Chef Shane brought on the creativity for us as our final Final was not just an evaluation meal produced as a group from an established menu, but a "Black Box" event wherein we were given the opportunity to freestyle and improvise in a "Chopped" scenario. Chef stocked the refrigerator with various meats, fish, and veggies and we were told to each prepare a dish with entree, starch, vegetable, and sauce. Being the gentleman that I am (I also didn't fully understand the instructions), I waited quietly while Jessica hogged the pork chops, Sandy hooked the mahi mahi, and Van rustled up the beef. That left me with sea bass and/or shrimp. I felt pretty good about both, and finished up 1 1/2 hours or so later with pan-fried sea bass and sauteed lemon/parmesan shrimp with a lightly seasoned julienne vegetable medley (carrot, leek, yellow squash, green beans) that turned out just as I had hoped, colorful and tasty. This with the slightly sweet parsnip puree that I wish I'd put a little more onion into scored me a 15 out of 20. I was unsure if I should be disappointed or happy with that score until I found out that everyone had scored 15, so no big deal either way. The judges were our class administrator, Terry (who you know is a cool guy because he took a cruise to Alaska this fall), and a young dude I learned was a former student that works in a restaurant somewhere, and if girth is any indicator of your ability to judge food, then I have complete faith in his decisions.
We passed our final evaluation and have met all the requirements so I guess that leaves us with only Graduation Day! Arriving right on time and accompanied by my entourage of good friends that were willing to give up a couple hours of their lives, Mel, Patti, and Brandon, I was whisked upstairs to have my tall hat fitted and fill out a very short bio. Sandy arrived about 10 minutes later, thereby allaying the fear that I'd be the only one to show, having been informed by Jessica a few days ago that she wouldn't be attending because she didn't want to make the drive to school that she's been making for a year now. (I know, right?). Terry informed us that we would walk to the podium in alphabetic order. I guess to avoid the two of us getting confused. Then the festivities began and as I predicted there were 12 people there, including the graduates. A couple short speeches, one by our kitchen manager Robin, and one by the school President who I've never seen before, and we were ready for the year's picture montage played on a small screen TV and I noticed something right off...if there are only 3 of you left, you get to be in almost all of the pictures.
So the preliminaries are over, and it's time to trade out our year-old shapeless flat hat for the Tall Hat, The Gros Bonnet. Sandy walks up to Chef Klaus, takes off her mushroom hat, and as Chef puts her hat on her head, it slides down over her eyes and ears. It's about an inch too wide, and won't stay on the top of her head! Now I'm the one that set the size, but she told me when it was snug enough, so we both have to be held accountable for poor Sandy walking around with a hat that came down over her eyes ala Beetle Bailey.
With a nice medal hanging around my neck, a diploma in hand, and a copy of the picture montage in my pocket, my groupies and I then headed to Helena's Hawaiian Restaurant for a celebratory dinner that included some dandy pipikaula ribs and kahlua pig.
Missing on the big night were a few key players in our year of school: Chefs Sigi and Otto and Enju. Chef Sigi's medical issues have, unfortunately, worsened. He is currently in treatment for cancer, and we're hoping he can recover and come back to the kitchen. He did send us his congratulations, though, and I found that to be pretty damned noble, considering. Don't know if I ever mentioned Chef Sigi's background, but he has been the Executive Chef at the Savoy hotel in London, the Biltmore Resort and Spa in Phoenix, the Hilton Waikiki and the Ala Moana Hotel here in Honolulu, and has served as Personal Chef for President Ronald Reagan. When you look him up on Google, he's usually referred to as "Renowned Chef Siegbert Wendler". I'm very proud to have trained under him for even a short time. Enju is going through some home issues and will be coming back to finish her course in the Spring. Chef Otto is off gallivanting around Southeast Asia somewhere.
I was wondering a couple of months ago when I was slacking off and not doing a post every week whether The Innocent would make it to the magical 2000 view plateau and as of last week we did! This week makes post number 43 (has it really been that many?!) with over 2100 views, so I thank you all for your continued interest in my progress and be sure to check back from time to time to see if I can actually make this education work for me. I've gotten some good advice from the folks here at the school, and a couple of former students are doing well working outside of the traditional restaurant environment in catering and cruise ships. Where to go from here? El Paso, Texas. Other than that, I don't know. I'll be in touch.
