What the Kale??

 It has been difficult finding time to write even a short post on my blog. If anyone thinks that going to culinary college involves just showing up to class for a leisurely fun filled day of cooking, you will be in for an enormous shock. We average at least 2 or more hours of homework each day, plus preparing prep sheets, time management sheets and writing out the recipes for the next day. After an hour of lecture and demo by Chef Winter, we have 2 hours to prepare our food. Usually we are fixing four items. Today we made fresh pasta, Alfredo sauce, Pesto, and a cheese filling that went into either tortellini or ravioli. Once prepared, the food has to be plated and presented for evaluation. It is a demanding schedule, but that is what makes Le Cordon Bleu one of the better culinary colleges in the world.

We have been learning about the different kinds of soups -- clear; thick and specialty soups. We made a Consommé Brunoise, a New England Clam Chowder, French Onion and Dubarry (made with cauliflower). Vegetable cookery, legumes, grains and pasta followed our segment on soup.

Class is not about learning recipes, but understanding and learning the principles and methods behind the recipes. We also have to learn the science of the food we are cooking to successfully use these principles.

One of the soups demonstrated by Chef Winter was Caldo Verdi, which is popular in Portuguese cuisine. It is a simple soup to make and a great way to incorporate kale in your diet.

Caldo Verde Soup

½ oz. of olive oil

3 oz. of onion, ciseler (cut into a small dice)

1 clove of garlic, hacher (chop very finely with a knife)

1 lb. of Russet potatoes, peeled and émincer (thinly slice

32 oz. of water

6 oz. of spicy sausage

8 oz. of Kale, de-ribbed then cut chiffonade

Salt and pepper to taste

In a medium saucepan, simmer the onions until soft and translucent. Do not brown. Add the garlic and sauté for another minute. Add the water and potatoes, bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer for about 20 minutes. Be careful to only simmer the potatoes. In a sauté pan, cook the sausage until most of the fat has been rendered, and cut or break apart into small pieces. Once the potatoes are tender, slightly mash them in the saucepan, add the sausage and kale and simmer for 5 minutes. Adjust seasonings and enjoy. 

Bon appétit!

What To Do With 30 Gallons of Brown Beef Stock

Wow, week one of Foundations II is done, and I am actually happy to have a weekend off from school. Not because I do not like what I am learning, but because I need a break from the high intensity pace that is a part of this class. On day one, we made over 30 gallons of Brown Beef Stock. Day two through four we made 4 mother sauces and 6 small sauces.

So what are the Mother Sauces? Bechamel, Tomato Sacue, Hollandise, Veloute, and Espanganole. The Mother Sauces form the basis of almost every sauce you will find in the culinary world.

The pace of this class is intense. A typical day starts at 6:45 AM when we are allowed into the classroom. We have 15 minutes to set up our station for the day. This consists of getting all of the equipment at our station that is needed to prepare the day’s recipes. Then we have to line up for our uniform inspection and our personal inspection (showered, shaved, hair in a net if needed, shoes shined, no ring tongues, jewelry etc.). From 7:00 to 8:00 Chef Winter has a demo on the items that will be prepared in class. For the next 2 hours, we have to prepare the recipes for the day. Then we have 30 minutes to clean pots, pans, utensils, cutting boards, stove tops, the walk-in cooler, floors, walls, and take out the garbage and recycling. If we are not done in the 30 minutes, everyone is docked 1 point for the day.

If you have ever seen the TV show Chopped, you get an idea of the pace and time limit that we are under for those 2 hours. Day 3 of class we had had to prepare two Mother Sauces, a Velouté (stock made from Veal, Chicken or Fish Stock with a blond roux) and a Bechemel (white roux combined with milk), and two small sauces, a Mornay Sauce from it’s Mother Sauce Bechemel, and a Allemande sauce made from it’s Mother Sauce Velouté. Was I stressed and were my classmates stressed? At least for me, this was an extremely stressful day and I am sure the majority of my classmates felt the same way.

After four days, I am becoming more accustomed to the pace. Even starting to enjoy the adrenaline rush that comes with being this busy, it could become addictive.

So what to do with 30+ gallons of Brown Beef Stock? Well, we will be using it for everything from sauces to soups, so we should have plenty to eat in the coming weeks.

