Second Western Europe Buffet

Here we have in the back row: Bolognese stuffed peppers, Crab and champ bake with spinach vinagrette, Cucumber salad with creamy vinaigrette, Eggplant parmesan with ham, Blue cheese and potato fritters with sour cream, Lobster bisque.
Front row: Chocolate hazelnut charlotte, Saffron risotto with seared scallops.

Let's see here; the crab and champ bake has cream, the cucumber salad has cream, the eggplant parmesan sauce has cream, the lobster bisque has lots of cream, the charlotte has lots of cream.

Every dish here has butter aside from the cucumber salad.
The crab and champ bake has cheese, the eggplant parmesan has cheese, the fritters have cheese, the risotto has cheese.

What am I getting at here? This region is heavy on high-fat dairy products, cream, butter, and cheese. It leaves you feeling heavy and makes for high fat meals that stick with you all day.

Knödel

Knödel are German potato dumplings. I have had the real thing twice in Germany, and was even shown how to make them. For some reason though, I just cannot seem to replicate them in the same way. Mine always turn out fine, just not as good. These dumplings are made with half mashed and half shredded potatoes for their texture, as well as some potato flour for binding. They can be stuffed with croutons, meat, or vegetables. I made my own breadcrumb-like filling. 

Knödel
4 large russet baking potatoes
2 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup potato flour
1 Tablespoon salt
2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 Tablespoons chopped parsley
2 Tablespoons chopped chives
FILLING
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch salt
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 Tablespoon mustard

Peel the potatoes, then cut two into small cubes and boil until tender. Drain, then allow to stand for a few minutes until dry. Shred the remaining two potatoes, place in a dish towel and squeeze the water out of them.
Combine all ingredients and mix well with your hands until it begins to stick together. Form into twelve balls. Place a spoonful of filling in the center of each, ensuring it is completely enclosed. 

FILLING: Mix all together well with your hands until it clumps together, then toast mixture briefly, stirring constantly, in a frying pan over low heat.

Gently simmer (do not boil or they will fall apart) the dumplings in salted water for about 15 minutes until tender. Drain, then serve smothered in sauce. 

Western Europe Buffet

cucumber shrimp salad

From left to right: White chocolate crème brulée with shortbread cookies; Rice and scallops; Potato, leek, and mussel bisque; Lobster with beurre blanc; Lobster pasta with mussels and tarragon lemon cream sauce; Breaded pork schnitzel with fried potatoes; Pan-fried haddock and calamari with garlic lemon mayonnaise, German potato dumplings with creamy mushrooms sauce; Curried mussels; Duck à l'orange; Beef stroganoff with rice; Shrimp and cucumber salad. 
These dishes come from France, Germany, the British Isles, and surrounding area. 

lobster pasta

I thought this was the best buffet yet. I really enjoyed every dish here, and some were just outstanding. The white chocolate crème brulée was liquid gold but very rich and sweet and the shortbread were probably the best I ever had. The bisque was very tasty and the beurre blanc was heavenly. The schnitzel and potatoes were so tasty and done well, and the fish was also cooked well, with a delicious mayonnaise to accompany it. The dumplings were a bit softer in texture than I had hoped but the sauce was so good. The duck was tender, moist, and juicy, the stroganoff sauce yummy, and the salad refreshing.

white chocolate crème brulée and shortbread cookies

duck à l'orange

One complaint I have about this style of cuisine is it tends to rely a lot on butter, cream, and salt for flavor. These are some key cooking ingredients, especially for classic cuisine, but they are also not very nutritious and leave you feeling very heavy and full. You can't eat too much of anything, and I am looking forward to exploring other cuisines which use different ingredients for flavor. 

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! Today was the first Thanksgiving I have ever spent away from home, without my family. I did not have a big turkey dinner, but there is a potluck turkey dinner scheduled at my school for Wednesday, which I will definitely go to. Despite being alone this Thanksgiving, I still have a great deal to be thankful for. 

I am thankful for family, friends, food, my great school, the amazing internship I had this summer, a place to call home, my possessions, my cat, my health, the beautiful city I currently live in as well as the town I call home, my freedom, and so much more. 

PHOTO CREDIT:"happy-thanksgiving" http://crooksandliars.com/2014/11/happy-thanksgiving-crooks-and-liars.Crooks and Liars, n.d. Monday, October 12, 2015. 

Syrniki

Syrniki
1 cup cottage cheese
2 egg yolks
1 1/3 cups rice flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon granulated (white) sugar
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

Squeeze the cottage cheese through a piece of cheesecloth to remove all the excess moisture. Then beat in the egg. Gradually mix in the flour, salt, and sugar until a stiff dough forms that is about the same texture as shortbread cookie dough. You may not need to use all the flour. Press the dough into a flat disc on a piece of plastic wrap, wrap, and refrigerate for at least thirty minutes, until firm. Alternately you could form the dough into a log and refrigerate.

Cut the dough into small pieces - I used a one inch heart-shaped cutter. Alternately you could just cut the dough in squares or slice it from the log. Heat the butter in a medium saucepan or frying pan over low heat until melted. Fry the pastries, about three minutes per side until golden. You can make them as crispy as you like. Drain the pastries on paper towel. 

