Grill Wizard

It's BBQ season! By far, one of the best tools that I have for the grill is the Grill Wizard. I learned about this product through one of the episodes of America's Test Kitchen. This long-handled brush is extremely effective in cleaning the grill and the best part is that the head is replaceable! No more throwing away brushes once they have reached their prime! Just slip the old brush off and stick the new one on. It definitely gets the 'thumbs up' in our house!

Tagged as: [ gadgets grilling ]

Decision Time for Culinary Students at NWCAV

With mid-terms over and only six weeks left in the Culinary Program at the Northwest Culinary Academy of Vancouver, the chefs take more time to discuss on a one-on-one basis where we feel we are headed. If the looks on most students' faces are any indication, this is not an easy decision to make. Should one do a practicum or go straight into the job market? Will some move on to the Pastry Program? Will some try to get more education and focus on the business aspects of the industry? There are many paths to choose from and, of course, this is what makes it so confusing for most. If a practicum is being considered, research needs to be started now to allow for a proper placement.

What is a practicum and why may it be beneficial to do one over moving straight into the job market? A practicum is another extension of your education. You will be placed at a restaurant, hotel, etc., according to your goals and how you and the chefs believe you will best achieve them. You work in the industry for a period of three months and do not get paid. During the practicum, you are exposed to a variety of different positions in the kitchen and will be shown as much as possible. There is the possibility that if you move straight into the industry, you will be shown one thing at a time and your exposure to the whole picture will be slow. The student keeps in touch regularly with the chef instructors at the school to see how they are progressing. It is an excellent way to break yourself in.

After talking with a few people I realize that I am not alone in my confusion as it is a hard decision to make.

I had an interesting conversation with both Chef Tony and Chef Ian. We discussed how this program challenges you in ways you would not consider. Not only is it about food, but it is also about how you deal with other students (it is rarely an individual effort). You learn a lot about yourself in a really short time. Your patience level, how you deal with stress and others, where your confidence level is at, if you are being too hard on yourself, where your skill level is at. I think this all plays into the decision of where they think you would do well in a practicum.

I believe I have come a long way in these past 2 months. For example, I have become more relaxed in my approach to cooking and stress a lot less when something goes wrong. Our house is a little quieter as my husband doesn't hear me yelling in our kitchen that something didn't work out (at least not that often anymore)! It is all part of this never-ending learning process. I am learning to adapt, making the necessary changes to continue on.

On the topic of learning about yourself, here's a site that provides an entertaining personality test.

Tagged as: [ career nwcav ]

Sumptuous Shops | Edible BC

We met the people who run Edible BC, a company that provides culinary tours in Vancouver and the surrounding areas. The tours are small (they will accomodate up to eight people) and they visit places such as Chinatown, Commercial Drive, Granville Market, and the Richmond Night Market. Cecilia Yong, one of the partners, explained that the tours are focused on what is unique to the specific area, providing lots of information on where to shop, and what ingredients to buy but most importantly what to do with them! Sampling different foods also takes place during the tour and if that isn't enough for some, they can tack on a meal afterwards.

Their retail store has just opened up in the Granville Market and after meeting and talking with them we are eager to try out a tour ourselves. We live close to Chinatown and shop for some fruits and vegetables there. There is a large selection of produce to choose from but, unfortunately, we don't know what a lot of it is or how to prepare it. I am only mentioning the produce but there is an incredible amount of dried goods, teas, bakeries, and restaurants to experience also.  Without the help of a professional it would be difficult to learn about all of the hidden treasures out there.

So if you live in Vancouver or are planning to visit it soon, here is one more interesting thing to experience.

Tagged as: [ culinary granville market tours vancouver ]

Stanley Park & Granville Market

This morning we forced ourselves out of bed early, 6am. Why so early? Well, the weather is great and that means everyone is going to be packing the bike trails later in the day. At 6am the trails are all yours.

We did a loop around Stanley Park, eventually making our way to Granville Market. Getting there early has the same benefit, no crowds. It starts to get busy around 9am.

We had an excellent Americano coffee at JJ Bean, shopped for a few groceries, and headed home. Can't think of a better way to enjoy a Saturday morning!

