It was fun having Chef Peter back in the kitchen and also expediting. He has a ton of stories from his time in restaurant kitchens. Not preachy; just life lessons. I like that way of teaching. Tomorrow I move onto patissier with Tomas - that should be fun. I get to pull some sugar, make …
Days 87-92: Menu Project, The Restaurant: poisonnier to saucier, and Chef Udo
Last week we moved downstairs to the restaurant kitchen and changed instructors from Chef Tim to Chef Udo. Bobby and I finished on poisonnier (fish station) on Thursday, which was our first day actually serving customers, and then everyone changed stations when Chef Udo came in on Friday. Friday I played sous chef which meant …
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Days 80-86: The big buffet and Level 5 start
Day 80 was our final day of Level 4 and our second buffet. I loved this buffet! The theme: Spain, with a little Asia and charcuterie thrown in for good measure. I refuse to call it fusion because it wasn't meant to be, but some students really wanted to do Asian, so Chef Ryan was …
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Day 79 – Shepard’s pies and buffet prep
Today's focus was prepping for tomorrow's Spanish-inspired buffet. It's a very ambitious buffet. I'm making 5 dishes solely on my own: Vegetarian Paella, Squash stuffed empanadas with spicy sour cream, roasted wild mushrooms in a shallot-garlic-sherry wine-olive oil reduction, Octopus tiradito (sort of like a ceviche, but the octopus has been "tenderized" in daikon and …
Days 71-78: Many family meals and a white clothes picnic in Golden Gate Park with 3500 people
Okay, I'm lame. I have not posted in 8 school days - yikes. I'd like to say it's because I'm busy - and I am - but I think most people are these days, so I'm just going to say I'm lame. So, what have I been up to? Family meals have been pretty fun, …
Days 67-70: Charcuterie Buffet
Today was the big day - Day 10 of Level 4, which means our big charcuterie buffet. We made several different items from the pig we butchered, a salmon we cold smoked and several different condiments and breads to accompany the foregoing. Pictured at top is one of our featured charcuterie platters. Starting from the …
Days 60-66: Level 4, family meals, a saw and a machete
Day 59 was the midterm and we all passed! It wasn't nearly as nerve racking as I had originally thought it would be. I drew #3, which was a great number. Victor served first, then Bobbie, then me. Mark followed, then Tomas was #5. We all made consomme and the thick-cut pork chops with pommes …
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Day 58 – Bass en papillote, an Italian-style dinner, and purple cauliflower
As mentioned yesterday, I cooked fish en papillote (parchment paper) today. Anne got the salmon and Rachelle and I got the striped bass for our fishes. I wish we would have had the chance to fillet this sea bass that Level 5 got today: Nonetheless, our dishes were spectacular with salmon and striped bass and …
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Days 56 and 57 – I smell chocolate
For the past 2 days, I have been smelling chocolate while we cook. It's most definitely from the pastry folks in the pastry program and today it got the better of me. I begged Chef Tomm to include chocolate chip cookies in my menu of salad nicoise and thick cut pork chops with greenpeppercorn sauce …
Days 53, 54, 55, coffee roasting and two stages
The latter half of this week was a bit of a blur. Our friend Matthew was in town, so we had some late nights (and great food and wine, of course). Also what added to the late nights were that I staged (essentially, interned/worked for free) in two different fabulous San Francisco restaurants: Commonwealth and …
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Salty Apron 