Week 1:
I started out by shadowing the staff and other students just to see how the kitchen operates and where what and who must be...
I really expected something more WOW!!!!
My second day I was given the task to clean the whole kitchen and the first thing that came to my mind was: POOR CHEFS!!!
But after my first week I realized that a chef isn't just a person that cooks food for guests and go's home I realized a chef does everything. From scrubbing pots and pans to fixing wires in the fridge and cutting new shelf's for the kitchen.
Week 2:
I now stated making breakfast... I've got the knife skills under control but not yet that good to chop an onion in 3 seconds like all the permanent chef staff,but at least I know how to cut in the correct way.
The course was starting to get interesting for me and wanted to learn more and more each second of the day...
Lunch came and Chef Errol gave me a task,to cut the pork loin's excess skin and fat off and spice it up with whatever spice I wanted to.. he showed me how to cut off the skin and how much fat must be left on the loin.
And I started cutting centimeter for centimeter. I was really scared to mess up the task that was given to me.. But in the end I pulled trough. Trough the rest of the week I worked with different chefs like Chef William,Chef Natalie Chef Louisa and many more...
I really stared to enjoy it in the kitchen and I was sad that it was my last week in the kitchen.
Week 3:
We where told that all of the chefs are working on Easter weekend even if its your off weekend or not, because that is the time that the kitchen is at its busiest and that's also where you learn a lot and gain a lot of experience in the kitchen because of the rush and the screaming and the shouting and guest complaints and thats how you learn how to cope with difficult circumstances in the kitchen.
And to top it all we where told that the whole setup in the kitchen is changing,that the menu is changing, and all of the plates are changing from a normal size round plate to a rectangular sushi plate and that everything is prepared and placed in a different way than always...
So this made me very excited but also on the other side very nervous.
The weekend came and I started in the kitchen a normal day in a normal kitchen was to normal for me and I wantd action and people running around to keep guests happy. Looks like i placed a wish on myself and in no-time the kitchen was crazy!!!!!!!!!
Toasted sandwiches coming in six to ten at a time.....
Avocado Ritz (salad topped with shrimp mixed with a thousand island sauce and a fan sliced avocado)
Chef salad (Salad topped with biltong fried in a herb red paste and white wine)
All coming in with a rush...
I didnt know what was going on....
But after a while I got used to the rush and chef Edward(The academy executive chef) solved the chaos by giving each chef a task,and methods of doing an order like (PROCEDURE USED FOR A TOASTED SANDWICH ALSO USED FOR IN THE COLD KITCHEN) one chef does the side salad other chef spreads butter on bread and other chef passes on the fillings like chicken and mayonnaise and all of a sudden the kitchen was a well organized kitchen with each chef knowing exactly what to do...
Week 4:
This is my last week and we learned all sorts of new meals like rosemary panade,Creame spinache, stuffed pork loin,chicken ballentines, prawns,mussels, and many more..
Everyday I felt more and more comfortable to do an order on my own and really enjoyed every day in the kitchen. I will definitely consider it to go and do a chefs course.
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