Tagged as: [ granville market park stanley vancouver ]

My Culinary Homework

I am frequently asked  by family and friends what a normal day consists of at culinary school.

I arrive around 8:00am to change into my uniform and head out to my station to clean and sanitize it. At 8:30am (sharp), we are into our first lecture. Lectures continue periodically throughout the day as we move back and forth to our stations to start the menu items. For lunch, we eat the dishes that we have made and sometimes we wind up tasting up to four courses and dessert! Usually around 3-3:30pm we have a full clean up and leave no later than 4pm.

In the evening, we need to commit time to do the required reading from our textbook and review the recipes and techniques for the next day. We are also encouraged to practice what we have learned at home. Practice our cuts. Time ourselves. Make a stock, a sauce, or some bread. Anything that we have learned, we should try to replicate at home. On top of this, we volunteer to cater at different events around the city and with Chef Christophe's catering company Le Zeste.

Here are some examples of my "homework".

Tagged as: [ culinary homework nwcav school ]

Week No. 1 of Italian Cuisine at NWCAV

It is the first week of Italian cuisine at NWCAV. I adore Italian food and savored every single thing when I visited Italy back in 1995. I can still remember certain flavors. Like fresh bocconcini, ripe tomatoes, just-picked basil and delicious olive oil. Four simple things sprinkled with a bit of salt and I was in heaven. My mom and I kept returning to the same little cafe for the same dish. The Parma hams, the fresh seafood along the coast, the coffee! It makes me want to go back. During that portion of my European trip, I had visited Venice, Florence, Pisa, Sienna, San Gemignano, Parma, and Bologna. Each region offered something different or the same dish had a different twist. I didn't even realize back then how truly "regional" the dishes were. I think I was a little confused as to why I couldn't get the same lasagna anywhere in the country...

We aren't preparing typical North American-style Italian food at NWCAV where everything is loaded with spices and cheese, thick doughs and too many flavors. We are trying to keep things authentic and simple, which everyone says "is harder said than done". You need to start with high quality, fresh ingredients. If you don't have that, don't even bother beginning. This is another reason I love NWCAV. We are always working with exceptional ingredients. Lobster, fresh herbs, veal, beautiful tomatoes. The list goes on. Every ingredient is of high quality.

A couple of programs that I get a lot of pleasure out of watching are:

Jamie Oliver's show on the Food Network, Great Italian Escapes. It is so interesting how a country can have so many regional dishes and the people are so stubborn about how things should be prepared and how they should taste. Jamie Oliver encounters many challenges on his road trip and has an incredible time cooking with all sorts of locals. Even this guy continues to learn a lot!

I also tune in to Lidia Bastianich on PBS. This woman has a fantastic program as well. Her scrumptious recipes are a little more tailored to North American tastes but they are awesome. Check out my book collection for one of her books!

Back to NWCAV. Chef Tony is Italian and sure has some funny stories for us in class about being in an Italian family. All of the chefs are quite entertaining and aside from learning so much we are laughing a lot too.

Tagged as: [ cuisine italian nwcav ]

Gordon Ramsay - Hell's Kitchen

When I first tuned in to Hell's Kitchen last year, I was a little queasy. I was scared to watch the program and thought Gordon Ramsay was an absolute jerk. I was hoping that I would not encounter screaming chefs in culinary school. I don't know yet how it is in the "real world" - out there in "restaurant-land" - but what I do know is that I am sure that I wouldn't work with someone like him - not when he's acting like that! Ramsay appears to be the devil himself and is a complete maniac in this series on Fox which airs on Monday evenings.

Having said that, if you have seen Gordon Ramsay on The Food Network (Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares), he's almost a completely different person. His veins aren't popping out of his head due to his ranting and raving. He has got some brilliant advice and offers blunt criticism to restaurateurs that can't seem to get a firm grip on how to run their restaurant well and make money. I really enjoy this program. Some may think reality t.v. is cheesy any way you look at it but there are some tidbits of good information to take note of. Sometimes chefs try to make dishes too complex, or the description of an item on the menu is too confusing, or there isn't enough teamwork going on. He stresses that communication is key with everyone involved from the front-of-the-house to the back.