Cheers

Stocks You Will Never Trade

Class does not resume until July 5^th, but I am already busy with homework for Foundations II – reading and filling out blank recipe forms -- sometimes converting to the yield that will be prepared in class. This is a hands-on course that will build on the techniques and skills I learned in Culinary Foundations I. Classical knife cuts as well as French culinary cuisine terminology will be expounded upon. The proper use of commercial equipment, understanding measurements, formulas and recipe conversions are part of our curriculum. We will be learning stocks, mother sauces, soups, vegetables, grains, egg cookery, speed and accuracy.

On day 1 we will be preparing a Brown Stock made from veal bones, and getting our mise en place (everything in it’s place) for Espagnole Sauce on day 2. Also on day 2 we will prepare a Fish Fumet and a Chicken Stock. 

Stocks are typically clear, thin liquids flavored by soluble substances extracted from poultry, fish, meat, and their bones and from vegetables and seasoning. Our stocks will serve as the foundation for many dishes including soups and sauces.

So the journey continues, as I will be learning more basics, more “musical scales”, with the goal of creating culinary art.

Cheers

So what next?

Yesterday marked the end of Foundations I. Six intense weeks and I loved every minute. I will definitely miss Chef Ron. He is a superb instructor and has the unique ability to combine teaching with a sense of humor, albeit twisted at times, which is probably why I enjoyed it so much.

Foundations II starts on July 5^th. We had an introduction to this class from our next instructor, Chef Dianne Winter on Wednesday. I hear that she is an excellent teacher. For me the most exciting part of this class, is that we will be cooking every day. And as Chef Ron said, you will never go hungry in Foundations II.

I was honored this week when Chef Ron wrote a letter of recommendation for me to be a Student Ambassador. Helping out the Le Cordon Bleu Culinary College and my fellow students is a great privilege and something that I will really enjoy.

Having a couple of days to inhale, I will be posting some recipes that were demonstrated by Chef Ron. With the posted recipes, I will link instructional videos that are pertinent to the recipe. Also, I will list the specific Classic Technique that we are using with these recipes -- something to help keep this information deeply embedded in my memory.

Can’t wait for Foundations II!

Cheers

Am I a Better Cook?

Only 6 more days of Foundations I. The first 5 weeks of school have flown by. As I reflect back, I asked myself, so am I a better cook than when I started, and secondly, is Le Cordon Bleu, going to help me achieve my long term goals?

The answer to the second question is easy; Le Cordon Bleu Culinary College provides a fabulous, albeit intense education for anyone looking to make a career in the food service industry. With over 100 years, Le Cordon Bleu provides a solid foundation in Gastronomy, and gives you the credentials to compete in an extremely demanding environment.

The answer to the first question is a bit complicated. My knife skills are much better, definitely important if you are planning to cook professionally, I have learned 7 classic French cooking techniques, necessary so you can properly cook any food that you are presented. I know how to convert a recipe that serves 4 people, 6-ounce portions, to a recipe that will feed a group of 150, 8-ounce portions. I understand what you need to do to protect your customers from food-born illnesses that could result from your mishandling of food. And I have a new found appreciation for the role the French have made to the culinary world.

So yes, I am a better cook, but I still have a long journey ahead. Like any art from you have to learn the basics first so you can build from there. Foundations I has taught me a lot of the fundamentals. I have been learning the music scales so I can play beautiful music later. I have learned a common language that can be shared and understood in any professional kitchen.

Foundations II, which starts after the Fourth of July, will be where I start building on these fundamentals. This is where I expect an immense jump in my ability to create culinary art.

Cheers!

Do We Eat First With Our Eyes?

Yesterday we had an introduction to plating food. What Chef Ron called, “letting us play in the sandbox.” Items in our sandbox included:

Julienne zucchini, red peppers, yellow squash, and green peppers

Brunoise (small dice that is 3 mm square) red peppers

Demilune turnips – shaped like a crescent moon

Rice

Grilled chicken breasts

Turned zucchini - a classic turned vegetable has seven sides and is evenly pointed at both ends. The French term for the method of turning vegetables is tournés

Then we got to play. Trying to create a visually appealing meal. Using our plates as the canvas and the food as our paint, we started creating our masterpieces. Well not yet a Rembrandt, at least for me, it was fun, and a great introduction to the importance of presentation. When you work hard to make a great meal, why not spend some time learning how to display it? After all, we do eat first with our eyes.

