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e
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On fire! |
Location: currently So Cal
Registered: May 2002
Messages: 1179
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first, let me say hello to everyone. I haven't been around much lately.
Sadly, culinary school has come to an end, more or less. I've completed all my classes and my practicum, my fianl exam... All that's left is my externship. I spent 12 weeks working in the School Cafe. I could have divided those weeks working in the school's bistro or production kitchen, or as a teacher's assistant.
I wanted to spend all 12 in the bistro, but it was way too crowded and I was sent to the cafe instead. Once there, I decided I liked it and the instructor, so I stayed. Remaining in one spot had it's drawbacks, but it also had it's benefits. I didn't get the experience I would have gotten in those other areas, but I got to hold more responsible positions in the cafe such as sous chef.
There were two occasions when I found myself running the kitchen (with one other student) when the chef instructor was gone (one day out sick and one day off) and there was no chef instructor to replace him. We got nothing but compliments for our efforts. But it wasn't easy. I had to intervene to avert a near fight between two other students and the grill caught on fire. But we handled both situations without the aid of any of the school's professional staff. The girl running the grill was quite busy with orders and was pressing on the hamburgers with her spatula causing the grease to drip out way too fast and it caught on fire. Fortunately, I had seen this happen once before and knew to thro salt on the fire and to cover the flames with a saute pan. It could have been a disaster with the fire system going off covering the kitchen in foam and costing the school a couple thousand dollars to have the local fire department respond, not to mention shutting down the kitchen and the cleanup costs. My co-sous chef then supervised the cleanup of the grill area (there was no damage, just a mess) while I kept the kitchen running and we didn't even miss an order.
While all that was pretty exciting, what I am more excited about is my externship. I was offered an unpaid externship at a major hotel in downtown Los Angeles. That would have been great and might have lead to future employment at the hotel. The restaurant there has a terrific reputation. But instead I accepted an externship at the premier French restaurant in Pasadena. At first I didn't think I was going to be paid, but the chef told me today I would make minimum wage. It's not much, but it's a start.
My first day was Friday. It was pretty cool, but I quickly found that I knew nothing and no one. Saturday was ok, but today was the really good. I'm the assistant pastry chef and I taught the pastry chef and the executive chef a new trick. It's something I learned in my baking class and it's what made them decide to pay me (most externships are free).
The pastry chef was par-baking miniature tart shells for pumpkin tarts to be serve on Thanksgiving. But she was concerned because the filling was quite liquid and not very thick. She thought the filling would soak through the shell before it could bake. The executive chef suggested ways to make the filling a bit thicker, but I had a better idea. Paint the shells with an egg white wash just before they were finished par-baking. then return them to the oven for a couple minutes. It's a trick my baking instructor taught us. It seals the shell and provides a barrier to moisture, thus keeping the shell from getting soggy. they were very impressed with the result. I'm quite happy with the result as well (the fact that I'll be getting a paycheck).
I was also quite happy that I passed both the written and the practical final exams at the school. About 30% of the students fail one or both the first time around. The written exam is quite stressful. It is 100 multiple choice questions in 60 minutes including several math problems (recipe conversions and food costing). The big problem is that all of the things that seem reasonable to study don't appear on the exam. The questions mostly seemed to deal with a lot of obscure information instead of the major points that were stressed by my instructors when I was taking the classes. The instructor giving the exam said that in the 3 terms he's been giving the exam, not one student has ever gotten an A. Well, I didn't either, but it's pass-fail so grades don't matter. all that matters is I passed with the required C or better.
After the written exam, we had 2 1/2 hours to cook a three course meal. It was really rushed, especially since my entree took about 2 hours just to cook after I prepped it. It was a spring lamb stew with pommes duchess (a mashed potato dish that is piped out and then baked. My appetizer was a cheese souffle. Those take about 45 minutes in the oven. The dessert was strawberry shortcake with two sauces. It was one of the easier of the 15 possible menus so I was lucky in that regard. I biled my potatoes dry and had to start over with only 30 minutes. that was quite hectic because it takes about 20 minutes to boil and mash the potatoes and another 20 or so in the oven. I took some shortcuts and they were less than perfect, but got them done. I also burnt one of my sauces for the dessert, but managed to substitute the liquid I used to macerate the strawberries and the chef loved it. Even with all the problems I nailed the practical with a 93. ;-D
Oh well, time to start looking at a Thanksgiving menu. Even though I will be working, I'm still expected to cook so the next couple of days will be quite busy even when I'm not at work.
{{HUGS}} for anyone who wants one
Think good thoughts,
e
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What a fascinating report, e. I loved reading it! Heartiest congratulations on passing all your exams so well, and thank you for describing your experiences interestingly all these months. J'ai bon appetit!
The paradox has often been noted that the United States, founded in secularism, is now the most religiose country in Christendom, while England, with an established church headed by its constitutional monarch, is among the least. (Richard Dawkins, 2006)
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A final cooking school story 
