#gbcchca

I realized that I want to be a Chef when I finally accepted that I think about food 100% of time. Also, I am a very active person and this energy is indispensable at the kitchen.

I am not working at the Food Industry yet. I am from Brazil, where I graduated in marketing, in 2010. After that I worked in a bank for 7 years. I wasn’t happy enough, so I decided to change and follow my passions.

My personal philosophy of cooking is about having fun and enjoy what I am cooking and make people happy while eating, of course. I am better with bakery and pastry, but I am very interested in health food as well. I think people should try to eat as healthy as possible, but it is also important to have pleasure and experiment, even when it is not the best ingredient for your health. I am willing to learn a lot and improve my abilities during those two year course.

With this Blogging experience I hope I will improve my writing skills, my culinary skills (while cooking the recipes and preparing pictures for my blog) and also my creativity. Furthermore, with the questions I need to answer for my blog, I will probably feel much more confident about the way I would like to follow in the food industry. For example, I have never though about my personal philosophy of cooking, and today I realized that I have one.

I’ve just arrived in Toronto, still looking for nice and student affordable restaurants to visit. I’m from Brazil.

As I said, I think about food all the time. What’s for breakfast? How can I eat something health for lunch if I won’t have time to cook today? What’s better in the middle of the afternoon a cereal bar or a fruit?

I am very interested in health food and how can I combine the ingredients to take advantage of the nutrients that they can offer.

I would like to learn more about a Plant Based Diet and the proper way to have all the proteins a person need, without the animal source. I still eat meet, but when I think about the industry and how the animals are treated and all the problems that it causes to the environment, I tend to change my mind about eating animals.

In 5 years I see myself working as a Chef in one of the amazings restaurants here in downtown Toronto. I tend to be a Pastry Chef, I am passionate about desserts. Even tough, I am very interested in health food. Maybe I will discover a perfect way of combine pastry and health ingredients during my two years course at George Brown College, don’t you think it’s a brilliant idea?  

Nutrition importance has increased, and in the future, it will be more and more fundamental in the culinary industry. Most people have already realized the importance of eating well, the benefits that it can bring for you and also the diseases that you can avoid by eating properly. Media influence, government actions and even laws will make nutrition paramount in the food industry.

I choose the site Dietitians of Canada and compared with http://www.skinnytaste.com to compare the ways to determine the credibility of a website. 

The first one always shows the resource, the name and qualifications of the author. The information is based on scientific evidences and there are experiments to prove and support the data.

 The second one is about a photographer who likes cooking, and decided to make a blog with recipes and information about eating health. In the ‘ABOUT ME’ page of the website (http://www.skinnytaste.com/about/) she says that she teamed up with some nutritionist to help her ask some question, but that’s all, no more resource information. Also some posts are sponsored, which makes it even more difficult to know if the blog author really believe in that product, or if she is only receiving money to say that. 

week 2 - it’s salad week in the gbc kitchen. we discussed herbs, spices, and vegetable cuts. chef demonstrated three recipes: pacific rim beef salad, cucumber onion salad, and tuscan bean salad. we chopped up our own tuscan bean salad to take home for the lab portion of the class.

it’s pretty great to actually be using fresh herbs in our recipes.  I’ve been generally too skeptical to buy them because too much goes to waste, so it’s a refreshing change. 

notes on herb storage:

leafy herbs (parsley, mint) should be kept in a bag with water, or a wet paper towel

woody herbs (rosemary, thyme) can be taken out of packaging

basil should be unwrapped and placed in a dry paper towel as it is very sensitive to water

notes on peppercorns:

white pepper is stronger than black pepper, and is often used when the dish is meant to be light in colour

white peppercorn is the centre of black peppercorn

green peppercorn is the same as black peppercorn before it is dried and roasted

sichuan peppercorn is a different family, more floral

gives a stronger flavour the longer it sits inside a dish

notes on different vegetable cuts:

julienne allumette = shoestring (like shoestring fries)

batonnet = matchstick

paysanne = rough cut, natural shape of vegetable

tourné = football shape, with 5-7 even sides

creates a lot of waste and not commonly used anymore

notes on pacific rim beef salad: spiced beef and pineapple, served with fresh herbs in the pineapple. old school presentation, super tasty.