A FEW MORE QUOTES:
There is a good reason they call these ceremonies "commencement exercises." Graduation is not the end; it's the beginning. ~Orrin Hatch
The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet. ~Aristotle
Things turn out best for the people who make the best out of the way things turn out. ~Art Linkletter
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.
You're on your own.
And you know what you know.
You are the guy who'll decide where to go.~Dr. Seuss
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Three...More...Days...
I have to apologize for the three-week lapse in postings, but the time has...oh...I guess it's only been a week.
*Sigh*...You ever notice how slow time seems to move when you are getting near the end of one thing and are excited to move on to the next? That's where we are right now, and thankfully Chef Shane is keeping us busy with interesting cooking and timely observations as to what we can expect to find when we move into the professional side of our work. I'm thinking I might try a dinner at his restaurant to see how things are in the real world. Don't suppose I'll get a student discount, though.
Our world for the last 11 months has revolved around the Gros Bonnet kitchens and our education in the culinary arts. I've made several references over this time as to our experiences with the facilities, equipment, and personnel here at the school, and this seems a good time to offer up some advice as to how the school can improve it's image and very likely it's enrollment. I will offer up my unsolicited opinions in the spirit of helping to improve what will in four days be my Alma Mater.
1. Buy some new stuff, already! Functionality is the most important aspect of kitchen equipment, I get that. What I don't see is why when something wears out, or is no longer serviceable, it can't be replaced promptly. Keeping a chinois with a hole in the bottom is just silly.
2. Clean it up. I see no reason for the kitchens and entire school area to look like a converted storage unit for closed restaurants. Need some ideas on how to accomplish this? Ask Chef Chad, his Bake Shop is beautiful.
3. Get the students out there. In the past, groups from Gros Bonnet have participated in culinary competitions and demonstrations, so why did you give up on that? Get them involved and keep it interesting.
4. Aim higher in recruiting. Why be satisfied with starting classes of 8 to 12 students (knowing that most will be gone by the third rotation) when with moderate effort and the current popularity of culinary subjects there could be nearly twice that number?
5. If you've got it, flaunt it. One tremendous benefit of being here in Honolulu is the chance to brand your culinary training with the local and Pacific Rim influences that dominate our regional cuisine. I know that being "classically trained" means a focus on older methods and cooking styles, but would it hurt to switch that horrible week of aspic and pate' for a week of Asian style or even Hawaii-specific foods? Most people attending this school remain in Hawaii and will be working here, and as a guy that is moving away after the course is over, I fully intend to use as much of this local flavor as I can no matter where I end up.
6. Keep your faculty intact. Chefs Klaus, Sigi, Shane, Chad, and Masa (despite the communication gap) are all excellent teachers in their own way. Keep them motivated, let them hold to their standards, and for Gods sake, get them the supplies and ingredients that they ask for. With the experience and information these teachers are able to offer, the students will learn as much or as little as they are willing to learn.
I have great respect for the Chefs, management, and staff at the school and offer these comments in the spirit of constructive criticism. I am no expert in The Industry, but with a few years background in sales, marketing, and training I feel like this school is just cruising in low gear when it could be reaching for more.
Just a short blog for this week, as I'm saving up material for the big After Graduation Special Edition of The Innocent. Anyone here on Island that would like to attend the graduation ceremony, here are the particulars:
Thursday, December 15th, 2011 at 6 P.M.
Gros Bonnet School and Kitchens
1431 S. Beretania Street Honolulu
PH: (808) 591-2708
As there is limited parking at the school, please try to arrive a few minutes early. Really, though, parking shouldn't be too bad as there are only a few of us left to graduate.
*Sigh*...You ever notice how slow time seems to move when you are getting near the end of one thing and are excited to move on to the next? That's where we are right now, and thankfully Chef Shane is keeping us busy with interesting cooking and timely observations as to what we can expect to find when we move into the professional side of our work. I'm thinking I might try a dinner at his restaurant to see how things are in the real world. Don't suppose I'll get a student discount, though.
