we were lucky enough to be taken out(all chefs and 2nd year f&b students) to klein kariba, a resort 20 km away from here. we were allowed to go into the kithcen and discover the place to see different aspects of their busines. their kitchen suprisingly works without a executive chef, therefore all the decisions are made by the food and beverage manager, this can be useful, but what i think is best is to have someone in a kitchen instructing and providing help/guidance, this helps more with quality, but that is ony my point of view, they have a banqueting kitchen, which is useful for buffet type foods for large quantities of people, this is a very fun type of kitchen, because all guests are able to choose their portions and food items on a plate.
we were allowed to observe the restaurant and how their hot and cold buffets are set up, seeing as they are in a more rural area, they have more access to better technologies and outside help. the plate warmers and their buffet area was easily set-up and everything has its place. they had chaffing insert carts easier to move and place all food in their chaffing dishes easily.
after the brief tour we were all taken to a presentation where we sat down and listened to different commercial food sellers such as mediterranean delicacies, mc cain, tiger brands , pilsburg and rainbow chicken. they presented their products individually and let us sample all their goods to let us experience the new different products as well as the benefits of using their range. all these products ranged from chicken, beef, fish, vegetables, pastries, pate's, national and international cheeses, cavi-art, sauces, dips, pomme croqette, all these and more. after stuffing ourselves with their lovely food, we had to depart and return here to prepare for Adriano's funtion.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
12 june 2012 OFFAL!
luckily on this day i was granted to be part of the first years class again as i enjoyed it so much las yer. the students were to be taught how to make different types of offal, this includes the head(split in 2), the brains, eyes, spleen, liver, lungs, kidneys and the heart, unfortunately this year we had no tripe. we had so much fun, doing a stuffed, bacon wrapped heart, i showed the 1st years how to remove an eye and brain correctly, as well as remove the skin from the cow head and roast/boil it to your desire, we all had to try the different parts of the offal, making it and interesting tasting session, we poached and deep-fried the brains, baked/roasted the heart. the liver was pan-fried as was the lungs. these foods need to be prepared correctly and according to order as it can become easily tough/ bitter, these are mainly delicacies in mny countries and i was proud to be able to do it again.
17-20 may 2012 cycle race
on this weekend we had a cycle race planned, where as chefs we had to build and setup 2 kitchens, 1 being for breakfast meals such as pancakes, breakfast rolls and pancakes. the 2nd kitchen was built for the lunch side of things, this included various types of rolls(burger, steak, prego, hotdog etc.). these kitchens were made by us and had to be correctly, safely and hygienically built. the breakfast kitchen was to be open at 4 in the morning, meaning tht 3:30 fires had to be lit for the filter coffee to be brewed before the cyclist came in for a warm-up. we had both kitchens built and setup in the first day, with burners, barriers, utensils and equipment, the coffee was the longest process and we were left to run this as the day progressed. the lunch kitchen had more burners and a flat top for lots of food at the same time, the days were long and busy, but we made over 12000 rand and this meant that all our efforts paid off in the end. the function was at main gate, making many people feel out of their comfort zones, but after an hour or so, we would feel as if it were in a kitchen, making it a very busy weekend
when we were done bringing all the small equipment and products back on sunday, some of the learners had to jump back into the main kitchen as it was busy this side aswell, i carried on un packing and sorting alone and did stock take with chef errol thereafter.