the recipe calls for beef tenderloin but it can be substituted with any steak meat

shallots can be subbed with sweet onion

slice green onion on a bias for the looks

when juicing citrus, use a reamer over a strainer

oyster sauce contains no oysters

sub oyster sauce with hoisin for a spicier, five spice taste

when cutting the pineapple, cross hatch and slice in a perimeter to slice out the core and remove the flesh

mince = slice thinly against the grain

searing must be done on very high heat

grapes oil is most commonly used in kitchens

smoke point = smoking

flashpoint = it’s on fire!

separately sauté shallots, chillies, ginger in sesame oil until just softened, not browned

layer salad, then shingled meat in the pineapple to serve

notes on cucumber and onion salad: simple recipe, seems like it would be great for a summer picnic.

salting veggies = pulling out water content

not commonly done in winter as there is less water content in the vegetables

more water content in local vegetables in the summer

after letting it sit, rinse the salt off and pat dry

sub the acid in this recipe (cider vinegar) with any vinegar that is light in colour

any soft herbs (not woody) can be used in this recipe

quick pickle onions by squeezing them

sub red onion with any kind of sweet onion

make a couple hours in advance at most, between 30min to 2hrs

notes on tuscan bean salad: pretty substantial dish involving a lot of chopping. I think I used a bit too much asiago in my dish and it brought up the total salt content too high. a recipe worth revisiting in the summer when we can get fresher, local vegetables. 

proscuitto can be subbed with salami, capicola

soppressata is not recommended as the spice is overwhelming

slice peppers skin side down to keep the knife from dulling

whisk the oil and vinegar together first and set aside

to chiffonade basil:

pile the leaves from larger to smallest

roll into a small cigar

chop

regarding parsley:

flat parsley has a better flavour

curly parsley has more texture

to make a spice bag or sachet, place spices in a piece of cheesecloth and tie it together with butcher’s twine

week 1 - started up a new course today at george brown, culinary arts I. this is my first class at gbc and I’m so excited to get started. and super happy to have sandy do this with me. (we’re gonna cook all the things!)

it was a short class because it’s the first week and we don’t have proper gear yet. in the demo lab, we received a uniform voucher and a course handbook. the handbook lists the kitchen rules and contains all the recipes that will be demonstrated over the entire 12 classes. the demo lab is set up like a small lecture room, with the front containing a sink and a fridge, facing a big island for chopping, the stove, and the oven. there are mirrors over the chopping area so you can get a different angle of what is going on, and there are cameras facing the stove and prep area so you can monitor the action from the screens.

chef went over the general list of gear we’ll need for the course. she made additions to what was listed in the handbook.  

uniform (jacket, pants, hat, apron)

black safety shoes (protected toe)

french chef’s knife (handbook says 10″-12″ but chef recommended 8″ instead)

boning knife, flexible

paring knives

toolbox / knife bag

wooden spoons

metal solid serving spoon

metal slotted spoon

rubber spatula

fish spatula

tongs

vegetable peeler

ladle (3oz) 

pastry brush (not silicone)

dessert spoons

side towels (2 from the uniform kit, plus extras to handle hot pots and pans)

insulated cooler bag for storage

measuring spoons

measuring cups

liquid measuring cup (plastic, 1 cup)

rasp (microplane)

bbq lighter (for the gas stove)

metal ramekins (pinch pots for spices)

small strainer

drawer liner (to keep the cutting board from slipping)

citrus reamer

deli containers (for mise en place and food storage)

we went over rules and safety too. she said a student sliced his thumbprint off the other week and she had to send him straight to st. mike’s to get it stitched on. and he didn’t even cook anything... cool!

we watched a stock demo. some notes to sum it up:

stock vs. broth: stock is made from bones while broth is made from tissue and bones

stock ratio: 50% bones, 10% mirepoix, filled to the top with water

chicken stock: chicken bones + mirepoix + spices + acid, simmer for 2-3 hours

mirepoix: 2 parts onion, 1 part carrot, 1 part celery

acid: wine, tomatoes to help break down the protein

beef stock: veal bones + mirepoix + spices + acid, simmer for 6-8 hours

fish stock: fish bones + white mirepoix + spices + acid, simmer for 25-30 minutes

white mirepoix: 2 parts onion, 1 part leek, 1 part celery (white parts to keep the colour light)

sweating: heating vegetables in a bit of oil or butter so they begin to release liquid, but not to the point they brown