posted by admin on Mar 11
Hi, all. It’s been a long, long week. I’m finally getting over a virus that knocked me on my butt for the last couple of weeks, so my head is clear for the first time in a while. This week’s classes were fun and informative.
Saturday, lunch and dinner were delicious. We got to roast up a lot of yummy veggies—including butternut squash, potatoes, parsnips, mushroom, and carrots, plus baked apples stuffed with walnuts and raisins. We braised shallots, fennel, and endive, and made some really good baba ganouj with seasoned pita chips. (We broke up into four groups to make all these items and, judging from the instructor’s comments, I think my group made the best baba!)
We also did an experiment with mashed potatoes. The four groups mashed up some potatoes, each group using a different implement: a hand masher, a ricer, a food processor, and a food mill. The rule of thumb about not using a food processor to mash potatoes proved true—that group wound up with gluey, nasty potatoes. All the others turned out pretty well.
On Wednesday, we had a food service lecture, which was an overview of place
settings, how to serve, and the different styles of service. There are several different types of service: American, French, Russian, Wagon, Butler, Family Style, Buffet, and Fast Food/Cafeteria. The last three are obvious styles that everyone understands, but I didn’t know about the others.
These are the definitions of each style, in a nutshell:
American—Food is made completely in the kitchen and the server brings out finished food.
French—Food is partially prepared in the kitchen with final preparation done in front of guests.
Russian—Food is placed on a platter. Server then transfers the food from the platter to the guests’ plates.
Wagon—Server finishes preparation at the table. Almost like French but faster. Gives the illusion of French style. (Ex: carving the meat at the table, but no actual cooking). Also refers to the fact that food is brought out on a wagon for guests to choose from.
Butler—Combination of Russian and family-style serve-yourself.
Family Style—Large platters set on table; guests serve themselves.
Buffet—Food is prepared ahead of tine and served from steam tables.
Fast Food/Cafeteria—Self-service, pre-cooked.
Then we took a look at the different protein groups (where cooking is concerned)—that is, fish, poultry, ruminant meat (animals that chew their cud), non-ruminant meat (pigs), and dairy. It was a long night.
Anyway, I’m trying desperately to catch up on my sleep. Don’t ask me how or when I’m going to do that. So, that’s it for now. Have a great week.
