prep and service for Plated Appetizers. Finally, 3 days of prep and service for Grand Buffet. A large reception for people before extern to present their Garde Manger work to other students.
Thats it. I leave tomorrow. As soon as I start I'll be sure to update. I'll be living with relatives so that's nice.
Stay Hungry.
Chef Werblin
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
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
Chef "big time slacking on the blog" Werblin
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
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
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
Thursday, September 30, 2010
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.
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.
Friday, September 24, 2010
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.
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.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
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!!
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!!
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