when we were done bringing all the small equipment and products back on sunday, some of the learners had to jump back into the main kitchen as it was busy this side aswell, i carried on un packing and sorting alone and did stock take with chef errol thereafter.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
9 October 2011- 18 October 2011 main gate function and fruit cakes
9 October 2011-was my first day back at work, luckily i came back on a really special day, chef ordered 9 ducks, duck eggs, duck fat and duck liver, so he started teaching me how to make them, he taught me how to remove the neck, fat, wings and tail, i roasted them off, and then used the skin of the necks to make a stuffed neck sausage, i was also told to make 100 croissants, cool and store all products
10 October 2011- today i started the day with making bedoned chicken drumsticks and fillet, then i made a origanum hone mustard sauce for the chicken, braised the duck in a sweet and sour sauce made by kieron.we warmed up all the foods, like chicken livers, the bedoned chicken in the sauce, chicken breast strips in a coco and mixed nut sauce, sweet pepperdew fillet, jalapeno and cheese risolles, mixed cheese and garlic mosbolletjies and a smoked lamb. we set up the main gate buffet and all the foods for the john deere people, we serve them, cleaned up and left, they were due to sleep over at sondela, and they wanted dinner, so we went on a split shift, and came back to finish off dinner, we made a seafood bisque, the sweet braised duck, oxtail, beef roll and duck livers. we served the john deere guests and then cleared and cleaned.
11 October 2011- we came in early to do breakfast, we made balsamic fried mushrooms, scrambled eggs, bacon, beef sausages, wedges, muffins and cold cereals thereafter it was just orders and cleaning
12 October 2011- went to moselesele and stripped the whole kitchen to clean, deep cleaned from top to bottom, went on split, came back and started making dinner, which was, salad, chicken stir fry, sosaties, wors and a fish stir fry.
13 October 2011- made 3 cheese and ham omeleetes and 2 smoked haddock, tomato, mushroom and cheese omelette, cleaned and went on split, when i came back, i started making the dough for a millers beer bread, and did my mise on place and cooked the curry beans, made a tomato and onion mixture, roasted potatoes, pasta salad, mielie pap, venison sosaties, wors and a green salad
14 October 2011- went to moselesele in the morning and cleaned, then i went on split as there were too many people in the kitchen, and came back to vleisvreters at night, carved the meat off the fire for the guests
15 October 2011- cut up beef roll, did pizza orders and worked in hot kitchen doing orders all day
16 October 2011- heat up spatchcock, made butternut, rice, chicken livers, mixed vegetables, roasted onions and set up the whole buffet for mike bosch from bosveld eggs 50 year functon, it was clearing, cleaning and orders the rest of the day
18 October 2011- today we made a 40 kg batch of fruit cake mix, placed in moulds and baked them, this is to prepare for christmas.
10 October 2011- today i started the day with making bedoned chicken drumsticks and fillet, then i made a origanum hone mustard sauce for the chicken, braised the duck in a sweet and sour sauce made by kieron.we warmed up all the foods, like chicken livers, the bedoned chicken in the sauce, chicken breast strips in a coco and mixed nut sauce, sweet pepperdew fillet, jalapeno and cheese risolles, mixed cheese and garlic mosbolletjies and a smoked lamb. we set up the main gate buffet and all the foods for the john deere people, we serve them, cleaned up and left, they were due to sleep over at sondela, and they wanted dinner, so we went on a split shift, and came back to finish off dinner, we made a seafood bisque, the sweet braised duck, oxtail, beef roll and duck livers. we served the john deere guests and then cleared and cleaned.
11 October 2011- we came in early to do breakfast, we made balsamic fried mushrooms, scrambled eggs, bacon, beef sausages, wedges, muffins and cold cereals thereafter it was just orders and cleaning
12 October 2011- went to moselesele and stripped the whole kitchen to clean, deep cleaned from top to bottom, went on split, came back and started making dinner, which was, salad, chicken stir fry, sosaties, wors and a fish stir fry.
13 October 2011- made 3 cheese and ham omeleetes and 2 smoked haddock, tomato, mushroom and cheese omelette, cleaned and went on split, when i came back, i started making the dough for a millers beer bread, and did my mise on place and cooked the curry beans, made a tomato and onion mixture, roasted potatoes, pasta salad, mielie pap, venison sosaties, wors and a green salad
14 October 2011- went to moselesele in the morning and cleaned, then i went on split as there were too many people in the kitchen, and came back to vleisvreters at night, carved the meat off the fire for the guests
15 October 2011- cut up beef roll, did pizza orders and worked in hot kitchen doing orders all day
16 October 2011- heat up spatchcock, made butternut, rice, chicken livers, mixed vegetables, roasted onions and set up the whole buffet for mike bosch from bosveld eggs 50 year functon, it was clearing, cleaning and orders the rest of the day
18 October 2011- today we made a 40 kg batch of fruit cake mix, placed in moulds and baked them, this is to prepare for christmas.