There is a great lesson on The Basics of Plating at the Roubxe Online Cooking School. I partnered with Rouxbe to give you a free, full-access, no-videos-barred, 14-day pass to their site. Check out the lesson on plating and you will be presenting food like a pro.

Rouxbe Online Cooking School & Video Recipes

Cheers!

Why The Charitable Chef?

I have been asked, why The Charitable Chef? Cooking for a cause has roots that go back many years and are tied to one of my closest and most cherished friends, Woody. He has been a business partner, friend and mentor. I have learned a lot from Woody -- integrity, generosity, being true to your word, the meaning of being focused, hard work, loyalty, the keys to raising children (and he has 7 extraordinary examples), the importance of being positive and friendship. A few years ago, Woody was diagnosed with ALS. He still maintains an incredible attitude and outlook, always being an example. His indelible stamp on my life will forever be appreciated and will continue to influence how I conduct my personal and professional affairs.

In an attempt to show my gratitude for the significance of Woody to me, a little over a year ago, I decided that I was going to pursue something that I truly love to do, cooking, but do it in a way that helps charitable causes. After transitioning from student to owning my own private chef and catering business, I will donate a portion of my net profits primarily to ALS research.

Woody recently said in an email, “it’s ironic that I can’t eat one bite of food and it turns out that food will play such an important role in your life”. While food is and will continue to be significant, it is more essential knowing that my passion will be serving others.

Cheers!

School Life

Hard to believe that I just finished my first two weeks of school. It has gone by quickly, but I absolutely love every minute. Each day starts off with us having to line up for Chef Ron to inspect our chef uniform, it must be pressed, our cravat has to be properly tied, we have to have our apron on with 2 side towels, the men must be clean shaven or if you have a facial hair it has to be neatly trimmed, and if we do not meet the standards set by Le Cordon Bleu, you will be sent home. The standards are strict, but they are designed to get us ready to work in a professional environment.

With every class, I never set there thinking I can’t wait for this to end. I am totally focused, trying to absorb everything I can while in class as well with my daily homework assignments. A lot of our training is practicing different knife cuts and getting better with our precision and speed, part of how we are graded. In addition to working on practical skills, we have reading assignments, a book report and a research paper that are part of our Foundations I syllabus. I am reading Michael Pollan’s book the Omnivore’s Dilemma and my research paper will examine grass-fed beef to see if it is more pathogen resistant than grain-fed beef. I will let you know what I find out in a future post.

So what is different about going to college now vs. college after high school? I am pursuing a passion, a love for food, wine and cooking, so there is a definite purpose to each day. Whereas, coming out of high school, I really did not know what I wanted do with my life. Now I am better organized, more efficient with my time, I have better study habits, and I am always looking for ways to maximize my experience. School is about 4 hours a day, 5 days a week and I would be happy if I had school 8 hours a day. I joined two clubs Les Alimenteurs (a catering club) and Les Sauciers Sevants (where we work on classical and contemporary sauces paired with proteins) and I just put in an application to be a Student Ambassador. All of these activities give you opportunities to work with and learn from other Chefs at Le Cordon Bleu, and they look good on your resume.

Friday Chef Ron prepared a Fish Fumet and we learned about the difference between a fumet and a stock. A fumet has more flavor than a stock. We covered vegetable, white and brown stocks. Next week we start on the Mother Sauces, have a Math Exam and we continue to practice for an upcoming Knife Skill Exam on Day 16. A lot of plates in the air, but I would not have it any other way. 

Cheers!

Are Knife Skills Important?

So what is the big deal about using a knife properly and learning how to julienne, chiffonade, emincer, ciseler, etc., etc.? Good knife skills allow you to be more efficient, they allow you to cut precisely so foods cook evenly, and ultimately they help make cooking more enjoyable. In class, we take knife skills one-step further by learning how to make food more visually appealing using classic vegetable cuts -- something I keep practicing and practicing and practicing. While speed is not necessary for the home cook, it is essential if we are going to survive in a professional environment. Speed and precision is part of how we are graded in my current Foundations I Class. The ability to present food more artistically also means, as Chef Ron says, “you get to charge more.”

To help you improve your cooking skills, I partnered with Rouxbe Online Cooking School, the world's first-ever online cooking school. As part of their affiliate program, I am able to give you a free, full-access, no-videos-barred, 14-day pass to their site. All you have to do is go to the Rouxbe Online Cooking School and redeem the 14-day Gift Membership. After the trial, you can join for as little as $29.95 per month; however, there is no obligation. It's awesome! Check it out at

Rouxbe Online Cooking School

This is an example of one of their cooking lessons, Handling a Chef’s Knife.

