Chicago Gourmet

So last weekend I volunteered to work the Chicago Gourmet show and all I can say is I am sooo glad I did. First off it was an amazing event. I did not really know what to expect going into it but I was blown away by all the different food/beverage companies and restaurants that were represented. Secondly I got to work with some amazing chefs.
First being Stephan and Nicole Outrequin Quaisser, husband and wife owners of LM Restaurant. They were such nice people they offered me a free dinner for two at their restaurant. I know me and John are going to take advantage of that very soon.
http://lmrestaurant.com/home.html
Next I worked with a bunch of different people from EPIC restaurant. Also amazing people and their food was amazing. I ended up getting their business cards, an offer to stage if I'd like, and a bunch of their left over food. Soo yummy =)
http://www.epicrestaurantchicago.com/index.html
And lastly with the Executive Chef of Red Light Chef Jackie Shen. She was so sweet and funny but such a hard worker. She had me and Erica plating so quickly while saying "Chip Chip Chip" "Plate Plate Plate" and just making it an overall fun experience. Her food was amazing and can not wait to visit her restaurant.
http://www.redlight-chicago.com/
And last but not least, I finally got to meet JeanMarie Brownson, culinary director of Frontera Foods. She is a close friend of a close family friend (everyone knows someone right?) and I've been in contact with her for some time now. But the best part is!! (I'm so scared to say it because I feel like it's too good to be true and something will go wrong but...) She offered me an internship with Frontera Grill & Frontera Foods!! I am so excited =) I sent her my resume and we're still working out the logistics of it all but AAAHH! I feel like this is an opportunity of a lifetime and I can not wait to start in January!
So pretty much this experience has given me a huge boost of confidence. Sounds silly but I was nervous to work it because I'm so new to all of this but I had a blast! I'm defiantly going to be volunteering at many more events. =)

Quick post in between classes

So finals week is officially over! Woooo! But I can't get too excited since I still have two next week =/
Monday - Cul 117 written and practical final (making mayo, french omletes, canapes, salad making, plate presentation...)
Tuesday- BLOCK I FINAL!! Bum Bum Bum!! The Big one!! So it consistes of 200 questions about everything I've learned in the past 10 weeks, and a 1 1/2 practical final testing us on everything from knife cuts, cooking methods, sauces, frabication...etc. So I have a feeling my weekend is going consist of a lot of review and hopefully some fabrication/knife cuts. Should go out and buy a bag of spuds and a few whole chickens/fish.
But wish me luck! The finals today seemed to go well even though I was so nervous during my Food Network pitch. I don't wanna be on TV! Why do you think I'm in culinary school?! I want to be back of the house, out of the public's eye haha. Oh well I offered to be the 1st one so I was super nervous and didn't talk about 1/2 the stuff I wanted to but it's in the past, not much I can do now. =)

Day 8: Aspic Day!!

First a definition:

Aspic - a savory jelly usually made with meat or fish stock and gelatin, chilled and used as a garnish and coating for meats, sea foods, eggs, etc.

The aspic product we used came in "sheets" that had to bloom in cold water, then melt in hot. Since it was a clear gel we could have colored it with different foods or dyes.  
The goal of today was to make a plate design using the aspic. This sort of stuff is mainly done in competitions or fine dining but it was something fun to try (Plus I'm going to have to do it again in a few months, as a final, so why not practice).  We first had to come up with a plate design, then cut and assemble our designs, then prepare the aspic, and then accomplish the incredibly daunting task of applying this stuff to our plates. Designing the plates and cutting out the shapes from various vegetables was fun. But the aspic...needless to say it was difficult. 

Steps of aspic plate design:
First you lay a base of aspic on your plate and let it set (this way you had something for the pieces to "adhere" to). Then after laying your design on the plate with toothpicks (couldn't touch the plate because you'd get finger prints in the gel), you had to ladle on the first top layer. This is the point where everyone's designs began to move and float around the plate. You only had a few seconds to correct this mistake, and pop any air bubbles, before the gel began to set. From there you added maybe two or three more layers, each time trying to get it perfectly smooth and without air bubbles. Doesn't sound so difficult...but literally 2 seconds after you would pour a layer on it would set. So if something moved or you didn't have enough to cover the whole plate your design was basically screwed. 

