Mother Sauces

Are we going to survive final practicals?

We got a surprise this morning. Chef Loving came back! He actually taught us the entire day. Remember I told you about the confusion because there are two different chefs teaching us? Well, the struggle, guys, is real.

I've become addicted after a while. Eye twitches, commence.

He wanted us to make another stock because he didn't see us make it last time. The problem with this is that repeating things we did the week before, we don't have time for new things. How on earth were we going to get ready for practicals in one week? Remember how to make stock, guys? No? Here goes:

• Get your tons of chicken meat with bones (mostly bones) and your chicken feet . I don't remember the amount. I want to say 4 lbs?
• Rinse the nasty blood off those bad boys.
• Place in your stock pot and fill the water up to two inches above the meat. Bring to a light simmer. A LIGHT SIMMER guys. DO NOT BOIL STOCK EVER AT ALL.
• If necessary, skim all of the skum (that weird foamy gunk that floats to the top but don't skim the fat yet).
• Let simmer for at least five hours.
• Add your standard or white mirepoix (2 parts onion or leek or a mixture of both, 1 part carrot or parsnips or a mixture, 1 part celery or celeriac root or a mixture) and your loose (without the sachet part)  sachet d'Épices (we are going to call this a sachet from now on but remember it's parsley stems, whole peppercorns, a sprig of thyme, and a bay leaf). Let all of that simmer for at least an hour.

• Remove the stock from heat, strain (try with a china cap (metal triangular strainer) and a cheesecloth). Skim the fat off the top  before using.

While the stocks cooked lightly simmered, Chef Loving did a demo of all five mother sauces.

Beautiful Mother Sauce Photo Comes From Here.

Velouté, Béchamel, Espagnole, Tomato,  and Hollandaise. I didn't get to try the Velouté. Remember the foreign guy I told you I'm worried about? He doesn't understand that double-dipping is a sin. The Béchamel was delicious. It was like the start of an Alfredo, but without the cheese. The Hollandaise was disgusting! I know people like that, but to me it tasted like sour, lemony mayo. And I HATE mayo! The tomato sauce was delicious, as expected. The Espagnole wasn't memorable. In fact, I don't remember how it tasted, but I know it wasn't one of my favorites.

After lunch, (we chose McDonald's), we added our mirepoix, and once the stock was finished, we reserved a quart to use for sauce making the next week. You'll find out later that was a waste.

We practiced knife cuts again and apparently we wasted a ton. I have no idea how we square things  like a freaking potato off WITHOUT a ton of waste. Chef Loving shamed us and blatantly told us we were his messiest section EVER and that he would FAIL us for being messy and having a ton of waste.

This is the waste of the four of us. It's 'edible waste' though which means it can be used for mirepoix.

After feeling like children, we cleaned together and stood for our lecture of smallwares and what would be on the exam:

Herb and Spice Identification

Small and Large Equipment ID

Written Exam

Knife Cuts

Stock Grading

Velouté Making

Practicals were the next week. I was nervous, but I knew I would make it through. Our group decided we would go to H's house to practice a Velouté and study. We studied for a little bit, but the night was marked by my first visit to The Cheesecake Factory.