Our world for the last 11 months has revolved around the Gros Bonnet kitchens and our education in the culinary arts. I've made several references over this time as to our experiences with the facilities, equipment, and personnel here at the school, and this seems a good time to offer up some advice as to how the school can improve it's image and very likely it's enrollment. I will offer up my unsolicited opinions in the spirit of helping to improve what will in four days be my Alma Mater.
1. Buy some new stuff, already! Functionality is the most important aspect of kitchen equipment, I get that. What I don't see is why when something wears out, or is no longer serviceable, it can't be replaced promptly. Keeping a chinois with a hole in the bottom is just silly.
2. Clean it up. I see no reason for the kitchens and entire school area to look like a converted storage unit for closed restaurants. Need some ideas on how to accomplish this? Ask Chef Chad, his Bake Shop is beautiful.
3. Get the students out there. In the past, groups from Gros Bonnet have participated in culinary competitions and demonstrations, so why did you give up on that? Get them involved and keep it interesting.
4. Aim higher in recruiting. Why be satisfied with starting classes of 8 to 12 students (knowing that most will be gone by the third rotation) when with moderate effort and the current popularity of culinary subjects there could be nearly twice that number?
5. If you've got it, flaunt it. One tremendous benefit of being here in Honolulu is the chance to brand your culinary training with the local and Pacific Rim influences that dominate our regional cuisine. I know that being "classically trained" means a focus on older methods and cooking styles, but would it hurt to switch that horrible week of aspic and pate' for a week of Asian style or even Hawaii-specific foods? Most people attending this school remain in Hawaii and will be working here, and as a guy that is moving away after the course is over, I fully intend to use as much of this local flavor as I can no matter where I end up.
6. Keep your faculty intact. Chefs Klaus, Sigi, Shane, Chad, and Masa (despite the communication gap) are all excellent teachers in their own way. Keep them motivated, let them hold to their standards, and for Gods sake, get them the supplies and ingredients that they ask for. With the experience and information these teachers are able to offer, the students will learn as much or as little as they are willing to learn.
I have great respect for the Chefs, management, and staff at the school and offer these comments in the spirit of constructive criticism. I am no expert in The Industry, but with a few years background in sales, marketing, and training I feel like this school is just cruising in low gear when it could be reaching for more.
Just a short blog for this week, as I'm saving up material for the big After Graduation Special Edition of The Innocent. Anyone here on Island that would like to attend the graduation ceremony, here are the particulars:
Thursday, December 15th, 2011 at 6 P.M.
Gros Bonnet School and Kitchens
1431 S. Beretania Street Honolulu
PH: (808) 591-2708
As there is limited parking at the school, please try to arrive a few minutes early. Really, though, parking shouldn't be too bad as there are only a few of us left to graduate.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Testing, Testing...1,2,3
Well, we waited and we wondered. We talked with the other classes and got their opinions. Now, after a week in the kitchen with our new Chef Instructor, the truth has come out: Chef Shane is pretty cool. And not just cool like all of us with names that end in -ANE are cool. He's a calm, soft-spoken man with an impressive bank of knowledge and many years of experience in the food service industry. A Hawaii native, he started in restaurants at the tender age of 16, attended culinary school in Portland, Oregon, and in addition to our classes at Gros Bonnet, he runs the kitchen at a popular restaurant in town. I guess the most pleasant aspect of his cooking style to me is the Pacific Rim influence that he brings to most of our dishes. Lots of fresh herbs (some of which we harvest right outside the door) and bright flavors. Citrus, ginger, lemongrass, and rosemary have gotten a lot of attention this week with some really delicious results.
Chef Shane's teaching style is just what the doctor ordered for our little trio (yes, three...more on that later). He puts our daily production recipes on a large board so we have all the specifics without having to spend 30 minutes trying to copy it from verbal instructions. Some of the sauce recipes in particular are pretty complex and it would be tough to get the sequence and process right without a reference. We are free to copy down the recipes at the end of the day (and I do), which works out perfectly for that little sit and relax time after a good meal...which they have all been so far. Let's see, what else? He was apparently a pretty impressive Little League baseball player back in the day and he drives one of those little low-down cars that have a wing on the back and a muffler that sounds like a lawn mower. All in all, we are pretty pleased.