But as much as I sound like I'm complaining, I actually enjoyed today. Everyone came up with some awesome designs and although the aspic application didn't always go smoothly (no pun intended haha), we all had some type of plate in the end. =)

My Under the Sea Plate

What is it made of!?!?

"Seaweed" = Blanched green onion
Purple Fish = Blanched turnip skin and eggplant skin eye
Yellow Fish = Lemon peel and eggplant skin eye
Orange Chef Fish = Blanched carrot shaving,eggplant eye, whites of radish for chef's hat
Cool Starfish = Blanched red pepper skin and his shades were eggplant
**All set in clear aspic**

Orange, Yellow, and Purple fish = Same as above
"Pink" Angry fish = Blanched radish shaving, eggplant eye, lemon skin teeth
Mr. Crabs = Eggplant eyes, blanched red pepper skin, and a lot of patience!!
**All set in clear aspic**

One more plate!!

One Paige and I made with odds and ends from our other plates

Last week of classes!

So I can't believe it but we are already on week 9 of my first quarter. I have half my finals on Friday then my Grande Manage and Block I final next week. I'm actually pretty nervous about my Block I final. I was able to practice my Hollandaise and French Omelets this weekend, but I'm hoping to practice my dices during the week. I feel like time has just flying by...I have some more pictures from Canape day so enjoy! But I just can't believe I'll be done with the program in a year. It's crazy to think that I really have to figure out where I want to internship and then work in such a short period of time. =)

Photos!

The ramblings of a discouraged student...

I'm not sure if it is just the kind of day I'm having or if I'm actually having some sort of awakening, but I'm thinking garde manger is not my thing. I know I can't be good at everything (it honestly doesn't really surprise me since I'm not that artistic), but it gets frustrating when it feels like other people are excelling in an area I'm not. The next two days are being devoted to finger sandwiches, hors d'oeuvres, canapes, etc...and although I'm not completely hopeless, it's not my strong suit. I feel like I'm not creative enough to figure out how to garnish a ham mousse. I took some pics of our final products so enjoy. I'm really hoping tomorrow is a different story...

One of my canapes
(Cucumber wedge, Dill cream cheese, lemon zest and dill garnish)

Far away view

Ham and cream cheese mouse garnished with a pickle

All of our final products

Another platter

Fruit Day!!

Today was fruit day!! 

So we learned how to cut up melons, kiwi, pineapple, strawberries, and cut supremes (little wedges) out of citrus fruits. From there we were all to make a fruit plate and present it to chef. After seeing the creativity in some of my classmates designs I'm not sure if fruit platters are my thing...Still fun though =) Enough talking...Picture time!!

My fruit plate

One of Steph's beautiful plates

Steph's other plate

Here is chef looking at all them. Overall he was pleased =)

Zach and chef's donkey

Chef made a donkey out of a watermelon. It was one of the funniest things I've ever seen =)

Pineapple Hat #1

Pineapple Hat #2 (Paige)

Intro to Garde Manger

I am now in the last 10 days of my Block I course!!! So really what that means is for the past two months I've taken three 10 day courses (Intro to Professional Cookery; Stocks, Sauces, and Soups; and Methods of Cooking) and I am finally on my last one; Into to Garde Manger. From what I understand, Garde Manger is the cold section of the kitchen so pates, sausage making, cold appetizers, etc (correct me if I'm wrong please). And who have I been learning all of these amazing things from?! My chef, Chef Frank Chlumsky. (Pictured Below =p )

He really is an amazing and knowledgeable teacher/chef and I know I'm going to miss him (and his mustache) when I'm done with Block I. Anyway! Today was all about eggs. Sunny side up, Poached, Flipped/Over easy, quiche cookery, french omelette folding...we did them all. Nothing crazy exciting but all things I have to learn. Tomorrow: Fruit Cutting!!

Bacon and Swiss Quiche
(Little brown on the one side but still good)

First Post!!

So like I mentioned before, this is really just a place for me to write about my time at Kendall. I figured it would be easier then contently answering the questions, "So how's school?" "What are you learning?!" I hope to blog as often as possible; adding photos, recipes, stories, restaurant reviews, and so on. I hope you all enjoy reading and learning about all the fascinating things I'm doing in school =)