Chef-in-Training: Day Two, Recipe Chef-in-Training: Day Two

Posted the 18/11/2008 09:15:00 By Food Lovers Like Me (Visit website)

Sunday was my first full day of culinary school, 9:15am-6:15pm. I was so excited I couldn't wait to put on my chef's jacket and skull cap with the school logo embroidered on them, my black houndstooth chef pants and my so-ugly-they're-cute-and-extremely-comfortable chef's shoes. Hubby took a few photos before I left, and the kids gave me a great send-off: "May the force be with you Chef Mommy." My son is into Star Wars--can you tell?:)

Only trouble is, I missed the part of the orientation packet where it says: You cannot wear your uniform to school. I swear, I'd read through the school manual a bajillion times, but never saw that part. Nope, totally blanked on that one. Also missed the part where I would get points off my daily assessment for wearing my uniform outside of school. By the time I realized my mistake, I was already on the train, on my way to class. Thank God for Kmart. As soon as I got to Penn Station, I ducked in there (they were open, even at 8:30am on a Sunday--starting their holiday hours early), bought some sweatpants and pulled them over my checked pants. The only color they had in my size was powder blue--no black, no grey, no way. So I just took my powder-blue wearing self down to 21st Street and got to school. Crisis averted:)

We spent the morning learning about sanitation in the kitchen and food handling. It was an eye-opener. I mean, prior to the class, I was all mopey about the fact that students cannot wear jewelry, nail polish, long nails or cute shoes to school. Also, hair pulled back and head covered. I thought, "What kind of draconian mess is this?"

But once our instructor, Chef Alex, started talking about the importance of sanitation and the major hazards that are in the kitchen, I totally got it. I mean, you don't even want me to get into all the things that can go wrong in the kitchen in terms of handling your food. If I tell you, you'll never eat out again. Seriously....

Okay, I'll tell you just a few of things that grossed me out: nail polish, hair, fingernails can get in your food; a band-aid can slip off; broken glass. If someone uses cleaning products near your food, that could spill in your food. If someone sneezes, rubs their nose or hair, has a dirty uniform or wears their uniform outside of the cooking space (say, they go outside on break and wear their apron, hat, etc.), goes outside for a smoke then comes back in and cooks your food without washing their hands, all of that has the potential to cause a food-borne illness. And let's not even talk about all the foods that can be dangerous if not handled or stored properly: eggs, poultry, milk, shellfish, baked potatoes, sliced melons, raw sprouts, garlic in oil, fish, texturized soy proteins, cooked rice, canned foods if there is a dent in the can. I shudder to think...

So the moral of this story: choose a restaurant that looks clean (those food carts on the street--you are taking your life in your hands, my friends), where you trust they use proper sanitation methods, and where the serving staff looks like they practice cleanliness.

And when you are dealing with any of the foods listed above and aren't sure if they are good or bad, go by this golden rule: When it doubt, throw it out!

The rest of the day was spent learning about knives, getting our knife kits (I'll post about that separately) learning how to cut up vegetables like onions, carrots, leeks, mushrooms, radishes, cabbage, potatoes and celery. I learned how to hold my chef's knife. I was doing it totally wrong--holding my knife like I hold my silverware, with my finger poised on top. Yeah, I was holding my chef's knife like I was about to cut into my steak dinner:) The instructor came by and said, jokingly, "What is that finger doing up there? It has a mind of its own!" I quickly made the necessary adjustments and got down to business. I have to admit, I was a bit intimidated at first about this first hands-on class--so afraid of losing a fingertip. But I kept repeating in my head that slow and steady wins the race, and it was fine. Chef Alex also kept emphasizing that this was not a race, and that we could take our time and get it right (I am so loving her, already:). At the end of the class, she told us that we did well; usually at least one person cuts themselves during the first knife skills class. None of us got a cut during class, not one person. I took great comfort in that:)

By the time 5pm rolled around, my mind was mincemeat. We had learned so many different things and I needed time to process it all. The teacher knew it too, so she had mercy on us. She didn't call us out for nodding off, and gave us frequent breaks. Class ended with a lecture on equipment i.d., in which our teacher gave us a tour of the kitchen, chef-style. We learned what many kitchen gadgets are used for, and even got to sample some of the blended strawberry smoothie and frozen banana mixture. (You gotta love a class where you get to snack and sample:)

Oh, did I mention there was another class next door baking the most fabulous-smelling bread the entire afternoon? It was sheer torture every time they opened the door. But before we all totally lost it, they threw us a bun, er, a bone: assorted fresh baked rolls for us to try. One word: delicious! It was a great way to end the day.