10 September 2011 - 27 September 2011conference breakfast and moselesele
13 September 2011- prepared breakfast which was beef sausages, baked haddock, tomatoes topped with cheddar, after breakfast was prepared, I started roasting two spiced rumps, and cut up roast vegetables and thereafter, started making a large amount of spaghetti and pasta. I also needed to make ribs served with the pasta with a cheese and ham sauce
14 September 2011- cooked off the previously prepared breakfast with scrambled eggs and bacon, after we sent out breakfast, I then moved on to the lunch, where I made seven lemon and herb spatchcock, two more spiced rumps, chili pepper chicken, cut up poached pears, and laid them in a sweet wine and clove dressing, and used leftover tomatoes to make an oreganum rosemary tomato sauce
15 September 2011- today I made breakfast, and after making the eggs, bacon, mushrooms and hash browns, I was told to go make fried eggs and serve the conference, it was fun socializing early in the morning, and knowing all the foods made it easier as I made them all, all I did after that was make alfreado, and help alon serve lunch
16 September 2011- worked in cold kitchen, made 11 salads and further the a la carte menu, all salads made were to get rid of all left overs in the fridge as I saw there were many dishes left in the fridge, so I used them all in salads to save a large amount of money and get rid of un –needed foods
22 September 2011- cut up pineapple into macedoine, and there after we went to mbizi, we set up the tables for 500 guests, it was a sondela function, my station was handling, cutting and serving the florida cheeses(plain and pepper garlic), I also made biltong, cheese and food platters.
23 September 2011-today we mostly did a la carte menu and preparation for vleisvreters, but that was all done by the split shift staff and students and at 12 chef told me to work split shift as well, and then I made bacon wrapped apples, beef roll, sweet potato and croissants, 20 of each and that night I worked inside the kitchen, we needed to prepare for the next conference coming, so we needed to made bacon wrapped sausages, short paste, croissants and Danish pastry
24 September 2011- today I worked in cold kitchen with zamiane, we had a new setup of the cold kitchen, so it had a new feel to it, basically we did mise on place,and we also did kitchen orders, salads were pre-prepared, so there wasnt much to do
25 September 2011- made savoury rice, roasted off 20 kg of chicken for bonus function, me and sean them decided on a lunch selection for students, therefore i gave the idea of making two large pizzas on a baking tray, we made a tangy russian pizza and a mixed meat pizza. my chicken was all done before the end of the day and was left to cool and stored appropriately.