Traditionally these pastries are served with berry kissel or sweet berry sauce and sour cream. I added some sambuca to my berry sauce and also served them with lemon pastry cream to balance the flavors. 

Tips and Tricks: If you have the time, the cottage cheese can be weighed down and drained overnight. You can replace the rice flour with all-purpose flour, I just used rice flour to make them gluten-free. Since this pastries are not baked, the change in flour really doesn't affect the texture of them. 

Second Eastern Europe Buffet

sweet cheese fritters

Spanish tortilla

moussaka

From left to right: Bruschetta; Chicken in Sauce; Spanish Tortilla, both vegetarian and beef, with chive cream sauce; Sweet cheese pastry with cinnamon sugar and berry compote; Mushroom risotto; Lamb and bean stew; Spanakopita; Tumeric rice with almonds and raisins, bean soup; Eggplant moussaka; Gluten-free cheese pastries with sambuca blueberry compote and lemon pastry cream.

My comments today. The bruschetta was very good proving its popularity around here, the Spanish tortilla was not as flavorful as I had hoped though the sauce with it was quite tasty, both sweet cheese fritters were an excellent light dessert and not too sweet, the risotto was superb - the perfect texture, the spanakopita were tasty but there was too much pastry to filling, and I really liked the bean soup, and the moussaka was my favorite - full of flavor and creamy cheese. 

Dolmathakia Me Rizi

Dolmathakia Me Rizi
grape vine leaves, briefly blanched
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup finely diced onion
1/2 cup short-grain rice
1 cup vegetable stock
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onion
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 Tablespoon chopped dill
1 teaspoon chopped mint
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
salt and pepper

In a large sauté pan over medium heat, sauté the onions in the oil until translucent. Add the rice to coat, then the stock. Cook until rice is barely tender, it should still be fairly firm since it will be cooked further. Add remaining ingredients.

Place a tablespoon or so of filling in the center of the leaves, then roll up tightly.Reserve broken and small leaves for lining the bottom of a frying pan. Place the rolls in the pan in a single layer, then cover with more leaves. Cover with olive oil, then simmer on low heat for 30-40 minutes until tender.
Yield depends on the number of leaves you have, but this makes enough filling for around 20-30 leaves.

This is one of the dishes I tried out for the buffet yesterday - stuffed grape leaves from Greece. Someone else also made them but made a different filling using ground flank steak. I had never tried or worked with grape leaves before, so it was a new experience for me. I thought they turned out fairly well, but I am not sure what they were supposed to turn out like. The dish is actually fairly easy to make, just the rolling part is slightly tedious. Just like empanadas, ravioli, dumplings, passionrolls, and anything else you fill and roll - it is difficult to get enough filling for a good filling to outside ratio without the filling falling out, I would definitely make these again, I think they would be a nice appetizer. 

Eastern Europe Buffet

In class we had a buffet featuring foods from Eastern European countries. Our spread today included, from left to right: Gluten-free meat dumlpings and meat dumplings (top); Tumeric rice, braised carrots and lamb skewers (bottom); Toasted bread with cheese, tomato, and shrimp dip; Chicken in sauce with marinated cucumber; Hungarian Goulash; Fish balls; Baked oysters with Guinness sabayon; Stuffed grape leaves, Greek salad, and Tzatziki; Salmon in pastry.

baked oyseters

toasted bread and dip

These items reign from countries such as Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Russia, and the Ukraine. If you would like specific traditional names for any dishes or recipes, or more information, I can try to find it out for you. I will be sharing some recipes in the near future, especially for the dishes I personally have made. 

meat dumplings

fish balls

My comments on this buffet: I liked the texture of the meat dumpling dough, but thought the filling could use a bit more flavor, the toasted bread and cheese dip was simple but quite tasty, I enjoyed the goulash which was strongly flavored with paprika, the baked oysters were nice though I do prefer raw oysters, the grape leaves were different and quite tasty, and my favorite was the salmon in pastry. 

Maple Pecan Brownie Bomb

Maple Pecan Brownie
1/4 cup unsalted butter
scant 1/4 cup dark cocoa powder
1 large egg
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1 Tablespoon maple syrup

Spiced Dark Chocolate Mousse
85 grams dark chocolate chips
1 Tablespoon dark cocoa powder
37 grams unsalted butter
3 large eggs, separated
37 grams granulated (white) sugar
2 teaspoons chocolate chili powder

Caramel Crunch Candy
1/4 cup granulated (white) sugar
1/4 cup water

Caramel Web
2 Tablespoons granulated (white) sugar

White Chocolate Maple Ganache
1/4 cup white chocolate chips
scant 1/4 cup whipping cream
1 Tablespoon maple syrup

Begin with the BROWNIE. Preheat oven to 350◦F. Grease two small (four inch) fluted tart pan or similar mold.
Melt the butter and cocoa over low heat. Beat the egg, then beat in the maple syrup. Whisk in the cocoa mixture, then the flour and nuts. Spoon batter into prepared pans. Bake for 15 minutes, cool slightly, unmold, then poke lightly with the tines of a fork. Pour a little extra maple syrup over top and allow the brownies to absorb it. Cool completely.

