As I was studying for the upcoming lesson, I took note that there was no Lesson 2. Our books (bound photocopied sheets of paper in a 3 ring binder) did not skip pages, but it skipped lessons. How could this be? I figured I should just study the upcoming lesson. I read all about the foundation of French cooking. Stocks. Brown stocks, white stocks, fish stocks, vegetable stocks, and so forth. I took detailed notes and wrote down the recipes. I also reviewed some of Lesson 1, and I called it a night.
The reason we were missing lesson 2 from our books was because we were about to receive an entirely new book. It was the SafeServ food handling bible. And we were about to have an entire lesson on it.
Luckily enough, our chef, certified to teach this course, was full of charisma and made what could have been a boring hands-off lecture into a fun few hours.
I am having a hard time remembering his name, but I think it was Chef Tim (I won't try to remember his last name). He had his salt and pepper hair cut short, and a penetrating smile that looked like it could have been found on the cover of the American Dental Association annual publication (does this exist?). He had wide eyes and a booming voice that rose over the hum of the ventilation hoods. Apparently he was a personal chef for a few Hollywood celebrities, one of which he mentioned, though I will not disclose this information on the internet (he was probably violating his fiduciary duties in mentioning it to us... which was what made him more interesting, and according to that logic, not telling you makes this blog less juicy, oh well).
In brief, Bacteria is nasty, and so is the biproducts and viruses and all those other nasty things that can grow on food and make our poop turn into soup. I'm under the impression that they really want us to understand that proper food handling is a very real part of running a successful kitchen. I got it.
Oh, and its okay to eat spinach again. Especially if you cook it. At least I'm prepared for the next lesson.
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