26 September 2011-went to moselesele today, was assigned to work for 3 families there, we had the tents fully booked, i cleaned, raked, washed and re-organised everything, after cleaning i went on split and returned at 4, where i greated and welcomed the guests, i took all the dinner requests and started cooking, i boiled broccoli, deep fried fish fingers and chips and microwave cooked chicken, there after i cleaned the kitchen as well as all the equipment, dishes and cutlery used
27 September 2011- went to moselesele again, and started making breakfast after i packed and wiped everything off, for breakfast i made bacon, scrambled eggs, omelettes and toast
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
23 August 2011 - 9 September 2011 cheese and wine tasting for francois grobler
23 August 2011-Today we started preparing for Francois Groblers function, which was a cheese and wine tasting evening, Francois is one of our managers who works here, and he booked a whole function, fully paid for his birthday, where all the managers, directors and important businessmen were going to attend, so we wanted to show how good we have gotten, and how our food skills have improved, so we started preparing and making beautiful buffet type foods, for the evening, i started boiling the eggs, making the mince etc, and preparing all the small foods while the others like Natalie and Lorinda made the tart let cases
24 August 2011-today we started with all the fun things like filling the tart lets with mozzarella, Cheddar, mushroom and a egg mix, baking them off and garnishing them, as well as piping curry yolk into boiled eggs and garnishing them as well, even though i was in banqueting, i made a grape salad and a Keish with all the left over egg, and fillings, t here were three types, that were plated on glass, with the eggs, we did the food, Kieron and Sean served the foods that night
25 August 2011- we were surprised with a practical competition again, and i was pumped, felt confident, and was determined to win, we received a full chicken, and a type of rice, which of i got jasmine, i stuffed the chicken with brunoise vegetables in an encasing, and crowned it, thereafter, i glazed it with white wine and closed it in foil, so when i needed to cook it, i put it in the coals, the wings that came of, and the excess bones, were used for a stock, and the thigh and legs were deboned, stuffed with lemon and coriander, wrapped in foil and also put in the coals, the rice was pre soaked and cooked for 15 minutes, but i then made the mistake of adding cream, which in my opinion, was the worst idea ever, jasmine is a beautiful rice and doesn't need to be sticky, it is not a risotto rice, but i flavoured it with the brunoise vegetables and presented my dish, i came first in the competition and was very happy, thereafter, i went to moselesele, after working to 3:30, i was off, but instead wanted to help Alon at moselesele, so we worked, making stir fry, grilling chicken, lamb and other meats, boiling and roasting vegetables as well as making salads, lighting the fire and setting the tables, we even plated one guests food 5 star style
26 August 2011-worked in cold kitchen, making toasted sandwiches and salads, i also made two new special salads that i learnt, called a Florida and Italian salad, but the Florida salad, wasn't just with citrus fruits, but i added tropical fruits as well, we were making all the salads beautiful by garnishing them, and i worked very comfortably with Alon
27 August 2011-worked again in cold kitchen, making toasted sandwiches and salads, but the special products today were vinaigrette, deep fried platters(jalapeno rissoles, chicken phyllos), different cakes, like a fudge Picasso, black forest as well as making and garnishing, Florida, beetroot, and Greek salad.
28 August 2011-made short pastry for savoury tart lets, made about 180 in total, me and Kieron, some were mixed in with poppy seeds, others sunflower seeds, today was all about preparing for yet another cheese and wine tasting, today we prepared, mince, boiled eggs, all the pastries and getting all the service gear ready.
24 August 2011-today we started with all the fun things like filling the tart lets with mozzarella, Cheddar, mushroom and a egg mix, baking them off and garnishing them, as well as piping curry yolk into boiled eggs and garnishing them as well, even though i was in banqueting, i made a grape salad and a Keish with all the left over egg, and fillings, t here were three types, that were plated on glass, with the eggs, we did the food, Kieron and Sean served the foods that night
25 August 2011- we were surprised with a practical competition again, and i was pumped, felt confident, and was determined to win, we received a full chicken, and a type of rice, which of i got jasmine, i stuffed the chicken with brunoise vegetables in an encasing, and crowned it, thereafter, i glazed it with white wine and closed it in foil, so when i needed to cook it, i put it in the coals, the wings that came of, and the excess bones, were used for a stock, and the thigh and legs were deboned, stuffed with lemon and coriander, wrapped in foil and also put in the coals, the rice was pre soaked and cooked for 15 minutes, but i then made the mistake of adding cream, which in my opinion, was the worst idea ever, jasmine is a beautiful rice and doesn't need to be sticky, it is not a risotto rice, but i flavoured it with the brunoise vegetables and presented my dish, i came first in the competition and was very happy, thereafter, i went to moselesele, after working to 3:30, i was off, but instead wanted to help Alon at moselesele, so we worked, making stir fry, grilling chicken, lamb and other meats, boiling and roasting vegetables as well as making salads, lighting the fire and setting the tables, we even plated one guests food 5 star style
26 August 2011-worked in cold kitchen, making toasted sandwiches and salads, i also made two new special salads that i learnt, called a Florida and Italian salad, but the Florida salad, wasn't just with citrus fruits, but i added tropical fruits as well, we were making all the salads beautiful by garnishing them, and i worked very comfortably with Alon
27 August 2011-worked again in cold kitchen, making toasted sandwiches and salads, but the special products today were vinaigrette, deep fried platters(jalapeno rissoles, chicken phyllos), different cakes, like a fudge Picasso, black forest as well as making and garnishing, Florida, beetroot, and Greek salad.
