Week 24: Culinary Curtain Call

The final moments of my time at the Kitchen Academy have now been successfully capped off!  It has been an amazing 120 days, 600 hours, and 12,000 mouth-watering moans!  Last week was one of our last introductions to a classic international food style. We had a Mediterranean buffet! I was in charge of the falafel station.  I made close to 500 falafel balls for the event.  It was especially interesting as it reminded me of the first job I ever had after moving to the US.  I was a falafel cook at Amir’s Falafel and would spend hours a day frying up those Middle Eastern staples.  I found it funny and amazing how things tend to circle back.  Here I am, and the trail end of culinary school, and still making falafel balls!

This last week of school has been fairly smooth and easy.  It started off with a visit from Chef Rick Jones who was substituting for our regular instructor.  This was really great because we all really missed him.  We spent the whole day on Monday learning to make sushi.  Obviously you can’t really learn to make sushi in one day- its an immense world in and of itself.  But it was still a lot of fun, exploring our creativity through an ancient food art. 

After our sushi day we got ready for our tasting menu event set for later in the week. All of Tuesday was spent prepping.  Robert was my partner for our particular dish contribution (salmon rolls).  We made all the fillings, rolled the rolls, and made the complimentary guava sauce.  All we had to do when we got in on Wednesday was set up and fire!  The kitchen was set up just like a restaurant, complete with inviting decor.  The 1st day of the tasting menu had me working in the back of the kitchen.  It was very stressful, as I had to create about 40 plates in a half hour.  Every plate had to look identical and served warm.  It worked out quite well, though I didn’t really enjoy the pressure of it all.  The experience also reiterated the fact that I don’t have much interest in working in a restaurant as a cook.  Some people can thrive on that kitchen pressure but I know its not for me.  On the second day of the tasting menu event I worked in the front of the house as the host, seating people and organizing the dining room. 

Our final task as a class was cooking lunch for the graduating group and their guests.  The school set the menu so all we had to do was prep, cook, and serve.  The 2nd class was in charge of cleaning up, which was a great perk.  I don’t think many of us wanted to spend the last day of school cleaning up. 

Overall it has been an incredible experience.  I’m so pleased that I went through with it.  I feel so much more enlightened, stronger, and smarter.  I know that these skills will stay with me for the rest of my life.  Next comes my 6 weeks of the externship where I will apply my knowledge into the outside world.

Comments

[Jim]

Hey, does anyone know where I can purchase used textbooks from KA?

[Colleen Wainwright]

Amir's!?! That *is* an auspicious beginning! Best falafel in the Valley (I was also partial to Falafel King in Westwood, back in the day).

Congrats on finishing Phase I of Total Culinary Domination. Look forward to the expansion of the empire.

[tami]

אהובה'לה
את נראית נהדר
פלג,
התמונה עם ה
Master
אומרת הכל
אוהבת אותכם
כל הכבוד לשניכם

[Carla]

Nooooo! It was all over too fast for us!
I'm going to miss your wonderful pictures and fun school stories.

Please,please, keep us updated whith how things are going at your new job.

*sobs*

[Martha Rich]

Congrats Peleg!!!

I want some of those crispy salmon rolls!!!!

[Donna]

This is a kitchen which is part of a big company known for assertive recruitment practices, right? Are they interested in us as potential chefs or just our money?

[culinary artschool]

The pastry arts Culinary Schools provide the knowledge of pastry and bakery products preparation. The expert chefs and bakers teach wide ranges of pastry preparation. The pastries are prepared from flour, eggs, shortening, butter, and dough.

http://www.culinaryschoolsprograms.com/