What I Learned at Culinary School Today

[crazyquik]

Originally Posted by von Rothbart

Stop Cruiserfying SF!

Hillarious. Best inside joke I've read in a while.

 

[Douglas]

Off-topic, I know, but since Manton is such a man of letters, one comment and one question:

Originally Posted by Manton

This is known as "recalibration." I had thought that "recalibrate" was a word invented by Star Trek writers for Geordi La Forge, but it appears to be a real word, meant to describe a real phenomenon. Live and learn.

It strikes me as strange that recalibration would be so foreign a word. Working in manufacturing, as I do, it is a word I use almost daily. I'd imagine the scientists on the forum use it quite a lot as well. Just funny how one's profession influences one's lexicon.

Originally Posted by Manton

One of the "perqs" of culinary school is that meals are included when you are in session.

This caught me off guard. I have always known perks to be a common english word. I've never seen it spelled with a q, and highlighted in scare quotes to boot. Anyone else I'd laugh at for their misspelling, but I'm wondering if Mr. Manton knows something that I do not know.

 

[otc]

out of curiosity, what is the price on a course like this or, especially on the knife skills course (and do you get to keep your kit of mediocre tools)?

 

[Manton]

I was joking about recalibration. As a rule of thumb, when you see a reference to Geordi La Forge, unless it is made by Commander Data, assume it is a joke.

"Perq" is short for "perquisite." I suppose it is OK to colloquially shorten it to "perk."

 

[Manton]

Originally Posted by otc

out of curiosity, what is the price on a course like this or, especially on the knife skills course (and do you get to keep your kit of mediocre tools)?

The price of this class is like 15x more than Knife Skills (the cheapest one). It is much more expensive when you break it down into dollars/day, etc. For instance, the sequal to this -- "Advanced Culinary Skills" -- is slightly more than half as long, yet costs less than 1/3 as much. I am not sure what explains the disparity. I assume that has to do with all the food used, and the fact that getting a more senior instructor costs more. I don't really know.

Yes, you get to keep you kits and everything in them. If you have a well stocked kitchen, however, you will alredy have most or all of this stuff, and your stuff is likely better.

 

[unjung]

Originally Posted by Manton

"Perq" is short for "perquiste." I suppose it is OK to colloquially shorten it to "perk."

Teh lerning, I has it.

 

[globetrotter]

Originally Posted by Manton

The price of this class is like 15x more than Knife Skills (the cheapest one). It is much more expensive when you break it down into dollars/day, etc. For instance, the sequal to this -- "Advanced Culinary Skills" -- is slightly more than half as long, yet costs less than 1/3 as much. I am not sure what explains the disparity. I assume that has to do with all the food used, and the fact that getting a more senior instructor costs more. I don't really know.

Yes, you get to keep you kits and everything in them. If you have a well stocked kitchen, however, you will alredy have most or all of this stuff, and your stuff is likely better.

not to be crude, but can you put a dollar amount on that?

 

[Thomas]

Originally Posted by Manton

BTW, I went to the Sur La Table on Crosby after class and bought some blade guards. I am taking my Shuns to the next class (and thereafter), damnit, and that's that. I don't care if I get called names. They are better and more comfortable. I am half convinced that I would not have cut myself had I been using one of my own knives.

hmmm... does being called "teacher's pet" bother you?

 

[grimslade]

Originally Posted by globetrotter

not to be crude, but can you put a dollar amount on that?

My research skillz tell me about $7,000.

 

[EL72]

Originally Posted by Manton

Apparently, the word I want is epulcher. It was in my binder after all. I have written it on my 3"x5" card for the week.

It's eplucher, which means to peel.

 

[Histrion]

Éplucher (with an accent aigu on the first 'e') indeed means 'to peel'. Peler can also do the trick as it means the same thing.

 

[romafan]

Originally Posted by Manton

OK, technically it was yesterday. Sue me.

....

Second, he did not cisele the onions the same way I was taught in knife skills. In that class, we were taught to – after the onion was peeled and halved –make a series of cuts, straight down, in the direction of the root, without going through the root. Then make several cuts parallel to the board, also without going through the root. Then slice away. This is also what all my books say. Chef X said to make the cuts like the spokes of a wheel with the center bottom of the flat part as the hub, and then skip the parallel cuts altogether. I found this more difficult and asked if I could continue the other way (I feel I am pretty good at that, especially compared to other cuts). I got permission because, he admitted, my way was the official FCI way, whereas his way was just his preference.......


That’s pretty much it for Day 1. 21 more to go!

I've always wondered if the parallel cuts are really necessary?

Given that the half onion's natural 'layers' roughly conform to the planes of the parallel cuts (albeit curved/contoured), I've found that after making the series of straight down cuts in the direction of the root, one can simply "slice away". If your straight down cuts are close enough together, the effect is basically the same....

 

[kwilkinson]

Originally Posted by romafan

I've always wondered if the parallel cuts are really necessary?

Given that the half onion's natural 'layers' roughly conform to the planes of the parallel cuts (albeit curved/contoured), I've found that after making the series of straight down cuts in the direction of the root, one can simply "slice away". If your straight down cuts are close enough together, the effect is basically the same....

If the cuts are small enough, then it doesn't really make a difference. I mean if you make both your vertical slices very small, then the parallel ones won't matter. I think it's one of the differences in being a home cook or trying to be a professional one. At home, it isn't as important if the pieces of onion vary a small bit in size, and it more than likely won't affect their cooking time in any way, but in a professional setting, there's a need for every cut to be completely uniform in size, and the only way to really achieve that is to make all 3, IMO.

 

[globetrotter]

Originally Posted by grimslade

My research skillz tell me about $7,000.

that's not too bad. I looked into a CIA course for my wife a while back and it was a bit more, but it was one of the proffetional courses. sounds like a good investment.

 

[SField]

Originally Posted by globetrotter

that's not too bad. I looked into a CIA course for my wife a while back and it was a bit more, but it was one of the proffetional courses. sounds like a good investment.

One that directly affects your lifestyle too. I think it's time to pull the trigger Globe.