It was an exciting day to be a culinary student. Today was the day we got our chef uniforms (chef whites), and all of the special clothing that we will need for the next four years. We got clothes for kitchen classes and service classes. Here are my photos:
-- 5 pairs of chef jackets with my name and BPS (Bachelor of Professional Studies) embroidered on it
-- 3 pairs of checked chef pants
-- 2 pairs of black formal pants
-- 1 clip-on tie
-- 3 white collared shirts with CIA embroidery
-- 5 toques (chef hats)
-- 5 white aprons
-- 1 neckerchief
-- 1 vest
-- 3 green side towels
This was a lot of fun for me. I tried on one of everything to make sure they all fit. It seemed like everyone that I spoke with had something in their bag that didn't fit right. Everything fit perfectly for me, so I win.
Then there was lunch at Banquet. It was the day before the school's Grand Buffet, so Banquet class couldn't devote all of its effort into serving us in the usual manner. Therefore, they designed it a little differently.
-- Warm Apple and Pear Cider
-- Pasta Puttanesca
-- Sea Bass on Garlic Smashed Potatoes with an Herbed Horseradish Sauce and Broccoli Rabe
-- White Chocolate Mousse with Toasted Coconut and Diced Mango
Puttanesca: Generally served with pasta, this sauce is a spicy mélange of tomatoes, onions, capers, black olives, anchovies, oregano and garlic
Broccoli Rabe: A cabbage family vegetable that has long green stems and small broccoli-like bulbs, bitter flavorThe cider was very good, just like most cider the world has to offer, and the rim of the glass was coated with a cinnamon sugar mixture. The pasta was served family style, which I didn't like. I liked the pasta just fine, but not the service. We got that big bowl of pasta, and everyone served themselves a nice heaping portion. By the time it got to the last two people, myself included, there was barely any left. So, I had a nibble and hoped the main course would be extra good and bountiful.
The fish was definitely tasty, but I didn't care for the horseradish sauce on the top, so I scraped it off. The smashed potatoes were also very good, and so was the broccoli rabe. The problem was that the cream sauce on the plate wasn't very good, and it migrated onto everything on the plate. This gave everything a bad flavor, and I had to eat around it.
The mousse, however, was a revelation. It wasn't too rich, and wasn't too bland. It was light and fluffy, and the mango was a nice addition. I'm not a fan of textured coconut; I usually just like the flavor. However, the shaved pieces were small enough not to bother me, and I thought it was altogether an amazing dessert. I just wish the whole meal had been that good.
After lunch, I had dinner! I went to Asias again, and it was India that day. I was excited to try an Indian CIA dinner. Here's the meal:
-- Lamb Shorba
-- Cucumber and Onion Salad
-- Mango Lhassi
-- Platter of Naan, Rice, and Others
-- Pork Vindaloo with Fried Onions
I can't find any definitions in my handy Food Lover's Companion book for these Indian terms, so I guess the book doesn't like Indian food. The shorba is the soup, the naan is the flat bread, vindaloo is a heavily spiced sauce from central and southwestern India, and lhassi is a drink that resembles a yogurt smoothie.
The soup was decent, but the lamb pieces in it had the consistency of rubber. The salad was extremely good on its own, but even better when used to cool off my mouth from the heat of some of the other things. I didn't like the lhassi because it tasted like yogurt, and I don't like the taste of sour milk. I'm weird like that. The naan wasn't too flavorful, but acted as a nice scooper for the various mysterious and colorful substances on the platter. The red one didn't have much flavor at all, the yellowish one tasted like a purée of spinach and egg, the green one tasted like a purée of herbs (also like a pesto), and the brownish one tasted like a spicy and nutty chutney. I liked the chutney one best. The rice was very good, even though it lacked flavor, and the brown ball on the far side tasted like a potato.
I didn't taste the stuff in the ramekin, although I should have. The pork with the onions was definitely the best part of the meal, as it should have been, because it was the main dish. It was spicy, sweet, and reminded me of chili with an Indian kick. The pork in it was fork-tender, and the onions tasted so good in their fried form. I wish I had a giant bowl of that pork, but I had to deal with my portion.
Overall, the meal was enormous and a success.
After dinner, I went to Product Knowledge. PK had another big tasting today, and I was very anxious to learn some more new produce. Today's section was cooking greens. Here's what we tried:
- Kale
- Broccoli Rabe
It turns out we didn't try much. However, what we did try was quite good. I'd never had kale before, and I thought it was pretty good. Broccoli rabe is naturally bitter, but it was cooked for us with garlic and salt, and the salt got rid of most of the bitterness.
It looks like we have one new addition today: kale. And the list of foods I've never tried before coming to the CIA grows even larger!
After Product Knowledge class, I went back to my room and realized that I was really hungry. I thought about it, and decided that I should go to Courtside to get some food. Here's what I got:
-- Custom Salad with Julienne Carrots, Mozzarella Balls, Roasted Peanuts, Craisins, and Grilled Chicken
-- Buffalo Chicken Nuggets
This is what I call a late-night snack. It was pretty awesome too, except for the grilled chicken, which was very dry. I'm a big fan of dried cranberries in salads, so I made sure that I got them this time.
Well, it was a very long day filled to the brim with food, and I enjoyed it.
Until the next post,
Eat well, then eat more
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