Week 3!!! Yum!!

Lets see if I can fit all 3 classes in this post!

Intro to Cooking Techniques

This weeks class was focused on Garnishing. I was excited for this class... until only 3 of us showed.. that's half the class... so then I figured that maybe this class wasn't going to be as exciting as I thought it would be ... but I shrugged it off, I was definitely excited to learn how to garnish. So, chef showed us how to make a palm tree out of a carrot, a penguin out of a squash, tulip from radish, crab out of a cucumber and a basket out of a lemon!

Let me tell you a funny story. So this Carrot Palm Tree is really supposed to look like this picture on the right. Well, Chef didn't have green peppers so he made the palm tree out of one carrot... it didn't really look like a palm tree but it passed for one. After the demo, Chef walked out of the room for a second and all 3 of us looked at each other and were like "that carrot!!!! phallic!! ahh!" He walked back in so we resumed to doing our own garnishing..... then! Another Chef next door came in, he's completely opposite of our Chef. So next door chef walks in and looks at the palm tree and asks "Who made this?!?" and our Chef says "I did." Then next-door chef says "Chef, are you aware that it looks like a penis!?!" hahahaha our Chef then says "Chef! Don't put these thoughts in my students head, now you ruined it for them!" All three of us just looked at each other... it was hilarious.

Anyways! I made a lady bug radish, an orange basket, 2 radish tulips, and a Kermit the frog look a like. Oh!! and!! I tried to make a flower out of carrot shaving but I couldn't figure it out, so I made a mat out of thin carrot shavings, and scallions cut lengthwise... oh and I made a little radish rat but I didn't cut ears like the picture up above. So that was that class!

Intro to Baking

This week we learned about different types of flour, about wheat, about gluten. There's the Endosperm, Bran and Germ ...different parts of the wheat... and yeah... gluten is important... we learned about different dough conditioners and what flours are good for gluten-free baking and all sorts of other stuff... stuff that I have to study for my assessment test next week... hopefully I'll have a better understanding of stuff and I'll be able to give you a more clear idea of specific things we learned.

Honestly though, I know this test is gonna be an easy one, Chef practically gave us all the questions and answers and what to study. Something that she keeps on mentioning though, is that for example these flour and gluten chapters we will have better understanding of them when we have our Bread Making class... so I think all this stuff we are going to learn in this class will make better sense when we take the classes and can put 2 and 2 together.


Retail Pastry Production

This week was hard core DANISH week!!!! WAAAHH!! Haha I volunteered to do the inventory side.. so me and my partner took inventory and set up trays. Then when doing inventory there were no more nut danishes or fruit danishes left, so we had to make danishes! We made the Nut filling out of crushed hazelnuts (my fav!!) sugar and old dough. oh and water! Then we grabbed some danish dough and used this huge flattening machine that was kind of hard to figure out... but we got it!

Once it was rolled to the length and thickness we needed, we brought it back to the table.... covered half of it (length wise) with nut filling, spread the top with egg wash, folded top half over the nut half. Took a rolling pin to it just to lightly seal it up. Then we took the pizza cutter roller thing and cut strips 3oz each ... one person cut the other person stretched... once we got that down, we toll twisted it.... then rolled it into a swirl, tucked the end under and BAM hit it with the heel of the palm. By the time we were done with the fruit danishes our hands were covered in delicious nut filling that I just wanted to gobble up... but ya know..... eh.. can't really do that there.
(Ours don't look like this pic... but here's one to make you hungry!!!! yum yum)

Then to end the class we cut pizza dough in 6 oz chunks and rolled them into boules! 12 of which were used to make pizza which I later consumed for lunch!! Yum yum yum yum yum.

I did it! Got all 3 classes in!!!

Until next time! Enjoy food ya'll!!