Finals week! This was a very hard final. We made a two-tiered wedding cake with a diplomat cream filling and both a simple buttercream and an Italian buttercream. We also made 3 dozen dinner rolls (3 different shapes), pate a choux (3 shapes), French apple tart and 3 differently flavored pastry creams. I passed but my cake decorating really needs work.
0 Comments
Well, I was finally in the kitchen this week, making a recipe that I contributed. I made a Vegan Mushroom Risotto. I thought it was just fine vegan, but everyone thought it need cheese. So we made it a vegan/vegetarian option with a marscarpone blend as an option. I was really nervous! But for me it was a slow service. On the first day, no risotto was ordered. On the second day only one was ordered. But that was not really a surprise. Our restaurant really attracts meat eaters. This week, we had not only bison, we also had short ribs and a veal ragout. It was all good. I still felt “out of sorts”. I had the least amount of time in the kitchen. I learned a lot in this class, although I’m not sure I contributed much. At least in the kitchen. But I do feel much more at ease about working in a restaurant.
This week was hard. I made the Alpine Blend Pizza. Alpine Blend is a blend of several cheeses. While I did not make the crust, there was a lot of prep work. Lots of chopping, measuring and blanching. This pizza is served with a sunny side up egg. I have not made a fried egg in almost two years, so I had to practice. I felt overwhelmed and out of place. This was my first time cooking for service. Things went ok, but I did mention to Chef Alissa that no student should spend as much time in the dining room as I have this quarter.
This was a very unique week. The Art Institute serves Thanksgiving lunch for the rest of the school. Every kitchen class contributes. We made all of the sides. I helped to make the Maple Balsamic Glazed Carrots. Everything was quite good, although the mashed potatoes and fruit pies could have used a little help. We had more than enough food.
I was supposed to cook this week, but another teacher of mine, Dr. May, requested me as a server. She brought her family, a party of 10. 10!!!!!!! I was a bit nervous. But I had a system and it all went very well. Six out of the ten ordered bison and Marie cooked them perfectly. At some point I will cook for service, possibly week 10.
CHEF INSTRUCTOR COMMENTS Communication between FOH and BOH was great. We are improving every week. This week we took a field trip to Anodyne Coffee Roaster. Anodyne is a local coffee roaster. We are blessed that we have a few roasters here in Milwaukee. It was fantastic!! I am a bit of a coffee geek. We did an abbreviated version of a coffee cupping and took a tour. We got to see and smell the green coffee and the coffee as it came out of the roaster.
We also did a "Blind Basket" challenge. I made a Vegan Mushroom Risotto with Caramelized Onions. Although I did not have the proper rice, the dish was ok. Chef Alissa is putting it on the menu week 10. I was the host this week. The first day was really slow so I did not have much to do. The second day was the complete opposite. I did more food running and table clearing than hosting. But service went really smoothly. We sold out of all of the meat dishes. Hopefully we can keep this up. This week I was the Sous Chef. Sous Chef is extremely difficult. It looks like all you do is call out tickets, wipe plates and add a little garnish. You are a coach and a cheerleader. My first day was very difficult. One of my classmates seemed to be offended by my style and basically snapped at me. I really had to examine what I did. I did not do anything other than what I was supposed to do. I later found out that she was frustrated before I even walked into the room. The second day went much, much better.
Chef Instructor comments: Chef and I had a really good talk. She told me that she would not have allowed me to be Sous Chef if she did not believe I could not do it. We also talked about the concept of “sometimes it’s not what you say, but how you say it”. I was a server this week. That is hard work!!! I am afraid that I was a bit neglectful. Also my timing was a bit off. Knowing when to place the order for the next courses really does take more than one day to learn. But I think I did ok. But everyone seemed to enjoy the food. I had one dish that wound up being complementary, the bison was overcooked.
Chef instructor comments: We did a good job, but the kitchen need to work on timing and the servers need to know their table numbers and be more patient. This was a very difficult week. I was the only student that had anything removed from the menu. The couscous bowl was taken off of the menu. I do understand why. The original recipe was completely different than what was presented. The final product was ok. We added curry, yogurt and squash. The original had pomegranates, sweet potato and feta cheese. I think the dish would have been better warm. Cold squash just isn’t good. However the dish that Chef Alisa had me make was much better. I made a ratatouille for the pasta dish. It was really good. I thought of something to add that might make it even better. I will have to try it next week. I just have to learn to relax and remember that this is a time for me to learn.
Chef Instructors comments “Keep your chin up” “Remember this was not your recipe and we changed a lot of things”. I have a hard time hiding what I am feeling and Chef Alisa noticed that right away. |
AuthorKimberly-baker and food history enthusiast! Archives
March 2015
Categories
All
|