First Day in the Kitchen

I was so tired after our first day in the kitchen. I came home, fell on the couch and barely moved til I went to bed six hours later. I felt like such a wimp for being so exhausted from only four and half hours of work, but I'm new to that kind of stuff (y'all, I've never even worked in a restaurant/ waitressed/ anything!). But let me make this clear: I loved it!

Chef Ginocchio turned us loose in the kitchen to get our mise en place all ready to go. Turns out I wasn't the only one who didn't know where anything was (we had a kitchen walk through the week before, but it was very general and no specifics were pointed out except the sinks...hint hint). There was quite a bit of running around (oh yeah, we had a time limit) looking for ingredients and tools, asking classmates only to find out they too didn't have a clue where to find stuff...good times. But the good news is that everyone eventually found everything they needed.

We made rolled biscuits, rolled scones and drop scones. The names are pretty self explanatory, but just in case...rolled biscuits and scones are made from a drier dough that is rolled out and cut, and drop scones are made from a wetter dough that is scooped and dropped. All three had pretty simple formulas (I have to get used to saying that instead of recipe; in baked goods, it is always "formula"): flour, butter, salt, a liquid, and a few other special ingredients like chocolate chips or apricots. I had never made  biscuits or scones before-although the ingredients and process of the biscuits is very similar to pie crust, which I have made-and I enjoyed making something other than cake. My group's batches came out pretty good-yay!

Speaking of my group, that is something I have to get used to. I almost always work alone in the kitchen and the couple times I've had help, well....define "help" again? I'm kidding. Kinda. It's through no fault of the other person, I just like to get in the zone while baking and the zone has room for only one. But I have two awesome ladies in my group and I think we had a good system going today. Besides, if I ever decide to take my baking to the professional level, I'm most likely gonna have to work with others. Although I can see myself trying to do it all alone...I could possibly run a small bakery all by myself, right? Yes? No? Maybe?

I enjoyed my first day in the kitchen and I look forward to many more! Maybe I can remember to take a picture of the processes and finished products next time so y'all can see what we are doing. :)

PS-If you knew what mise en place was, yay! If you didn't know what it was and Googled it, I like your style. And if you still don't know what it is, I'll tell you: it's just your organization and set up, having all needed tools and ingredients measured and ready for use. ;)

Welcome to My New Blog!

A good friend of mine encouraged me to write a blog while I'm in culinary school, to share my experiences, what works and doesn't work, etc. My last blog attempt didn't go so well, but I'm willing to try again. So here it is.

I have technically been in school for one week. I have one online class and one physical class (I guess that what it's called, ha!). The online class is about food service sanitation. The physical class is Baking 1, the very basics of baking. This is a class all culinary students take, not just those seeking a Baking and Pastry Certificate like me. We have only met once so far, and that was to go over the syllabus and most basic information (I now know A LOT more about flour and sugar than I did a week ago!). We also did a kitchen walk through. I can't wait to start working in that kitchen! I've only ever worked in my little kitchen, which was not always capable of handling the crazy messes I would make while doing a big cake (I assume anyone reading this knows I make cakes?).

To say that I am excited about being a culinary student would be an understatement. I have waited a year to start classes. And now it's here! Ahh! You could call me a giddy little school girl...and I wouldn't take offense. I am that excited! Sitting in my first class last Friday, I almost couldn't believe it. I was in college again, and I was learning about BAKING! Something that I already loved and had real world experience with. It's a completely different experience than the first time I went to college years ago. Then it was mostly boring required information being drilled into my head; now it's fun and exciting and practical information that I'm readily soaking up. I just love it! Plus, all the chefs (instructors) seem so real and so kind, and that is an encouragement in itself.

Of course, I am having to get used to doing homework again. Lots of homework. Finding time for all that homework with a three year old at home is proving quite a challenge. Let's just say I look forward to her nap time for new reasons now. :)