Our thoughts have gone from wondering to mild concern to full on worry about our good friend Enju. We haven't seen her since the first week of Chef Chad's Bake Shop, which makes three weeks now that she has been out of school. Despite repeated attempts to reach her, she has thus far been incommunicado, so we'll just have to hope she's alright and able to make up the lost school time in the future. It's a shame that after toughing it out for 10 months her completion of this course will likely be delayed. And not just a shame for her, but for all of us because she's a good classmate and friend and we like her and it'll suck if we can't all graduate together.
Our dishes this week have centered around braising and the incorporation of our seasoned braising liquid into sauces to augment the dish. The sauces have been pretty incredible, using various methods involving steeping, infusing, de-glazing and reductions that keep the flavors drawn from the meats and vegetables being cooked in the sauce. We've also used a few very local items such as taro and long rice noodles to interesting and tasty effect. I have to grade this week an "A".
So we were briefed (briefly) about the events of our Graduation Night. Thursday, December 15th at 6:00 P.M. the Gros Bonnet class 12-2011 will hold our ceremony. This will take place at our main school building which will be transformed via the magic of the moment, drapes covering the ugly stuff, and rearranged furniture into a commencement hall that should be able to accomodate the estimated 12 people that will be attending. And in that 12 I included the three students that are graduating. And the faculty.
Actually, there will be the some family there, friends that have suffered with us, and the odd boyfriend or two, so I suppose it will be a pretty well-attended event. We'll also be joined by a couple of Advanced Patisserie students finishing school that same week.
A common topic for discussion is the amount of actual learning we have been doing over the course of this course. I usually have a pretty fair idea of what I do or don't know, but as all the lessons, examples, demonstrations, and practice have started to blend together into what sometimes seems like a ten-month haze, it is difficult to say "I learned THIS..." or "I learned THAT..."
I have learned a lot and I know this because I tested myself. Our textbook, which is ridiculously overpriced and far inferior to other text available (specifically, the CIA-published text "The Professional Chef") comes with a DVD that provides videos of almost every procedure we've worked on and an area for testing your knowlege through numerous quizzes, matching excercises, and product identification tests. The first day that I had this video in hand I ran through the first level (there are 3 total) of testing just to see where I stood. I did...OK, getting the right answer to roughly 1/2 of the first level questions. This last week I found that the DVD is still in my computer drive (guess I don't use that drive much) so I sat down and worked my way through the entire testing portion.
And I did great.
Kitchen equipment, ingredients, history of cuisines, food origins, cuts of meat, spices and herbs, cooking science, identification of vegetables, fruits, seafood, and herbs, and about a dozen other subjects are covered and I can say with all the modesty that my substantial ego allows that I pretty much knocked them out of the park at all levels of the testing. I don't tell you this to show how awesome I am (you should know that by now), but to say that while the course can at times be mind-numbing and the materials and facilities (far) below expectations, the learning is very real and barring some cosmic meltdown in the next ten days I will come away having learned what I came here hoping to learn. Next week we'll discuss some things this school could easily do to improve, stay tuned.
Interesting Quotes I Found:
I thank Thee first because I was never robbed before; second, because although they took my purse they did not take my life; third, because although they took my all, it was not much; and fourth because it was I who was robbed, and not I who robbed. ~Matthew Henry
For the human mind is seldom at stay: If you do not grow better, you will most undoubtedly grow worse. ~Samuel Richardson
YOU WILL GAIN WEIGHT
"I beg to differ, I say to the world right now - I will lose weight!" - This is quoted from my very first post of
The Innocent, and I was RIGHT - I now weigh 11 pounds less than the day the course started!