28 August 2011-made short pastry for savoury tart lets, made about 180 in total, me and Kieron, some were mixed in with poppy seeds, others sunflower seeds, today was all about preparing for yet another cheese and wine tasting, today we prepared, mince, boiled eggs, all the pastries and getting all the service gear ready.
28 August 2011-today we found out there was another function, so we needed to make more than 150 short paste tartlets, so me and kier on made 90 each, both being sesame or poppy seed filled paste, it took us a while, because of all the pizza and flatbread orders, we also needed the convection oven for bread and conference foods, but after a while we got to do the tartlets and they came out just perfect, this we had to enclose and pack away for later as they needed to be filled
30 August 2011- made more short paste for new recipes on the menu. cut up, paned and shallow fried fillet medallions, around 150 pieces, there after I did the banqueting for pizza and flatbread, it was a very quiet day, but busy in a way as well.
31 August 2011- today we finished off the tartlets for the conference and we started making the cheese platters, we made 3 platters and then started doing the mini brown bread loaves, and biscuit baskets, for the cheeses, there after we also received a new fountain, which instead of chocolate, we used cheese sauce, we also made prawn crackers, a caprice salad, spinach salads and a lot of croutons. All the foods made were very beautiful and fun to make, as change is good in people’s lives
2 September 2011-worked the whole day making pancakes from 7:30am till 8:30pm at the reception pancake stand, socializing and welcoming the guests
3-4 September 2011- worked in cold kitchen again for the next two days, doing the a la carte menu as well as making salads and platters for Sunday lunch and Monday buffet, made muffin, croissant and Danish pastry platters and a variety of salads, including beetroot, potato, pasta, Florida, crouton and carrot and baby marrow salad.
5 September 2011- today was a new week and I made a beef stew, thereafter, I fried and poached eggs for orders and made grape jam and cream filled chocolate éclairs, and I was then told to work at the pancake stand by reception until the end of my day, so I went everywhere and I enjoyed it to a large extent
6 September 2011- today I went to the academy kitchen, chef Edward said I needed a bit of time doing pastry, as it is a vital key to any dish, so when we got there, we were given recipes and ideas on what to make, we made crème brulee in a water bath, meringues, pavlovas, choux paste and savoury flan tartlets, this was a great experience as not every day I get to do pastry, but I asked a lot of questions and I understand the concept of pastry, as it’s all about technique and patience
7 September 2011- was at the academy kitchen, there is so much to learn and so we got stock and started with our recipes and ideas for more desserts, we started with chocolate mousse, me and Zamiane made a dark rum chocolate mousse and lorinda and chanel made a white liqueur mousse, which both were piped and mixed in one mould, and then we learnt how to blind bake, when we blind baked short pastry
8 September 2011-today was all about deep cleaning, so I chose to do the pot wash with Alon, we stripped the whole scullery, and when the sink and fat trap was left, they told me the drains can’t come out, but I showed them that it could, I disconnected all pipes and removed the sinks and fat trap to be cleaned, we literally scrubbed all day in one section, and I connected and re-sealed all the pipes and we placed all the cleaned surfaces and equipment back neatly, then we proceeded home very dirty
9 September 2011- today I started off the day boiling mielies and thereafter I was assigned to make lunch for students, so I used the opportunity to make something new, so I cut up two sirloins(2kg) in 2cm slices and shallow fried them, made about 40 eggs(scrambled) and made a Robert sauce, sauces play a huge role in a kitchen as nothing can be sent out dry, so sauces are needed, and being a saucier is an important job that I would love to master as well, as a sous chef needs to know how to run all sections under him
Thursday, September 1, 2011
1 August 2011 - 22 August 2011 Fun Run weekend
16 August 2011-today we had theory, so i ran around doing paperwork and i gave my portfolio of evidence in to be marked, while I complete some modules
17 August 2011-we used the whole day setting up and getting the equipment ready for caravan park, me, Alon, William and Chef Errol were scheduled to work there, so me and Alon had to get all the small equipment ready, it was like uithou ritte and the mountain bike race, except this time we were only selling
18 August 2011-as on the 17th we took all the large equipment, today we took all the small equipment that was packed in a store room for security reasons, and all the food was prepared today, the mince was pre-prepared, as well as all the coffee, rusks and tea were taken to CVP with all the commodities that needed to be used. it was a chilled day and there wasn't much to be done in the sense of making food
19 August 2011-today we went to CVP with all the food and started to do the mise on place for people coming to buy, we also had to advertise to sell all our foods, it was another quiet day in terms of selling, at least we made a lot of food.