To my relief, I have found out (at least in culinary school), that chefs don't scream like he does. Nor do they shove food onto your uniform, call you names, or make you rummage through garbage bins. The chef instructors definitely have high expectations of you but they also have a lot of class. Now, I just watch Hell's Kitchen and get a good laugh. It's ridiculous that someone from the series will wind up being the executive chef of a restaurant after going through that exercise but that's Hollywood for you...

Tagged as: [ gordon hell's kitchen ramsay reality tv ]

My First Podcast on the Topic of Coffee

I dread public speaking. I don't have any experience with it and was horrified by the thought of getting up in front of my class and freezing, not knowing what to say next. I struggled with what to say to my colleagues during my farewell party when I left my job seven months ago, embarassed that I was tripping on my words.

I have now learned the secret from my husband who has had to do countless presentations in university and in his field of work. Be prepared! Practice, practice, practice! Go over your material endlessly until you are comfortable with your topic and get a natural feeling for what you need to say.

Wow, did that ever help! In the end, I felt I gave a decent presentation in front of my classmates. I surprisingly wasn't even that nervous or concerned about "how" I sounded (which has been a bit of a hurdle for me).

If you'd like to listen to it, download it here: CoffeePresentation.mp3 (19 MB).

 

Tagged as: [ coffee nwcav podcast ]

Mid-Term Exams at Northwest Culinary Academy of Vancouver

I didn't blog last week as we had our culinary mid-term. It was an intense and interesting process. I did very well on the written exam but the practical was full-on high stress to get about 8 different things completed in under 2.5 hours. For every minute you were late, you were deducted 1% up to a maximum of 10%.

I did fairly well on the practical but wound up being 8 minutes late. I scored 73% (class average was 67%) and was able to redo a few items today to make up some marks. I brought my grade up to 81% for the practical portion which I am pleased with. One girl scored an awesome 94%!

In the 2.5 hours, I had to: make and bake a baguette, make a flaky dough and blind-bake a quiche crust, fill the quiche crust and bake it, make a mayonnaise, a hollandaise, and do 3-1/4 cups of different knife cuts, along with 3 turned zuchinnis. All of this had to be served at the same time, at the proper temperature. You needed to know how to hold your hollandaise sauce so it wouldn't t split on you. So once again, timing comes into play and you have to have a good game plan to get things done.

Knife cuts are an important skill to develop if you want to be in fine dining. It takes a lot of practice to do it well and we were told that this is usually what slows students down during their practical if they haven't been doing their homework in this area.

Here are a few examples of knife cuts. Think about cutting a raw potato into these sizes (it is simpler, due to its softer texture) but try a raw rutabega! I have decided I also don't like carrots anymore for this reason. Kidding!

Brunoise Cut 1-2mm x 1-2mm x 1-2mm (this cut is a cube with all sides around the thickness of a dime)

Julienne Cut 1-2mm x 1-2mm x 2.5-4cm long

Small Dice 3mm x 3mm x 3mm

By mid-term, we should be able to cut a 1/4 (hopefully more) of each cut under 15 minutes. In the industry, it probably takes less than 5 minutes. These are precise cuts that look quite flattering on a plate when presented.

Overall, it was a great experience and now we are kicking it up a notch now that mid-term is over.

Tagged as: [ exams mid-term nwcav ]

Did I Get Good Coffee Beans?

If you're an avid coffee drinker, buying coffee beans in bulk and grinding them yourself can save you a lot of money, but what do you look for when buying them? On a coffee tour in the mountain village of Boquete in Panama we learned you can tell the premium beans simply by the consistent size, shape, and color. Beans that are properly sorted will roast more evenly.

This morning we got a first hand look at beans not properly sorted. Some might even be termed "floaters" which describes diseased beans that rise to the top in the first sorting stage. In this stage, beans are immersed in water and bad or unripe fruit will float and the good ripe fruit will sink. Ever wonder what kind of bean makes it into Maxwell House?

What do premium beans look like? Here's a photo from our coffe tour demonstrating the difference sorting can make to the eventual outcome in roasting. The beans on the bottom have been properly sorted by size and weight which results in an even roast.

