culinary school flashback: week 3 in review
What do you guys think so far? Has it been fun looking back at my journey of the first few weeks of culinary school?
It’s been really nice for me to look back on that time! It’s also been making me super hungry, looking at all these food pictures 😋.
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week three in review
Week three of culinary school was packed! I learned how to make 20 new dishes! 20!! Some of these included how to poach an egg, roast a whole chicken, create caramel, make a variety of doughs (including crepe dough), cook an omelet, and fillet an entire flounder.
Check out some photos from the week:
This week was not only packed with menu items, but also stressful days in the kitchen. The class of 23 is typically split into different teams each day: 7 teams of 3 students and 1 team of 2 students. The team of 2 is assigned to a prep table, table 8, that is much smaller than the others. Teams are chosen at random and, as my luck would have it, I typically get assigned to the team of 2.
It has gotten to the point where my classmates now just assume that my name will be called for table 8.
Timing also proved to be a challenge. With one less set of hands and only 2 ½ hours to make lunch, we didn’t really have the luxury of time on our side. This of course left me feeling a bit stressed getting lunch out the door on time. In the end, we always pulled together and got the meal done. Once lunch is served, I always feel great about the final product.
Over the last three weeks, I have tried to remain positive about my tough luck. I need to work harder and faster in order create the same number of dishes as the larger teams. While difficult, I have enjoyed rising to the occasion. I am learning how to take that stress and channel it into positive energy, not letting it fluster me. This is easier said than done!
This upcoming week will be another busy one. Not only will we keep piling on new recipes (and be expected to remember all the previous ones), but we also have our first exam on Thursday. So today, I am practicing LA PATE SUCREE (sweet dough) and SWEET CUSTARD (steeped with cinnamon) to make an apple tart, using the apples D and I picked yesterday.
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Oh gosh, I had forgotten about Table 8! haha! At the time I really did look at it as tough luck, but it really made me put my head down and hustle. And being a team of two, prepping a 3 course meal, really is nothing compared to prepping and working a station in a restaurant. I have a few posts about that coming up during my externship time.