Move on to the MOUSSE. Melt the chocolate, cocoa, and butter in a bowl over a pan of just simmering water. Meanwhile, whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form, then whisk in the sugar until stiff peaks form. Gently whisk in the egg yolks. Mix the chili into the chocolate mixture, then whisk this into the eggs. Chill until set, or chill in the freezer to speed up the process.

Next make up the CARAMEL CRUNCH CANDY. Put the sugar and water into a small saucepan over low heat until mixture hardens. Stir it to form separate chunks, then set it aside to cool slightly.

For the CARAMEL WEB heat the sugar over very low heat until it is melted and golden. Set aside to cool slightly until barely cool enough to handle. Once cool, pull off long, thing strands. 

Meanwhile, make the WHITE CHOCOLATE MAPLE GANACHE by heating the chocolate and cream in a bowl over a pot of barely simmering water until melted and smooth. Stir in the maple syrup, then set aside to cool and thicken slightly.

To assemble: Spread some chocolate mousse on a plate in the shape of a star. Place the brownie in the center. Drizzle the entire plate with the ganache. Garnish with the candy. Place the caramel web strands on top of the brownie to form a nest. Garnish with additional pecans if desired.

Black Box Challenge

How would it feel to have absolute free reign of a complete industrial kitchen's inventory - ingredients and equipment, and unlimited time to make something with it? Overwhelmed comes to mind. Delighted would too - if there wasn't a job on the line. I should probably explain myself.

Before even beginning my internship, I began to look for a job for when I went back to school. An opportunity recently came up, and I jumped on it. I was interviewed yesterday, only four days after getting home from my internship. The interview went well, and the sous chef asked me to come back today for a black box. For those who aren't familiar with the term, a black box in the culinary sense typically refers to a box of certain ingredients, usually unknown to the cooks until shortly before cooking with them, that are selected. Black boxes are common in competitions - each chef must use either some or all of the ingredients in the black box. They may have only those ingredients to work with, a limited pantry of staples, or an entire kitchen in addition to the black box items. It is essentially like the television show, Chopped.

So when I walked in, I was assuming I would get a basket of ingredients. Therefore, I hadn't prepped much the day before - didn't bring any recipes along with me because it would all depend upon the ingredients in my black box. So when I arrived and the sous chef began showing me around the entire kitchen, and where everything was, I was confused. I mean, I didn't have the job yet, so why show me everything? Surely I wouldn't need ALL of this for my black box. I soon realized there was no 'black box'. The entire kitchen was my 'black box.' They were just calling this test a 'black box.'

I was shown to mise en place on the line, bread, dry storage with pastry ingredients, pasta, flours, condiments, fridge with produce and dairy and meats, freezer with breads and meats, and more. I was quickly shown all the equipment as well, then set up in the banquet kitchen where there was only a teeny tiny work table, but a full stove, sink, and oven. It's kind of flattering being given the option of everything in the restaurant's entire kitchen, and being trusted alone in the back kitchen. I mean, I only have some school and an internship under my belt, and all they know about me is from my interview yesterday. I could burn the place down!

I would have preferred an actual black box, because the thing about me is, the hardest part about cooking for me is deciding what to make, especially with so many options. If you give me a specific job, I will get it done fast, but deciding myself? Well, I'm a sweet girl and they had an impressive shelf of chocolate, so I decided to stay familiar and go with dessert. Maybe playing it slightly safe, but comfortable. Anyways, I am good at memorizing recipes, but I haven't really baked in a while, so no recipes were fresh in my head and coming to mind - only a few from my internship, which were all in grams and I did not have a scale anyway.

So I winged it, and decided to make a quick batch of brownies, a chocolate mousse, a chocolate ganache, and some caramel. All recipes I had made before and could wing, I was familiar enough with amounts and procedures. Also, pastry is considered more difficult, and if I could bake, make mousse, and caramel in a reasonable amount of time, I figured it would impress. So I set to work as quickly as I could. All the while I was nervous as could be, and kept wondering; Am I working clean enough? Am I working fast enough? Am I asking enough questions? Too many questions? Am I taking advantage of product available to me? Am I using the proper tools for the job? Am I being ambitious enough? Am I second guessing myself too much? Am I driving myself crazy. Well, at least I knew the answer to one of those questions......

It all went well, I didn't really mess up or burn anything, I managed to figure out how to work the oven and stove (different models than what I have worked with before). It was my first time making the mousse entirely by hand. The first caramel didn't turn out quite how I had wanted, but I turned it into something else cool. The sous chef seemed impressed, the only critique he had was to add a pinch of salt to the brownies (I agreed, I hadn't added any). I will share my recipes tomorrow!

Maple Pecan Brownie Bomb

First Lunch Back At School

Today was my first day back for my second year of culinary school. I know I said I would be posting pictures of things I am making, but the truth is I just haven't had the chance to make anything yet. My new room is still a mess - I haven't had enough time to put everything away yet; I am organizing bit by bit. So needless to say, all my dishes and kitchen equipment is not unpacked yet. 

So for today, I will post my first meal back at culinary school. The first year students (which was me last year) have five different rotations, and each rotation is responsible for some components of lunch. Lunch is a three course meal served in the cafeteria, where the public can come to pay to eat as well. There is a main course with two protein options, two vegetables, and a starch. There is the choice among two soups and a salad. And of course, there are usually several different desserts. There is also bread on the side and pastry items for snacks. There is a speedline as well, offering three types of pizza, poutine, and a vegetarian option. 

