Culinary School, Day One:
I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but I was ready for anything. I was dressed in whites and my uncomfortably new kitchen shoes. My bag of knives was heavy and I was still unsure how to properly tie this neckerchief. I was getting myself psyched up by listing to my I-pod, and I was ready to face the day ahead. It was a cool summer morning when I walked from my downtown apartment to the bus stop.The city looked different at 5:10 am, it was quiet and I felt like the only person alive. I waited for a few minutes for the bus, then got on with a few other students, and was one step closer to my dream.
I arrived at school early, as always, found my locker, found my classroom, and waited. I was waiting in anticipation to meet my Chef. It was like I was a nervous preteen waiting for my first date to arrive and take me to the school dance. Well to be honest this was the man I would spend 6 hours a day with for the next 10 weeks so I guess it was acceptable to be nervous. "What if he was like Gordon Ramsey?", I kept thinking to myself . "Oh well I'm in Hell's Kitchen now, there is no turning back" I thought. Finally at exactly 6:30 Chef arrived, and I couldn't have been more relieved. He seemed nice and wise, sort of like the Dumbledore to my Harry. I was intimidated but not scared out of my mind. I wanted to impress him and make him proud to be my Chef.
Chef Chlumsky has taught me more than any teacher has ever taught me. From him I learned about life, cooking, the restaurant world, and most importantly, pursuing my dreams. Chef talked about passion those first few days of class, and that idea about being passionate when it comes to food, has stuck with me ever since. He said, "You have to live it and love it to make a living of it." and those are defiantly words to live by in the kitchen.
So lecture on day one was all about getting to know your knives, sanitation in the kitchen, the temperature danger zone, and kitchen safety. The whole class I was feverishly writing notes as if every word that came out of Chef's mouth was pure gold. Here are somethings that are extremely important for all the baby Chefs, myself included, to know:
The Temperature Danger Zone is basically this: Keep hot foods hot and cold food colds. (Foods should not be 40-140 degrees because those temperatures are a breeding ground for bacteria)
As for kitchen safety just know these key concepts:
1) When walking with a knife always point the blade down.
2) When behind someone, especially if you have food in your hands, warn them by saying "Behind you."
3) Always assume that a pot or pan is hot. Use a DRY towel to grab anything that is hot.
My advice to you is, familiarize yourself with the kitchen your working in. This is one of the most important things you can do because it can help you work faster and cleaner. If you went blind in some freak cooking accident, you should still know where everything is. It should be a snap to find everything from the mise bowls to the three compartment sink. You get the idea, know where things are and if you don't just ask. The less time wandering around looking for the salad spinner the better.
The lecture component ended after about a half hour. Then, we got a break for breakfast before our actual kitchen portion began. Breakfast in the cafe included an assortment of fresh fruit, eggs, bacon, hash browns, oatmeal, and various other breakfast food. The half hour seemed to fly by and before I knew it I was in the kitchen learning a thousand different ways to slice, dice, and chop a potato, carrot and onion. Knife skills are the thing to practice practice practice especially for new chefs. Employers want to know that you are confident with that large blade. It's frustrating at first I know, but once you know how to do it you will use it for the rest of your culinary life.
So you still might be wondering, "What does Mise En Place have to do with cooking or kitchen life?" Well, I was about to find out that Mise En Place wasn't just a French saying, it wasn't a secret password, and it wasn't a magic spell.
Mise En Place was a way of life.
