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Culinary School Test

Written by Becky

I think the only thing that has possibly prepared me for my short stint in culinary school is this… being a mom.  You may think the comparison strange but let me explain. Being in a professional kitchen is non stop, though joyous as it may be, the work never ends, it’s fast paced and if you don’t keep up, something bad may occur. Caffeine is required, not optional. There are no sick days and being late is unacceptable. My toddler doesn’t allow tardiness in much of anything: meal time, wake up time, bath time etc etc. Same goes for the kitchen, you simple must be present and the work must get done.

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This week we had a few tests. I studied by candlelight as I put my little guy to sleep and in the mornings, studied some more as I fed him and got him ready for the day. We were tested on everything from perfectly baking and icing cakes and filling profiteroles to practicing perfect knife skills.  And we even had a written test over all of the tricks of the trade in baking and pastry. What I thought I knew last week is now really imprinted in my brain.

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The last day of our week we had no tests but continued the fast paced learning, taking in lots of info about moist heat methods as we shallow poached fish, steamed fish in parchment, and steamed savory dashi custards.  I’ll definitely be eating more fish after this class.

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I promised myself I’d still have fun even on the more stressful test days and I did.  I enjoyed piping out every little profiterole and delicately arranging the fruit on my tart.  And at the end of our days of test taking I was just as tired as I am when I’m at home with my boy. Both are all fun and require all of my energy!

Culinary School Tips for the week:

When making quiche use a half milk and half cream with your eggs for the best consistency.

All pie crusts for fruit pies to quiche should be blind baked (or pre baked) before you fill them.

Timing is everything when dealing with any kind of meringue, mousse, or soufflé … make sure your oven is preheated and everything is ready to go when you get to the step of folding in egg whites.

After searing, never cook fish over 300 degrees.

Ground spices are far more strong than fresh because they are dehydrated and concentrated. Its best to start a dish with ground spices and finish with fresh.

Blanching is great for retaining color in vegetables and for partial cooking.

Never store greens in a metal container because the metal gets too cold and quickly bruises the greens.

If you’re interested in taking on a culinary school journey like this one, now is the time to enroll! If you sign up for Park City Culinary Institute’s summer program now, you can earn a free dinner for two at French Laundry or another fabulous restaurant, plus two nights in a great hotel so you can enjoy it.

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Comments (4)

  1. Love this post. And that they taught you about blind-baking pie crusts for quiche and pies!
    But have they warned you about the employees who can’t manage themselves?
    (Everett can sure manage himself in restaurants!)

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