The baking and pastry class is responsible for the desserts, breads, and snacks. The soups, stocks, and sauces class is responsible for the two soups and the two sauces accompanying the proteins. The breakfast and butchery class is responsible for the meats, and breakfast of course. The entremetier class is responsible for the vegetables, starches, salads, and packaged sandwiches. The production class is responsible for the speedline and serving the food.

The first years are not yet in the kitchen, they are still doing food safety and first aid classes, so it is a small group of graduates making lunch for the time being. So meals are simple with a lot less choice. Today I had quesadillas with potato wedges, haddock nicoise salad, and éclairs for dessert. 

Blog Book 2012

So my blog book of 2012 is finally finished! It has been a work in the making for a long time now. It is a lot of painstaking effort on my parent's behalf, as they proofread and edit, and send me corrections, and reformat, and whatnot. It's not as simple as just printing out the pages - first the posts need to be made more book-friendly and I want to ensure they are 100% correct before printing. They should be, since they are published blog posts, but sometimes I miss mistakes. Also, to save on printing fees, it is helpful to downsize the font or condense posts. 

I was very happy with my blog book from 2011 (see {Blog Book 2011} ). This time we went with a different publishing company, and aside from a slightly smaller size, there are not many differences. The cover is still purple of course, with different cover photos and a new dedication. I cannot wait for blog book 2013 - hopefully it will not take quite as long.

Thanks again Mom and Dad! :)

Cranberry Knots

When I worked on the pastry section on my internship, I made four different types of bread rolls every day. So I got pretty good at making bread, despite it not being my strong point when I first began. I liked to mix up the flavors. Here is a recipe for a sweeter, fancier bread. It is very tasty, especially straight from the oven, but leftovers are great rewarmed in the oven and slathered in real, fresh butter. This bread is best enjoyed the day it is made, though it can be frozen as well.

Cranberry Knots
680 grams strong (bread) flour
56 grams unsalted butter, softened
22 grams granulated (white) sugar
7 grams salt
handful dried cranberries
42 grams fresh yeast
450 mL whole milk, warmed

Place the flour, butter, sugar, salt, and cranberries in the bowl of a standmixer. Whisk the yeast into the warm milk and add to the bowl. Using a dough hook, mix on low speed until dough forms into a smooth ball. Transfer to a bowl, cover, and proof briefly. 

Divide the dough into fifteen pieces, each should weigh approximately 80 grams. Roll each into a long, thin shape, then form into a knot. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and proof in a warm, draft-free place for about an hour until risen.
Bake at 340◦F (that's correct, 340) for ten minutes.

Butter & Brown Sugar Rhubarb Cake

This is a cake my mother made early in the summer when rhubarb was in season. She froze a piece to save for me, which I had today. The cake is moist and tasty and seems easy to make. She used fresh rhubarb from our garden.

Butter & Brown Sugar Rhubarb Cake
CAKE
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 cups all-purpose (plain) flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup diced fresh rhubarb coated in a little flour
TOPPING
1/2 cup diced fresh rhubarb
1/4 cup granulated (white) sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350◦F. Line a 9x13 inch rectangular pan with parchment paper.
CAKE: In a large bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Mix in the baking powder, salt, and a third of the flour, then half the yogurt, another third of flour, the remaining yogurt, then the remaining flour. Fold in the rhubarb. Spread evenly in prepared pan.
TOPPING: Mix all together and scatter over batter in pan. Bake for 20-30 minutes until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 

Home Again

I am finally home again. I think beginning tomorrow I will be going back to my usual blog posts of food I have made and recipes and whatnot. Although the blog could change again, depending on my future travels. I'm not even sure I am making much sense now as I am definitely jetlagged.

Daddy made yummy scallops for dinner

I Am Going To Miss This

This morning I went in for breakfast at the lodge, done work and happy to eat a delicious meal here one last time. I then said goodbye to everyone I had not yet, and dropped off my keys. My day was filled with packing and napping, then taking a bus to the airport at 2:00a.m. I am ready to fly home.

My tomato and cheese omelette for breakfast

I must admit the first month here was quite challenging at times, but the last few weeks have been so cheerful and amazing and my experience overall was priceless – a once in a lifetime opportunity I will never forget. Although it will be nice to be home, I am honestly sad to leave. I am going to miss the garlic whack, truffle mash, crotin de chevre, and lime confit. I am going to miss my crazy cornflake, my harshest critic, and my biggest supporter. I am going to miss being called Chef, v-bomb, the Bommelater, Daphne, Chicken Wing, Pumpkin, Fruit Loop, and the various other nicknames I’m really not sure how I earned. I am going to miss being the only female in the kitchen among three to five guys, and how I never felt they respected me any less for it, despite the fact I was only a student. I am going to miss the cheerful greetings of the servers when they walked into the pastry kitchen. I am going to miss the kitchen porter who spoke only a few words of English but who never stopped smiling at me. I am going to miss the peacefulness of such a quaint village and the hospitality of the people in it. I am going to miss the long hours and late nights at work that never seemed as long as they actually were. I am even going to miss the chef de partie who trained me on pastry, despite me telling him I would miss everyone except him (to which the head chef high-fived me), as he had become like a brother to me, and taught me so much. He is full of knowledge, but also personality. He respected me from the start, but I know over time he became very confident in my abilities and trusted me even more.

