Things I learned in culinary school
July 23rd, 2008, by Francesca
Time to start distilling some culinary wisdom from my first three months in school. Here I pass onto you a few of my discoveries.
- Whole wheat dinner rolls freeze and reheat extremely well.
- So do Danish and croissants.
- I can freeze food even after it's been licked by Pipie. If I don't have antibodies by now, I shouldn't be living with cats anyway.
- Beignets are not bignè.
- I hate the American measuring system even more than I thought I did. If NASA scientits couldn't get conversions right, why should I bother? BTW, may I interest Mr. Gore to propose a 6-month conversion-to-metric plan in addition to his other inconvenient proposal?
- Laminated dough does not, repeat NOT, like LA summer weather in a baking kitchen with 32 people, several deck ovens, convection ovens, stoves and proofing boxes, and broken air conditioning.
- You can go in the walk-in refrigerator and scream without anyone in class hearing you.
- After a few hours in a hot kitchen trying to roll laminated dough while your butter is oozing every which way, screaming in the walk-in can be a Very Good Thing (TM).
- I don't like rye bread.
- There are always at least three ways to do anything.
- There are three ways to incorporate a butter block into a dough (or a beurrage into a détrempe). En pointe and clover leaf work best if you are in a hurry, but if you need to relieve tension, go for the rolling pin method (the proper term escapes me) and whack the hell out of your butter block.
- Some people have never heard of Battlestar Galactica.
- Most students and many instructors smoke.
- Half the people at school have visible tattoos.
- Dental floss is your friend. My non-cinnamon rolls had the best cuts in class, cuz everyone else used butcher's twine to cut theirs. I knew all the flossing would do me good in the end.
- Read the recipe.
- Read the recipe again.
- Read the re.ci.pe. "3oz eggs" does not mean 3 eggs.
4 Responses to “Things I learned in culinary school”
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July 23rd, 2008 at 10:12 AM Inquiring minds want to know, did Pipie get a piece of the croissant? I must go cook lunch your photos are making me to hungry.
July 23rd, 2008 at 02:22 PM Beignets or bignè, those look delicious. And I know what you mean about the measuring system - everything is a bear to convert.
July 24th, 2008 at 04:35 AM I still like the walk in refrigerator scream best. Can I come over and try it? I really needed it this week LOL (plus starting with a new shoulder specialist, ouch!)
August 4th, 2008 at 03:28 PM Isn't our measuring system silly? President Jimmy Carter tried to get people to change back in the late 1970s, but people just ignored it and it never stuck. I wish I had a walk-in refrigerator to have a good scream in. I could use some really good scream therapy these days.