Ok, I know I haven't posted in the last week, so there is quite a bit for me to catch any readers up on. This past week was exam week, probably up there, in one of the most stressful weeks of my life. Last weekend was studying, studying, studying, and then not sleeping well at night, because of all the projects due in the next few days, and exams to worry about. Monday morning came, and after dreaming of messing up my dish horribly, I then woke, to have to make it for real. Two soft boiled eggs, sauce andalouse, hollandaise sauce, fettuccine, and a french folded omelet. The omelet went up first, and although the colour was very good, I found it very difficult to make it look perfect. No folds on the top, just a perfect looking omelet.... Impossible! I did a decent job, but it is definitely a skill I will have to work on for the future. If I had a flat top, maybe it would have been easier, but then again, if I had a flat top, I wouldn't be learning, now would I? Anyhow, the next dish, was all of the others at the same time! I made my pasta in advance, earlier that morning, and it seemed very good. It had great gluten structure, and was pretty much perfect... except I cut it about 2 times too wide, and didn't realize until after it was time to plate it. It overcooked, so that was my epic failure of the exam. The emulsified sauces did save me though. My sauce andalouse, was a slow process that I put a lot of care into making. The tomato cancasse was perfect, nice even sized dices, all even cuts, and the same with all my other ingredients. Being emulsified, the hardest part is adding oil to the egg, as these ingredients shouldn't mix nicely. Whisking has to be constant, and your arm, after one minute, feels like it's going to fall right off. Adding tiny tiny amounts with your left hand of the oil ensures that it won't separate as you add it, but it is such a tiring tedious process. After making it, the flavour was awesome though, and it was definitely the best part of my presentation, or exam. The hollandaise, on the other hand, was a different story. I did a decent job in the end, but it shouldn't have worked out. As I looked up at the clock, with two minutes before my put up time, I realized, I hadn't even started it yet! I grabbed my cold, solid, clarified butter, threw it in a saucepan, and let it melt over high heat to start the sauce. Whisked my eggs like my exam mark depended on it... (because it did) and then began the emulsification, add the clarified butter to the eggs. I didn't think it was possible for me to get that entire amount of butter into the mixture without it separating in less than a minute, but somehow I managed. Seasoned, and cooked to perfection, and into the bowl at the last second... just like on all those TV shows! The only negative comment on my hollandaise was that I overcooked the butter just a little bit, adding a nutty flavour to it. This was because I was trying to melt it all in less than a minute, so providing the circumstances, and that it shouldn't be possible to make hollandaise that quickly, I think I did pretty well.
The second exam went much better, I was much more prepared, and I was making dishes that are very similar to the style of cooking I do at home. Breaded veal cutlet, just dredged in flour, egg, and bread crumbs, flattened, and fried in a hot cast iron skillet. Basically the same method as pan frying fish, which I do quite a bit on my own. The was served with a mushroom gravy sauce of sorts, and it turned out fantastic! absolutely perfect presentation, the only mistake, I started my gravy sauce early, and it simmered down almost to a gelatinous consistency. I didn't think to add water, but have to learn something from everything I do. The second dish was a oyster mushroom ragout. It turned out quite awesome as well, but I, again, reduced the stock a little too much, and should have added water. The stock was a bit overpowering for a light dish, but the flavour was still pretty amazing. On top of good dishes, and good presentation, I got two comments that made my whole day. Brian Steele, my chef instructor, is probably the hardest marking chef here at the school. He commented on my veal, being absolutely perfectly cooked, as if I couldn't have done a better job frying it up. The gravy sauce, as well, had "killer flavour", so despite it being thick, I have an absolutely amazing dish that I feel very confident with, and I finally feel a lot of confidence with my cooking here at the Stratford Chefs School.
Yesterday, we had wine class. Learned all about the way vines are pruned, and taken care of, and how wine is made. The whole process, from picking, to how to get colour in the wine, to the fermentation process and bottling, and everything in between. Next weekend is the wine tour in the niagara region, so I am very much looking forward to this opportunity. After wine class, it was our third exam of the week. Culinary management exam, which consisted of basic sauces, classical and modern menu structure, and a ton of french words, and culinary words, matching with definitions. I hope I did well, but I won't know until next week I imagine. I seem to be keeping up with everything, though it's all starting to add up really fast. This weekend is super homework weekend, as I need to start everything and get it done, so that I can focus on group projects all week. I will hopefully be posting all week, as the stress of exams isn't there, other than my pastry exam. I will keep you updated to how everything is going, and hope to keep writing good news about my assignments and exam marks. Thank you for reading, and enjoy the rest of your weekend! :)
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