Somewhere along the way, I stopped asking how to do things because I already knew how. Somewhere along the way, I stopped asking what needed to be done because I was aware of the prep lists myself. Somewhere along the way, I stopped asking where ingredients were as my mind became engraved with the inventory of the entire estate. Somewhere along the way, I grew the ability to carry fifty pound bags of sugar up the stairs on my own. Somewhere along the way, I grew a backbone and a thicker skin. Somewhere along the way, I learned how to make the best chocolate mousse, how to halve pounds of cherry tomatoes in seconds, and how to serve over three hundred people in the bar in one day. Somewhere along the way, I learned more than I ever thought I would, and became capable of more than I ever thought I could. Somewhere along the way, I met so many new friends, ate so many new foods, and developed so many new memories.

Last Day Of Work

Today was my final day of work here on my internship, and if you think I slacked off or took it easy, you are completely wrong. I was in bright and early – may as well make the very most of my last day – to which the head chef just smiled and shook his head. Straight away I made two pans of vanilla and lime crème brulée, a quadruple batch of chocolate mousse, and a batch of blue cheese parfaits. The restaurant would be even more short staffed once I left, so I really wanted to leave my section in good shape for whoever would be taking it over, and ensure there wasn’t much prep to be done for tomorrow since the chef on pastry would be covering another section as well.

With these major tasks completed, I proceeded to my usual sorbet scooping (raspberry), petit four baking and traying, and bread weighing and making (tomato basil, sour cream and onion, oatmeal raisin). I assembled some more fruit flowers for the crème brulée garnish. I wanted to cut up more fruit to have for backup for this, but it was either have time for this or have time to make croutons. We had enough of both for today and tomorrow, and I decided to make the croutons since it was a slightly faster job and they would last longer than fresh fruit. Both jobs are tedious though, and require good knife skills. I also made sure to clean out the fridge and reorganize it for ease of use, relabel everything, and go through everything checking for orders and whatnot. I left three lists behind – a prep list for the next few days, a list of the amounts of each mise en place item I left on hand, and a list of all the bread flavors I tried, in case they wanted to get creative again. 

Throughout the day I was saying goodbye to people, and they were all complimenting me on what great work I have done. I didn’t slack off, but I was a bit chattier than usual. Pretty much every single one of them asked me if I would come back, so I am thinking I really have to return. I apparently will always have a job offering there if I would like it. Two head servers told me I was always so polite, several servers told me I was the nicest chef here, a chef de partie admitted she would miss my singing and my bread, and the chef de partie who basically taught me everything I know about pastry wished me the best of luck several times. 

A special dessert I made for the servers tonight

Service went very well – there were only thirty-three diners in tonight, and the quiet, casual night made for a light and fun atmosphere in the kitchen, exactly what I would want for my last day here – no stress. At the end of the night, one of the chefs was telling me the estate is technically short five chefs now. He said there is a huge shortage of chefs, well good chefs. Which is why I will always have a job here. He went on to say how well I had done, how it is basically unheard of to have a student responsible for an entire section in a five-star hotel restaurant; it just does not happen. Yet here I was, beating the odds again! 
To celebrate, a crowd from work headed to the pub where we laughed and reminisced. 

Chocolata

I got in early again and got straight to work on three jobs – making spice bread, making chocolate mousse, and making a fruit platter for the spa. The head chef was making another 200 or so Bailey’s cheesecakes, so we had to share space again. I was in fine shape for service tonight (forty-four diners) but decided to get a bunch of little prep jobs done ahead for whoever takes over this section. So I made delice chocolate toffee, milk chocolate mojito slice, white chocolate lime ganache. I also cut crème brulée and made exotic fruit pearls, cut up some cheese, and made caramel. I scooped my sorbet (blackcurrent) and made my breads (tomato basil, honey mustard, black olive pesto). Then I set up for service and did all my labelling.

Chocolata, chocolata, chocolata.....

 Service was swell, I helped with apps and veg and potatoes and starters when I wasn’t doing pastry. It seemed like no one was ordering desserts, then of course after everyone else had left, I got about six or seven pastry orders at once to do, and everyone wanted dessert! That’s just the way it is sometimes. I received several compliments today. One of the servers told me a chef de partie in the bar would definitely miss me and had called me the “role model student”. Several of the servers said what a great job I had done – how of all the interns I was the best, and stuck it out the longest. They all ask me if I enjoyed it, if I am happy to go home, and if I will come back. Two diners raved about my mojitos tonight for ten minutes (according to their server) and the head server told me that last night one person had asked about me – if I was a female chef on pastry, and if I was classically French-trained, and was impressed by my desserts! Honestly, when I walked into this internship my confidence was low and I was scared I would just eek by and make a lot of mistakes, but now, I feel I really achieved some great things!