Tagged as: [ beans coffee tips ]

Pressure and Presentation

Today in class, we prepared an appetizer: Sausage-Stuffed Calamari Braised in Red Wine; and a main course: Stuffed Lamb Loin - Moroccan Style, with Couscous and a Mushroom-Demi Sauce.

I've always considered myself very organized and detailed but during this course, when I'm under a lot of pressure to produce something in a set amount of time, things get blurry. I'm finding out that administrative skills and kitchen skills are two different skill sets! I have to think differently. Like Chef Christophe said today, you've got to understand how to time things well - it's not like you are in your kitchen with a bottle of wine, talking to your guests and have moments to be entertained by other things.

There are so many components to making a dish well that it is quite overwhelming. Every week we build upon each skill. However, when you are under pressure, it is amazing how many shortcuts you will try to take, how many things you will compensate, just to get something plated and out on time. This is how excellent chefs set the bar and what identifies not-so-good ones.

Every component needs to be understood and every single one is important to the final product: techniques, colors, flavors, consistencies of sauces, textures, temperatures, appropriate doneness, plating, and getting it to the table on time. I assume that with practice this will become easier.

Our plating review was very informative today. You have to take a step back from what you've plated and ask yourself what you would pay for that dish. Does it look appealing? Can you not wait a single second to dive right in? Is the main component of the dish/the star of the show highlighted? Or is it buried under something else? Is it bright and alive? Or is it dull and boring? Do the components have different heights - or is it all in one even pile?

Here are pictures of both dishes. In the main course, the sauce was a little too thick, the couscous not piled high enough, and the lamb could have been presented in a more striking way. Hopefully, by the end of the course, my photos will get better!

When you have your next meal at a restaurant, have a close look at how they have plated your order and consider how much choreography went into it.

Tagged as: [ nwcav presentations ]

Garlic Germ

Did you know? If you suffer from indigestion due to garlic, try peeling out the germ (click on the photo to see the note). Some people say this prevents it. When choosing garlic, try to find tight heads and avoid older ones that have the germ sprouting from the top of the head.

Tagged as: [ food garlic tips ]

Glorious Garnish & Seasonal Salads

Being new to Vancouver, I am slowly discovering more and more places to purchase quality ingredients. Today at the end of class, the school received a delivery of beautiful organic greens from Glorious Garnish & Seasonal Salads Co. Ltd.

The box contained a variety of about 20 different greens (half of them I didn't even recognize!) which we will be using tomorrow in a salad. This gorgeous and colorful variety of greens was exceptionally fresh. The edible flowers were also adorable! Be sure to visit their vendor stand at one of these local markets.

Tagged as: [ greens organic vancouver ]

Up and Running

Here we go...the time has come to start this blog. Six months ago, I took the plunge and left an administrative career of 16 years to make my way into the food industry. While living in the U.S., I enrolled in a part-time culinary and pastry course in Washington, DC at L'Academie de Cuisine. I thoroughly loved it. FOOD IS EXCITING and it occurred to me back then that I had to take it to the next level. I know that I am happiest when I am cooking, making chocolates, desserts, or pastries and sharing what I create with other people. At this point, I am not exactly sure where I will wind up in this industry, but I do know that I am on the right track and that my future has got to revolve around food and desserts that people will remember.

I am currently enrolled in the one-year, full-time culinary and pastry program at the Northwest Culinary Academy of Vancouver in beautiful British Columbia. After researching many schools, I have undoubtedly made the right choice. The chef-owned school is fantastic - fast paced and challenging. There is an incredible amount to learn and I am beginning to understand how much time it really takes to develop the skills necessary to earn the right to be called a "chef".

Chefs have to have many skills under their belt, aside from the ability to cook. Here are just a few things that chefs need to develop to be successful. They have to:

• be organized
• have the ability to deal with all types of personalities
• be a team player
• be able to move fast and have excellent time management skills
• have exceptional communication skills
• be committed
• be responsible to the profession, their customers, and the environment
• be a hard worker
• be a problem solver
• be innovative as well as a trend-spotter
• be able to train people
• have patience
• be able to handle pressure
• know their costs
• have respect for everyone they work with
• know how to speak in public

Successful chefs have big shoes to fill!

Tagged as: [ career nwcav ]