Mission: Impossible

The good news is: Operation Flute is underway. The bad news? Well, fluted mushrooms look like this:

And, you know, I'm having trouble with the fluting of the mushrooms:

But it's all good. I'll get there.

We also tried this cut called Tourne, or "turned" vegetables, which shapes the vegetables into a 6 or 7 sided football-styled shape. It's a tough one, I think I'll be able to get it, but because it wasn't presented to us as a cut that only one person in the class will be able to do by the end of the summer, it's just not high on my list of goals. And I have goals, people. Real goals. Like fluting mushrooms, for one.

Cutting an onion: how basic. I'd say I'm pretty good at cutting onions. Today I learned that I've been cutting onions the wrong way for years. The practical difference? Probably not much. Chopped onions looked like chopped onions, don't they? Chef says after you peel the onion, when you cut your onion in half, you cut right through the root. I always sliced it the other way so that I could slice rings and then cut the rings into half moons. I'm told it's not efficient. Oops.

Tip of the day: Wood is the best surface to use for cutting. Your knife strokes will be smooth and the wood won't dull your knives. However, wood boards get tiny scratches. These grooves can be a trap for bacteria. For this reason, NEVER cut raw poultry on your wooden boards. Make sure you wash your wooden boards well. Composite boards are made from phenolic resins and a combination of wood fibers. This type of board is a better choice when dealing with raw meats and poultry. 

Knife skillz

Today was my first day and I survived! Okay, really tomorrow probably counts as my first day. Today was an orientation type of day, reviewing the syllabus and calendar, touring the facility, getting an explanation of the difference between a slotted spoon and a perforated spoon. And in case all of y'all thought there was no difference, you're wrong. All of you. They are different, to some extent.

There are 7 of us in the class, and from what it seems, 6 of the students are interested in pursuing a culinary career. That being said, it seems as though we are all currently on the same knowledge/skill level even though our goals are different.

Chef is our teacher. Well, that's just what we'll call him. He has clearly oriented many a class before and is repeating, what I can only imagine, is a monologue he has had memorized for years. Chef tells us that we'll be getting our coats in the next couple of weeks, and that we'll each be receiving a set of knives. He also tells us that we can come up with some sort of symbol that they will etch onto our knives in order to differentiate between them after they are washed. Just a simple sign, probably something with my initials, but not only my initials, you know? Anyone have any ideas? This is not my forte, but I have a feeling that somebody reading this may be better equipped to handle this.

Chef seems like a kitchen cowboy. But not in the way that it sounds. He tells us that knives can be super dangerous, and that deep cuts can hurt. Yeah. He then shows us different types of knives and becomes so cavalier in tossing them on the table in front of us. Throwing. Knives.

"Who can tell me the most dangerous tool in the kitchen?"

Fire? No. Knives? No.

A massive can of tomatoes. It's called a 10-can. And he threw it (shockingly) on the table and it fell on the floor. And if it falls on your foot, you're out of commission for 6 months. So... beware of the cans.

We finally get our hands on some knives. Chef explains the basics of sharpening and cutting, starting from simply how to hold the knife. He also asks if anyone is a lefty; one hand goes up. He then makes a mishaberach for her, and tells her that hopefully by the end of the class she'll be a righty. I don't really understand why, but it seems like lefties have a harder time cutting than righties. Sorry lefties.

Then we get into some cutting. Chef tells us that when we are "precision cutting," all cuts need to be uniform in shape and size. Unevenly cut items can give an impression of carelessness and they also allow for uneven cooking. We practiced a few different cuts today:

Supreme- After using a chef's knife to peel a citrus (we used lemons and oranges), we used a paring knife to cut along each side of the membrane that divides the orange (or lemon) segments. The end result should be slices of citrus that have no peel or white membrane on it. For the record, oranges are supremely easier to cut than lemons. (See what I did there?)

Batonnet- This cut we practiced with a carrot. Cutting a round vegetable is very hard, since it keeps rolling around. Chef told us to slice off on thin slice so that the carrot can rest on the flat side and no longer rolls around the cutting board. For batonnet cuts (which look like sticks), are 1/4 x 1/4 x 2 inches. Difficulty level: Hard. 

Julienne- Also stick-like, are, get this, 1/8 x 1/8 x 2 inches. Difficulty level: Harder. 

Brunoise- Then, you guys, we were to cut the julienne sticks into cubes which are 1/8 x 1/8 x 1/8 inches. Each cube has to be exact. Like, we had rulers out. Difficulty level: Chef? Please. 

Okay guys, also, there's this thing that Chef showed us, it's called fluting a mushroom, and it's apparently a really hard cut. Chef says that only 1 of us will be able to flute a mushroom by the end of the summer. It's just for a garnish, but it has to be me. And this is where it begins: Operation Flute.

We're going to be continuing knife skills and techniques for the next couple of days, so beware of more posts like this one. But fret not, you will be well informed of my progress in Operation Flute.

Tip of the day: When using a cutting board, utilize the bottom 1/4th of the board that's closest to you. This is the "power zone." Pull the board to the edge of your counter and cut on the bottom 1/4th of the board. This way, your wrist won't be hitting down on the board with every cut; it'll be floating, and your cuts will be smoother. 

On the eve of my first day...

Hi all! Thanks for being here! Please, please, contain your excitement.

As most of you know, I've decided to take the summer off from my job as a speech therapist and focus more on what I absolutely love to learn more about: chefness. Don't worry, Ampark, I have no plans of a career change (immediate or eventual); this is purely an endeavor to explore and develop a hobby.

I'm always looking up new recipes, new techniques to try out on my shabbos guinea pigs, and I super enjoy playing around in the kitchen with new ideas. This interest of mine may sometimes manifest itself in my reading entire cookbooks aloud, Instagram food tags, and/or Wednesday night cooking lessons. I don't apologize for it. I'll keep reading recipes out loud, even if you don't want to hear it.

And so, I applied to the Center for Kosher Culinary Arts for the summer semester, and I am pumped! (Mainly pumped for the chef's coat). This is an 8 week, intensive full-time program that will help me develop my technique in the kitchen, flavor profiles, and just general culinary knowledge. Also, I'm freaking out a little. This isn't just playing around in the kitchen, testing out new ideas and recipes. I fear it'll be a bit more intense than I had thought, but I guess we'll find out more about that tomorrow.

So, bear with me, please, as I use this blog to share, vent, and freak out about my time in the kitchen.

I'll try to post a few times throughout the week, maybe upload some pictures of my dishes, and obviously, shots of me in a chef's coat. Because let's face it, that's really what I'm here for. Isn't that what you're here for?