Tastings As Second Nature

This morning I got in early again, as it was my third-last day, and I thought I had a lot to do with two tastings and all, but after being at work for ten minutes I quickly realized I didn’t have that much to do after all. I immediately made pavlovas and madeleine mix for the tastings, and organized the bread, crumble, bread pudding, and petit fours as well. Then I scooped my sorbet (passionfruit) and decided since I didn’t have much else to do and was running low on it, to make chocolate delice mousse. While I was getting that on the go, the sous chef came and told me the breakfast chef was going to come help me for an hour or so before leaving. He told me he never worked pastry before, so to give him some easy jobs. I said, ok, but I don’t really know what to get him to do – as I already had the sorbet scooped, the bread dough weighed out, and a bunch of fruit cut for fruit flowers. The sous chef seemed impressed and said, “Wow, you really are in good shape. Very organized. That’s what makes you a great worker.” In the end, I got the chef to make goat’s cheese tortes for us to freeze and have on hand for the cheese plates to bake as needed. We weren’t out, but now it is one task we won’t have to worry about for a while. 

 While he was working away, I also made lime confit, lime foam, passionfruit emulsion, assembled more delices, and baked and trayed the petit fours. I checked for orders, cut some cheese, and cut up some delice biscuit. I rolled some passionfruit jelly roll, then made my breads (tomato basil, cranberry orange, smokey bacon). I had two servers comment on my breads again today. They were saying how it’s the first thing everyone asks when they walk in, “What kind of breads do you have today?” and how they look forward to trying the new kinds and how good the honey one was, and how yummy the cranberry orange sounds, etc. I am not sure what they will do after I leave and it is back to onion, fennel, bacon, Parmesan, and golden raisin in rotation, but I love the praise.

My breads of the day - cranberry orange, tomato basil, smokey bacon

I noticed the crème brulée seemed really soft, like the first time I made it and didn’t cook it long enough. It had been made on my day off, so I asked the chef how long he cooked it, and just mentioned it seemed soft so he would know better for next time. He then remembered he forgot to put the custard powder in, but then accused me of blaming him. I’m not blaming him, I am just pointing it out for future reference as they always did with me! 

I prepped the desserts for the tastings, cleaned down, set up for service, and even did the chef de partie a favor by making mint crème fraiche (I wouldn’t have if I had known he had time but just wanted to go for a smoke break). This was after he had been teasing me all day, and tried to tell me we had 95 diners booked for tomorrow (it’s really only 27). Service went well – I wasn’t very busy since the sous chef was helping with apps and starters as well, though he didn’t seem to want to do much and was mostly on his phone. So I did pitch in with starters and veg, and he told me to slow down because I was making the actual starter chef look bad. We had twenty-seven tables of two and one table of four and I did all the pastry orders, and the only thing the sous chef picked on was the cleanliness of the plates. I wipe my plates when I make a mistake, but I shouldn’t have to wipe them before plating. Something is clearly wrong with our dishwasher if they aren’t coming out clean. 

The sous chef is off the next two days, so it was my last day working with him. At the end of the night he gave me a hug, and asked when he would see me again – next summer? He said I was welcome back and had a job there anytime, that I was a really good worker and the best commis the ever had, which I took as very high praise, especially coming from him. 

A Lot Of Desserts To Fill

This morning I got in at 10:30, knowing we were expecting eighty diners tonight. And plus, it’s my fourth last day of work, so I may as well make it a long day. I wasn’t expecting anyone to be there yet, but the sous chef was in. He told me I would be on my own today for orders, and said it not like he didn’t think I could handle it, but like it was a big feat. Like I hadn’t been on my own on pastry the past three weeks. He said I had to have everything done though – that I couldn’t suddenly realize I was in the shits during service, so he said if I found myself in the shits today, to let them know in plenty of time so someone could help me with prep. I said yes, but I knew I wouldn’t ask for help. I don’t let myself get in the shits. I got a lot done on Thursday and was in good shape. If I thought I was at all in the shits, I would have come in yesterday on my day off, even if just for a couple of hours. That’s just how I am.

Every day I (try) to scoop a bunch of perfect quennelles of sorbet. This one is not perfect (and I also did not scoop it, I ate it). It's harder than it looks!

So I got to work – since I was in nice and early, I decided to make another batch of chocolate soufflé mousse since we had a bunch of diners on the reduced menu tonight and that would be popular, and mousse is quick and easy to make but you can’t just whip some out of nowhere in the middle of service. While that was on the go, I scooped the raspberry sorbet, and cut fruit and assembled fruit flowers for the crème brulée garnish. I moved on to baking and traying petit fours, slicing cheese and getting everything ready for cheese plates, and making passionfruit jelly. Then it was time to start breads, since I had extra big batches to roll (tomato basil, onion, herb and cheese). When breads were done, I prepped the desserts and petit fours for a special dietary requirements (gluten free and dairy free), and made up birthday and anniversary plates for several of the diners tonight. I cut up some passionfruit, cleaned up, and set up, and was ready to go!

During service, I didn’t have as much to do at first, because there was another chef helping with apps, veg, and starters, so I was the runner (running for things we needed last minute). But I did get a lot of pastry orders, and a variety of them. And there were several large groups – a four, a five, a six, a ten, and a fourteen, among a bunch of twos. But I handled them all myself. I would say service went fairly smoothly for a busy night, even among a few strange diner requests, except when the chef on mains didn’t cook a beef medium-rare or something, and instead of just cooking it straight away since that table’s orders were going out, the sous chef spent five minutes giving out to him. At that point, I was helping to clean the starter section and just tried to stay out of the way.

