tourneandtomatoes-blog

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Practical Final

Today was the last lab for CULA 111. They had there final practical today and I wanted to see who has improved the most since the first class day. The students were assigned a recipe and were given a few minutes to write that recipe down from memory. They then had to cook that recipe and present it to Chef Randy.

Some of the students writing down their recipes.

Michael presenting his poached chicken to Chef Randy.

Overall everyone did a great job. I am so proud of this class, it was an honor to be there TA.

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Breakfast Day

Breakfast day is one of the biggest days in CULA 111. It is the day of the big breakfast buffet. This day is not just popular among the culinary students but there are even people in other majors that look forward to breakfast day. All of the students did an amazing job today! Every dish was delicious and they worked very well with each other. They worked clean and they worked fast.

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Etoufee day

The class learned the basics on how to make the perfect roux today. They learned about the different types of roux and when they are needed. Today the first blockers had to make shrimp etoufee and a few of them were worried about the color of their roux and how the etoufee tasted. One student was worried because her etoufee did not taste exactly like Chef Randy's but she received a 95 for her etoufee. The students have gotten better at cleaning up. I noticed that more of them are cleaning as they go \.

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Stewing

Today the students were tested on some of their knife skills, the most difficult one being the tourne. They had to tourne some potatoes for the pork stew they had to cook today and I noticed that some of them really struggled with it which put them behind. They had to work in teams of two and I noticed how well certain people work together. For example, Krista and Michael worked great together, they kept an open line of communication and they worked really fast. I also noticed that some people had to carry others, especially those that struggled with the tourne.

Chef Randy's Pork Stew

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Braised Chicken and Mushrooms

This was one of my favorite dishes to make with I was in first block and I was so excited about watching the students make it today. Everyone did a great job on their dishes. Fallon let me taste her gluten free version and it was delicious, it looked and almost tasted just like the original recipe.

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Week 6

Roasted Chicken was on the menu today in CULA 111. The students learned the art of roasting chicken, they also made a salad and cheese crustinis to go along with the chicken. Everyone's roasted chicken turned out great. Some had a problem with trussing the chicken but eventually they figured it out.

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Week 5

Today was one of my favorite days being a TA. The first blockers learned about deep frying and they had to make Creamy Bang Bang Shrimp. The Shrimp was delicious! Everyone did a great job on their dishes and I even noticed that they were working a little faster than usual. I can that some of the students are growing stronger and improving.

Creamy Bang Bang Shrimp on a bed of Hydroponic Bibb Lettuce

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Week 4

This week the first blockers learned about poaching by cooking poached chicken with a tarragon cream sauce. Today I noticed a few improvements. Some of the students are trying to work a little cleaner and work a little faster.

The major problem would come when it was time to clean at the ebd of class. We had a few students try to leave early and I had to correct them and let them know they were not finished with whatever task was given to them by the chef of the day. I hope these students can work on helping each other while they clean too. I suggested that they help out by putting up dishes once they are done with the task they were given.

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Week 3: Steaming

The first blockers learned how the technique of steaming Salmon today and they had there f\second knife skills test. This knife skills test is a little more difficult then the one they had before. They had to julienne, brunoise, batonette, and small dice a potato. Then they had to give Chef Randy some rondells from a carrot. I could definitely tell who practiced their knife skills and who did not. Some of them were speeding through this knife skills test while others were kind of struggling. Hopefully they will realize how important it is to practice!

This is what is used to determine if the students product is the right length and width. Many students use this while they are practicing their knife skills.

This is the final product of Michael's knife skills test. He received an A for his work. 

After they were done With the Knife Skills test chef Randy did a demo on the technique of steaming. Today they were steaming Salmon. He also showed them how to make a vinaigrette.

Michael plating his steamed Salmon with lemon vinaigrette and green beans.

Something I have been noticing is that some of these students need to work on being clean. I have been trying to stress how important it is to clean as they go but it kind of feels like they were not listening to me when i said it. The dish sink was very full and once again I told them that if they clean as they go they would get out of class earlier. .

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Week 2: Grilling

Today the first blockers learned about the technique of grilling and how to get those perfect grill marks on a product.

On today I few of the students stood out to me. These students in particular work fast and are really clean. Fallon, Ethan, and Michael are three of the best students in the class so far.

Michael's finished plating. A grilled porkchop over Chef's Randy's creamy, buttery mashed potatoes.

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Day 1

I was so excited to start my first day as a TA for CULA 111. It gives me a chance to not only learn what it means to truly help and lead someone else but I also get to watch the new freshman class learn and grow. It makes me think about when I was a student in first block. On this day the students were learning about sauteing and Chef Randy did a demo on Chicken Saute and some of the knife skills they needed to learn. 

Chef Randy telling the students to "respect their knives." Basically he was telling them to take care of their knives, realize that it is sharp, it can cut them, and to make sure they put duct tape on their knives so they can distinguish their knives from other students'.

Michael's finished plating of Chicken Saute. The chicken saute consists of chicken breasts seasoned with salt, pepper, granulated garlic, and dusted with all purpose flour. The sauce  for chicken saute is made of chicken stock, chopped onions, concasse tomatoes, minced garlic, chiffonade basil, atop of a bed of angel hair pasta. 

One of the the students named Fallen made a gluten-free Chicken Saute because she has Celiac disease. She used a gluten free flour and served her Chicken Saute over a bed of gluten free pasta.