20 August 2011- Today we had to be at CVP at 5 am, so we can wake the runners up with the fresh smell of coffee and bacon in the morning, which would make me rush in any time, the first run started at 7, just as the sun came out, we were there waiting, all ready for a new day, selling all the food types and making them when an order came in, even watching the races every 10 - 20 minutes was fun, because i wished i could enter. the prize giving was around 12 and the people started disappearing there after, so they gave me the bakkie to transport all the foods, utensils and small equipment back to the kitchen, to pack and clean, when we were finished, we were told we can go home and return the next day
21 August 2011- today was another quiet day as most guests leave and new arrivals come on Monday, this made business slow, and i was working in banqueting area, doing the mise on place for pizzas and flat breads, there were a few orders and while i was not busy, i preheated the food for Sunday lunch and prepared Monday buffet, this was before lunch, after lunch it was very quiet and all we mostly did was clean and after the day was gone, we went home to start another day
22 August 2011- theory day
17 August 2011-we used the whole day setting up and getting the equipment ready for caravan park, me, Alon, William and Chef Errol were scheduled to work there, so me and Alon had to get all the small equipment ready, it was like uithou ritte and the mountain bike race, except this time we were only selling
- breakfast roll
- boerewors roll
- boerewors and pap
- prego roll
- vetkoek and mince
- hot dog
- tea/coffee
- rusk
18 August 2011-as on the 17th we took all the large equipment, today we took all the small equipment that was packed in a store room for security reasons, and all the food was prepared today, the mince was pre-prepared, as well as all the coffee, rusks and tea were taken to CVP with all the commodities that needed to be used. it was a chilled day and there wasn't much to be done in the sense of making food
19 August 2011-today we went to CVP with all the food and started to do the mise on place for people coming to buy, we also had to advertise to sell all our foods, it was another quiet day in terms of selling, at least we made a lot of food.
20 August 2011- Today we had to be at CVP at 5 am, so we can wake the runners up with the fresh smell of coffee and bacon in the morning, which would make me rush in any time, the first run started at 7, just as the sun came out, we were there waiting, all ready for a new day, selling all the food types and making them when an order came in, even watching the races every 10 - 20 minutes was fun, because i wished i could enter. the prize giving was around 12 and the people started disappearing there after, so they gave me the bakkie to transport all the foods, utensils and small equipment back to the kitchen, to pack and clean, when we were finished, we were told we can go home and return the next day
21 August 2011- today was another quiet day as most guests leave and new arrivals come on Monday, this made business slow, and i was working in banqueting area, doing the mise on place for pizzas and flat breads, there were a few orders and while i was not busy, i preheated the food for Sunday lunch and prepared Monday buffet, this was before lunch, after lunch it was very quiet and all we mostly did was clean and after the day was gone, we went home to start another day
22 August 2011- theory day
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