Chef Shane's teaching style is just what the doctor ordered for our little trio (yes, three...more on that later). He puts our daily production recipes on a large board so we have all the specifics without having to spend 30 minutes trying to copy it from verbal instructions. Some of the sauce recipes in particular are pretty complex and it would be tough to get the sequence and process right without a reference. We are free to copy down the recipes at the end of the day (and I do), which works out perfectly for that little sit and relax time after a good meal...which they have all been so far. Let's see, what else? He was apparently a pretty impressive Little League baseball player back in the day and he drives one of those little low-down cars that have a wing on the back and a muffler that sounds like a lawn mower. All in all, we are pretty pleased.
Our thoughts have gone from wondering to mild concern to full on worry about our good friend Enju. We haven't seen her since the first week of Chef Chad's Bake Shop, which makes three weeks now that she has been out of school. Despite repeated attempts to reach her, she has thus far been incommunicado, so we'll just have to hope she's alright and able to make up the lost school time in the future. It's a shame that after toughing it out for 10 months her completion of this course will likely be delayed. And not just a shame for her, but for all of us because she's a good classmate and friend and we like her and it'll suck if we can't all graduate together.
Our dishes this week have centered around braising and the incorporation of our seasoned braising liquid into sauces to augment the dish. The sauces have been pretty incredible, using various methods involving steeping, infusing, de-glazing and reductions that keep the flavors drawn from the meats and vegetables being cooked in the sauce. We've also used a few very local items such as taro and long rice noodles to interesting and tasty effect. I have to grade this week an "A".
So we were briefed (briefly) about the events of our Graduation Night. Thursday, December 15th at 6:00 P.M. the Gros Bonnet class 12-2011 will hold our ceremony. This will take place at our main school building which will be transformed via the magic of the moment, drapes covering the ugly stuff, and rearranged furniture into a commencement hall that should be able to accomodate the estimated 12 people that will be attending. And in that 12 I included the three students that are graduating. And the faculty.
Actually, there will be the some family there, friends that have suffered with us, and the odd boyfriend or two, so I suppose it will be a pretty well-attended event. We'll also be joined by a couple of Advanced Patisserie students finishing school that same week.
A common topic for discussion is the amount of actual learning we have been doing over the course of this course. I usually have a pretty fair idea of what I do or don't know, but as all the lessons, examples, demonstrations, and practice have started to blend together into what sometimes seems like a ten-month haze, it is difficult to say "I learned THIS..." or "I learned THAT..."
I have learned a lot and I know this because I tested myself. Our textbook, which is ridiculously overpriced and far inferior to other text available (specifically, the CIA-published text "The Professional Chef") comes with a DVD that provides videos of almost every procedure we've worked on and an area for testing your knowlege through numerous quizzes, matching excercises, and product identification tests. The first day that I had this video in hand I ran through the first level (there are 3 total) of testing just to see where I stood. I did...OK, getting the right answer to roughly 1/2 of the first level questions. This last week I found that the DVD is still in my computer drive (guess I don't use that drive much) so I sat down and worked my way through the entire testing portion.
And I did great.
Kitchen equipment, ingredients, history of cuisines, food origins, cuts of meat, spices and herbs, cooking science, identification of vegetables, fruits, seafood, and herbs, and about a dozen other subjects are covered and I can say with all the modesty that my substantial ego allows that I pretty much knocked them out of the park at all levels of the testing. I don't tell you this to show how awesome I am (you should know that by now), but to say that while the course can at times be mind-numbing and the materials and facilities (far) below expectations, the learning is very real and barring some cosmic meltdown in the next ten days I will come away having learned what I came here hoping to learn. Next week we'll discuss some things this school could easily do to improve, stay tuned.
Interesting Quotes I Found:
I thank Thee first because I was never robbed before; second, because although they took my purse they did not take my life; third, because although they took my all, it was not much; and fourth because it was I who was robbed, and not I who robbed. ~Matthew Henry
For the human mind is seldom at stay: If you do not grow better, you will most undoubtedly grow worse. ~Samuel Richardson
YOU WILL GAIN WEIGHT
"I beg to differ, I say to the world right now - I will lose weight!" - This is quoted from my very first post of
The Innocent, and I was RIGHT - I now weigh 11 pounds less than the day the course started!
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