Cream.. Shaboogy Bop

Anybody, no? Prince? Now? Forget it.

I’m not sure if I mentioned this in my previous posts but the other day, about 4 classes ago, chef decided to reorganize the class a little. He did this once before. I was working with Grace, then I was working with Sofonie, and now I’m working with numero uno, MYSELF!

At the end of that class, Chef was saying, you know, I think its time for a change again. You guys are getting too comfortable. “You, here… you, stay there... you, there...” And then he stopped and I realized… wait a second, I didn’t have a partner. And I said, “hey Chef, you forgot to give me a partner.” And he looked at me and smiled, and said, well that’s just the way it goes. And I realized it was my time to step it up a bit.

For two of the three following classes that I was to work alone, a few students were absent and I was able to join someone else. For the crepes class, this was very useful because we needed to make a few batters and let them rest for a few hours and then cook them all, and make fillings and so forth. It would have been really tough. We’ve been fortunate to not have to cut too many vegetables in the past few classes, because, quite honestly, that’s what takes the most time, especially if we need perfectly julienned cuts, or a bunch of mirepoix and bouquet garni’s.

ANYWAYS, today we were making a few different kinds of custard creams, including an ice cream and crème anglaise.

Okay, another side… It just hit me. The very first class we had, they taught us a few things about hygiene. Some of these things included the obvious, washing your hands, no nail polish, shower, shave, hair in a hat or net, and so forth. They also included some less obvious ones like don’t travel in your uniform and don’t sneeze and cough into your hands, but instead into your elbow.

So, as we’re standing in front at the chef demo, naturally there are a couple of people who always have a cough or a sneeze, or something. A few people turn away and sneeze into a garbage bin or onto the ground, away from surfaces and so forth. That’s great. However, some people still cough into their hands, wipe their noses into their hands, and so forth. (I even saw a guy use a side towel to wipe his nose and then used the same rag to clean down his station) But anyways, this is the case for one of the guys in our class (coughing into his hands, wiping his nose…). I stand next to him sometimes for the demos and I watch as he coughs and sneezes directly into his hands (which, outside of the kitchen is normal practice). But inside the kitchen we’re told to cough into our sleeves. I also watched as he wiped his runny nose and left a glistening streak along his finger. He then rubbed it in with his thumb to evaporate it. Again, sometimes when you’re outside the kitchen this is common practice and its necessary so you don’t drip all over the place. Its still gross, but it is what it is.

What I DID NOT notice was him immediately washing his hands after the demo and before touching his tools or food. And I just get sick thinking about that nastinest. In fact, I decided to email my chef, asking to remain anonymous, and not mentioning names, but I asked him to just readdress proper hygiene. Oh, this is my blog, I can include the letter!

“Hi Chef Tom,
I hope all is well. I just wanted to drop you a quick request. As we stand up for some of the demos you give us, I take note of some people who have the sniffles, or a cough or sneeze. I notice some people properly cough/sneeze into their elbows, or towards the floor or into a garbage, while others cough/sneeze directly into their hands, and wipe their noses with their hands (without mentioning names, I witnessed some nasty stuff in the last class, you can figure out who by just glancing around, and you probably wouldn't be surprised). What I did not notice was them washing their hands before they resumed cooking. I don't have a partner right now, so it doesn't gross me out as much as if it were my partner, but I find it to be foul, and just bad practice and a terrible habit to get into. If possible, please re-address the proper procedure for coughing and sneezing, and hand washing if someone happens to use their hands to cover their mouth.

Thanks,
Edwin
(I'd like to remain somewhat anonymous in this request if possible. Thanks.)”

Does it make sense to sign my name and then request anonymity? Funny.

Anyways, we made custard creams!! Basically you take eggs or just egg yolks, you beat it with sugar, and then temper in some boiling milk, and cook it all until nappant. NO MORE than that!! I had to redo one because the eggs started to curdle (or scramble). And that was a major waste of time. That was the only set back I had working alone. Otherwise my timing wasn’t too bad. It really helps to have a partner, but it’s not so bad, and I get to take full responsibility for my creations. Oh, I did need a little help from Sofonie to help sift in my flour as I folded together the egg whites and yolks for a biscuit cake ("bisquee", not round flaky biscuits).

So we made a flan, with fresh caramel, which adds a little bitterness to sweetness (though it wasn’t that sweet in the first place). I never really cared for flan, and I still don’t. But this was better than the one that comes out of the box. I know that much. We also made an ice cream and we filled in these molds with a layer of biscuit and then filled the rest with ice cream. The best part was when we garnished them with fruits, mint and some raspberry sauce. I enjoyed that, more so than the cakes. Oh, we also used a torch to loosen the ice cream from the mold which was pretty cool.

However, I miss making real food. And I look forward to it, but we've still got another few classes of sweets.