Life of a Culinary Student (Day 4)

Had a small lecture from the department head of the Culinary Arts program at the school. He talked about the qualities of a great chef and that only a few of us would actually make it far in the industry. I held on to every word he spoke and took it to heart (sounds dramatic, eh?), but I really did. Someday, I do want to be an executive chef, own a restaurant, and be on a television show like Top Chef. Every little piece of advice given to me will help me succeed and I need to keep an open, positive attitude to grow. I'm going to try my damn hardest to be successful in the culinary world.

We actually got to do a lot more today than the past three days, starting with slicing carrots and leeks into julienne strips. We also learned how to make tomato concasse. You basically take a tomato and score it with your knife (make an X) on the bottom of the tomato and blanch it (submerge it in boiling water for about 30 seconds until you see the peel come off a bit, and then take it out and dunk it in a bowl of ice water). This makes the peel easy to remove and the ice water prevents the tomato from further cooking. Once you slice your naked tomato into quarters, remove the seeds and lightly flatten the tomato wedge to create a easier surface to cut on. All you got to do now is slice and dice and you'll end up with a chopped tomato without the peel and seeds, which helps if you don't want the texture for your dish.

Chopped and minced garlic were next on the list. Pretty easy; for chopped garlic, just peel and slice your cloves and chop away until you have fine pieces. To make minced garlic, sprinkle some salt on your chopped garlic and use the side of the knife to crush it down further. The salt acts as an abrasive and helps the garlic release its oils and turn into a paste.

That's pretty much it for today. It was a lot more fun than the past few days as we got to work in the kitchen and I surprised myself a bit. At first, I was intimidated by the other students because I have zero kitchen experience, but as the day went on, my confidence went up and I did pretty well. More knife skills tomorrow!