Rouxbe Online Cooking School & Video Recipes

Hope you enjoy!

Cheers!

What is French Cooking?

French cuisine often invokes images of rich foods and heavy sauces. In reality and in practice, it represents a centuries-old tradition of respecting the ingredients in a dish and highlighting their quality and flavor. French cuisine is not only respected for its dishes but the generations of chefs who are responsible for the codification of techniques that are recognized in kitchens everywhere. This is why you can work in a kitchen where no one speaks the same language, but if the chefs have been classically trained, there will be a common nomenclature that everyone understands.

In response to Paul’s question, “is there really more than one way to peel a potato?” Whether it is with a knife or peeler, the only way to peel a potato that I know of is fast. 

I did learn a new way to peel an onion, the French way. Rather than cut the onion in half, which is what I normally do, you start by using a small knife to cut the top off. You then remove the root end by inserting the point of the knife at an angle pointed toward the center of the onion and cut in a circular motion cutting a cone-shape at the root end. Lightly score along the latitude of the onion, then loosen the skin using the point of the knife and pull the skin away. This is the technique required in class.

In future posts, I will include recipes from items we prepare. One recipe that I will be sharing is Jalapeno Glazed Grilled Peaches Over Vanilla Ice Cream. Not something we made, but a recipe of Chef Ron’s. Sounds delicious, I just want to try it first. And like any recipe, let them serve as inspiration, and allow your creativity to make it your own. 

Cheers!

Knife Cuts and Feces

 If I had any thoughts of being skilled with a knife, they went out the window today. We spent time on 2 potato cuts, Allumette (AH loo met), cutting the potato in 3 mm square match sticks and Paille (PIE ya), cutting the potato in 2 mm square match sticks. This was followed by practicing some classic cuts on a turnip, brunoise (BROON wahz) 3mm squares and brunoisette 1 mm squares. As Chef Ron said, practice, practice, practice. At least I have the potato peeling mastered.

More food safety today. Viruses are the leading cause of food-borne illness. People carry viruses in their feces so be sure the person that handled your food the last time you were out to dinner washed their hands. I think I will eat at home tonight.

Cheers!

Getting Ready for School

 Turning the clock back to this weekend, I found myself shopping for school supplies, not for my son Keenan but for myself. No longer was I the one making recommendations but it was Keenan. Dad, “you don’t want this 3-ring binder, these are the dividers you should buy, you want this paper” and on it went. I know they say that at some point our children might be taking care of us, but I was not expecting it to happen this early. Keenan’s advice was great, and each day I am well prepared for taking notes or filing handouts. Thank you Keenan!

Today we found out how to peel a potato. I was thinking is there anyone here that does not know how to do this, until I watched one of my classmates struggle, even after Chef Ron’s demonstration. I guess we all need to start somewhere. We then proceeded to make Potato Pont Neuf, 1 centimeter thick sticks, one of the classic potato cuts. Not remembering any of my 4 years of French, I found a great site to help with all of these French terms: 

http://quizlet.com/5145172/knife-cuts-flash-cards

Time to pull out the knife and start practicing.

Cheers!

The Start of a New Journey

This morning I started my Culinary Arts Program at the Le Cordon Bleu Culinary College - the journey has begun. Chef Ron Costa is the instructor for my current classes, Culinary Foundations I and Food Safety and Sanitation. A former chef at Pebble Beach, Chef Ron has a self-deprecating sense of humor and nothing is sacred to him.

A good part of the class was spent going over everything from having good hygiene, brush your teeth, shave, shower, etc. to the proper way to wear the Le Cordon Bleu uniform. Amazing that you would have to tell adults to brush your teeth before coming to class.

Our first assignment is learning about the History and Evolution of French Cuisine, the kitchen brigade (kitchen organization based on Auguste Escoffier’s hierarchical system for members of the kitchen) and on classic potato cuts. Tomorrow we pull out our knives and practice butchering potatoes.

It is wonderful learning about the history of French Cuisine and I really am looking forward to honing (pun intended) my knife skills.

Not sure how often I will blog, or if anyone will ever read this, but I want to have a diary as I become The Charitable Chef.