One Thousand Hours

Yesterday I realized I had reached the one thousand hour mark on my internship. I needed a minimum of six hundred hours, and now I have reached one thousand hours. This is good, it just means that much more experience, and that many more hours I can count toward chef certification.

I have come to realize, that just as work was getting really good – just as I was really enjoying it, feeling much more comfortable and relaxed and creative at work, it is almost time to go home. I only have four days of work left. Of course the first month is always going to be the toughest, but I am glad I am not dying to leave here now. Yes, it will be exciting to get home and see my loved ones, but I am not dreading my last hours of work. 

Speaking of chef certification, a lot of the staff, both servers and other kitchen staff, call me chef now. I find this really odd because I am only an intern, nowhere near a chef yet, and the real chefs here don’t even seem to like being called chef. I do though, I love walking around and being greeted by everyone as, ‘Hello Chef Rebecca!” Even the head chef now calls me ‘chef’ or ‘boss’.

'Chef Rebecca' hard at work. Another unintentional selfie.

Lots of Mojitos

This morning I was in by 11:00a.m., and by 1:00p.m., I had made a quadruple batch of dark chocolate soufflé mousse, a quadruple batch of lime confit, eight times the batch of creamy mint and lime white chocolate ganache, five times the batch of dark rum crumble, picked a bag of mint for the crème brulée garnish, and had my station completely set up and ready to go – and I wasn’t stopping! We weren’t overly busy tonight – expecting forty diners, but we were expecting ninety diners on Saturday and we are closed tomorrow so everyone has the day off, so I was getting as much advance prep done as I could. Saturday would just be for topping up and last minute prep, as I would be busy scooping a lot of sorbet, rolling a lot of bread rolls, and traying a lot of petit fours. Plus some wedding tastings to prep for.

Today I also sliced some blue cheese parfait, rolled two trays of passionfruit jelly roll, and cut a tray of crème brulée, along with the usual petit four jobs, replenishing stock, cleaning and organizing, making bread (tomato basil, rosemary olive oil, honey spice), etc. I brought my two new bread flavors down to a chef de partie in the bar and my official bread taster, the only other female chef around. We both agreed that these were two winning flavors – you could really taste the flavors I put in them. The server working the pass asked what great flavors I had on today, and told me she really liked my cinnamon raisin ones even though she doesn’t like raisins and took four of them home. Glad to hear my inventive flavors are appreciated and my bread doesn’t go to waste! Just before service, chef called me into his office to show me the review from the wedding tasting last night. He showed me the comment about “they enjoyed the mousse, but thought the portion size was too big”. He had said to me last night that it was too large after six courses, but that I could probably eat it (I totally could). But the thing is, the pastry chef okayed it and it has been so long since I have worked a wedding and I never piped the mousse so they honestly can’t expect me to know – I just filled the glass! Oh well, better too much than too little.

Dessert of Today - Mojito of Lime Confit

Our first table was not in until 6:30p.m., so I was about to start slicing up fruit for fruit flowers for backup and prep for Saturday, the only job I had not gotten around to today, but the chef de partie on starters said it was a rule that no prep was done after 6:00p.m. I told him it was also a rule not to just stand around, but the sous chef had told me I needed to help the starter chef out tonight with starters and apps and veg and potatoes like I had been doing lately, because he is not good enough. I am not sure if that comment was a joke or not, but I didn’t do my fruit prep, even though it killed me to stand idle.

Other than that service went well. I did help out all around. I sold a lot of mojitos, and a few soufflés tonight as well. I could tell the new chef on mains was struggling a bit tonight, and I had agreed to show him how to use the robocoup after service to grate cheese much faster and more efficiently. I also stayed to help him clean up and pack things up. Normally I am used to being the last one in the kitchen at night, but lately he has been staying even later than me. I don’t really mind helping out, a simple thank you would be nice though.

No Soufflés???

Today I got into work to a prep list left by the chef who covered pastry for me yesterday. He would be off the next two days, so I couldn’t even ask him any questions, but he did leave me his phone number. He had some things rearranged, but the station was still in order. I was also impressed by how much he got done for me yesterday – he made chocolate orange mousse for tastings, made two trays of vanilla and lime crème brulée, made more caramel and lime sauce, made more passionfruit emulsion, cut more passionfruit, organized the pastry freezer, made breads for croutons, defrosted some items for me, made chocolate soufflé mousse, and made passionfruit cream. He must have been in early and really moved all day long – that or he is just faster than me as he is used to doing this and probably doesn’t have to look up the recipes like I do. Although I did prep the bread and scoop the sorbet for him the day before.

I did some of the jobs he left me on my list – make and slice chocolate toffee, make milk chocolate slice, bring up fruit, make delice biscuit, make fananciers and cannelles, scoop pineapple sorbet for today, bake and tray petit fours, make bread rolls (tomato basil, sesame flax, mustard parmesan). In the midafternoon, the sous chef came to tell me the wedding tasting for tomorrow was cancelled. That’s when I realized there was also a tasting tonight. No one had told me about it. And I checked the notice board Monday and it wasn’t there, so it must have been a last minute thing. I just assumed the chef had made the chocolate mousse and apple berry mix for me a day early. Luckily, it was the same desserts for both tastings. So I quickly prepped the desserts and the bread rolls, the sorbets, and the petit fours for tonight’s tasting. No problem. 

