Enter the Master Chef

Everyone arrived bright, early, and nervous.

Okay, not everyone because some people were late. Either way, it was our first quiz and we were all in our books like we hadn't studied at all.

Come test time, I blasted through everything. The questions were simple: Name five parts of the kitchen brigade in English, French, and the duties; What is an oginon piqué?; Describe how to mince garlic and chop parsley; Name what goes in a standard sachet and standard bouqet garní, etc. I think I aced it and so did a few of my friends. We sat in the hallway and chatted about what we forgot, but overall, I think we all did well.

Chef Loving left us. We were introduced to our first Master Chef that we would see, Master Chef Jeffrey Gabriel. When I think of Master Chef, I think of someone like Gordon Ramsay.  I love him and all, but he is extra intimidating and has a penchant for being a little mean. Chef Gabriel was nothing like that. He was nice, funny/witty, patient, yet still had that air of respect about him.

He realized that we need more practice with our knife cuts, and I enjoyed his demoing more than Chef Loving's, only because Chef Loving demoed first in the demo kitchen and THEN we all went over and practiced. Chef Gabriel would do a demo of onions right in the practice kitchen and then we would do it and he would check it. Then he would do another demo and we would follow…. It helped a lot! This time, we delved into parsnips to make a white mirepoix for a white stock.

Before we go further, let me tell you about mise en place (meez ahn PLAHZ). It basically means you prepare everything before you cook your meal. That's an important step because it keeps you neat and organized, and Lord knows that is something I need in the kitchen. We set up this way: a cutting board with soft mesh underneath to keep it from moving, a small tray to hold our knives and other utensils needed, two dry rags folded neatly by our cutting board, three dishes- one for edible garnish (not necessarily pretty cuts that is for use in something like stock), non edible garnish (you can either compost this or throw it out), and basic trash (like plastic wrap or stickers off veggies), a thing with all of the items we need to chop, a red bucket of sanitizer and a rag, and a green bucket for detergent. After that, the next part of our mise en place is to prepare the veggies, meats, etc so that it is ready to add to the dish. That would mean peeling everything, dicing, chopping, etc. Peeling everything that needs to be peeled first, and then starting our chops would be an efficient way to finish our timed practicals.

Right before lunch, Chef Gabriel took the onions we julienned and caramelized them in what is called a Tilt Braizer. He added beer, stock, Tobasco, and some other stuff to make a French Onion soup. The assistants tossed some brioche in the oven to crisp and melt mozzarella on top. We grabbed bowls, topped our onion soup with the brioche and enjoyed a delicious meal from a master chef. I was so in awe and impressed. This is what I'm here for!

Delicious French Onion Soup!

Lunch was at Wendy's with three of my new friends. They are freaking hilarious and everyone is so nice and crazy! Walking into a Wendy's with our Culinary School uniforms was an experience. People stared at us and I'm sure wondered what everyone wonders: why the hell are fancy-pants culinary students in a Wendy's? I enjoyed that Single Cheeseburger and Strawberry Lemonade (a splurge from my water-only diet). Although culinary school may be grueling and intense, the important part is that you don't have to go it alone. We all become a sort of family, and it has only just begun!

After lunch, we moved on to the big stuff. Roasting a pepper on our own, chopping parsley, mincing garlic, and doing a tomato concassé. I think I did fairly well with these! As a matter of fact, Chef Gabriel said that I had a 'very nice' mince! :)

This is a ...  tomato concassé... you know what minced garlic looks like.

It's blurry, but I promise this is what a roasted pepper should look like.

Before we leave the kitchen everyday, we all work together to clean up, which includes an assembly line doing dishes, someone wiping down counters, someone sweeping… it's harmony. After, they let us try some delicious looking treats that the pastry students must have prepared. They were so cute and pretty that I had to try them. Big mistake! Not only were they kind of bland, but I soon got strangely dizzy… was it the effects of an allergic reaction or did they slip me some roofies?

By the way, this is that panning machine I told you about...

It had to be the latter. We huddled up in the bake shop and I could barely pay attention. Chef Gabriel told us how different baking and cooking was because in baking everything needed to be precise. He asked if I was tired and I smiled, not revealing that I was seconds from puking all over him. I held it in, don't worry. He let us out about an hour early with promises that we were going to BAKE BREAD the next week.

SPOILER ALERT: He lied.