I had some extra time so I prepped the breads for tomorrow and Saturday (we have ninety booked for Saturday) and scooped the sorbet for tomorrow. I wanted to do a prep job during service, as we only had nineteen booked and four chefs working. Also the sous chef was back, and in a fairly good mood, but I didn’t want him picking on me. He did point out a few things, even though I probably did more work on his station than him – I plated most of the appetizers, took care of the majority of veg and potatoes, and plated a lot of starters – while he checked out his phone. But I really didn’t have much to do, and certainly no small jobs. 

Hot Chocolate Mousse Soufflé dessert with vanilla ice cream.
M ay not look like much but very tasty and quite popular!

Service went well, I sold a lot of crème brulées but strangely no chocolate mousse soufflés. After I asked the chef to make more mousse for backup since we had been selling a lot. Oh well, now I am ahead!

Work Experience

Today was my second-last day off before I head home. Today I got some serious packing done – one week until I leave! Time has certainly flown by, it is incredibly difficult to believe I have been here for over four months, put in nearly one thousand hours of work, and only need to walk into work six more times here!!! Wow!

Today I will talk a little bit about work experience. I came on this internship fully expecting to work my butt off. I wanted to gain as much experience and knowledge as possible in a fairly short period of time. To become a better cook and really get to know the restaurant life in just 4.5 months. I was away from home, taking this placement as a very serious part of my education (it is a mandatory 600 hours), and therefore willing to put in long hours and not have many days off. Of course as a student, they would not keep me for all hours of the day, and have to give me my two days off a week, but there were still times I pulled twelve plus hour days and worked nine days in a row. It really doesn’t matter to me, I just count my hours, adding them up as I would my paychecks. Every extra hour in the kitchen was like the equivalent of one more cooking bible to my collection – I could chose to read through every page of it, or I could leave it on a shelf. What I take away from this experience is up to me.

Recently I had a few coworkers question me. One was surprised I tended to come in at 11:00a.m. and not leave until 11:00p.m. Another couldn’t believe I was in early when I was told I could come in later. Another questioned how I could just work all day without breaks. As I am not a smoker, I do not need frequent smoke breaks. I just take my water breaks and meal breaks and bathroom breaks as needed, and get straight back to work. I don’t see the point in dallying around when there are things to be done. It makes me look bad, especially if I am in charge of a section and don’t have everything ready on time. I would rather go in early and take my time, get ahead, ensure everything is done without rushing like crazy, and then if I do manage this, then I can take a break or take it easy and chat with coworkers. And hard work certainly pays off – don’t think it ever goes unnoticed, because it doesn’t!

Me on the run - busy at work. I think I accidentally took this photo while trying to quickly get a photo of a dish....whoops, I never was very good at selfies.

Lollipop, Lollipop, Oh Lolly Lolly Lolly

This morning I was in work for 11:00 because no one told me what time to come. I was surprised to find the head chef hard at work in the pastry section when I walked in, and he glared at me. I said, “You didn’t tell me to come in at 12:00 today.” He pulled out his phone and said, “Yes, but it’s only 10:58.” He then went on to tell me he had to make two hundred individual-sized Bailey’s cheesecakes for the executive chef for some function, and that’s what he was working on when I walked in. He moved over to give me some space. I assumed he would have preferred I come in at 12:00 so he could use the entire pastry shop to work and finish before I got in, but no, apparently he was just getting started. He had the crust done, and was starting on the filling, and spent the entire day making the cheesecakes. I mean, it is a lot of work, but it doesn’t take the entire day to make them - and he wasn't really doing other jobs in between. So either he, or his ingredients, were taking up some space in pastry all day, but I managed around it.

I began with making a batch of creamy mint and lime white chocolate ganache. Then I moved on to my major, simple but time-consuming and fun job of the day – making lollipops. I made about three hundred and fifty of them for petit fours. All the while I was singing, ‘lollipop, lollipop, oh lolly lolly lolly….’ They could tell I was in a much better mood today. Then on to my basic jobs – petit fours, making some fruit flowers, assembling delices, breads (tomato basil, apple walnut, garlic and herb), cutting brulée, organizing sorbet, etc. And I watched as every single person who walked into the pastry shop, took a handful of the crumb crust for the cheesecakes and eat it. At this rate, chef would have to make another batch. He got me to taste the cheesecake mix, and I thought it was good, but on the advice of another chef, added another half bottle of Bailey’s or so.

Lollipops

I didn’t have too much to prep for today; we only had thirty-six diners in. Tomorrow both I and the other pastry chef are off, so a different chef will be on pastry, so I made a list for him and prepped the sorbet and breads just so he would have less to do. I was planning to give the entire pastry area a good cleaning as well, as the sous chef is back tomorrow and he is really strict on that sort of thing, so everyone was going crazy cleaning and labelling today. But the head chef was using the pastry area, so I had to wait until after service to clean up, causing me to get out of work pretty late.