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July 18, 2011

A Day In The Life of a Culinary School Intern

by Jen Wanous

Chef Ross asked me to drop the mirepoix I was working on to grab crates filled with mushrooms.  Like any good intern, I quickly assisted him.  Eagerly, I watched as he fanned through cap and stem, showing me exactly how he wanted each of the three different types of mushrooms cut.  I took my knife in hand with confidence, knowing that the pizza guy upstairs was ten minutes into service and needed these mushrooms ASAP.  The mushrooms were big, ranging from the size of my fist to my forearm.  I had never seen mushrooms like these before; exotic fungi that were clean, white and utterly sponge-like.

I was moving along swiftly, thinking how uniform the slices were looking. I was going pretty fast and then–slip–the knife carved out a nice little portion of fingertip.  The shock was immediate and a loud gasp escaped my lips.  Damn it.  With many coworkers looking on, I went over to the hand washing station, all set to announce that it was fine, no big deal…but shit…half of my fingernail was gone and the blood was steadily dripping.  I wrapped a paper towel around my finger, held it tight above my head and then the tears came.  I didn’t want to be a big wimp, but crying is such a rarity for me and I wanted to be present enough to just feel the shock and pain in the moment.

When the chef came over to assess the situation, I tried my darndest to pull it together.  He quickly put on latex gloves and administered first aide.  He took on a doctor’s technical skill but still kept the bedside manor of a chef, saying sternly, “That’s why it’s always safety first.”

I was thoroughly embarrassed. At that moment I wanted nothing more than to find a small crawl space under which I could nurse my mangled finger and my wilted pride.  A ray of understanding and support came from my fellow NGI student, Marta, who is also interning there with me. When my ears were swooshing and I didn’t know what to do next, she helped me cover the basics like getting a ride home and getting my stuff.

The Chef told me that I should probably go to the hospital to have it checked out.  Ugh.  I gathered my things, feeling like I was asked to pack my knives and leave a la ‘Top Chef.’ With five Band-Aids affixed to my middle finger I gathered my things and said, “Thanks Chef, I’ll see you tomorrow.”


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ABC Kitchen is where I am doing my internship for culinary school.  The James Beard Foundation recently named it Best New Restaurant in the Country.

Oh and my finger will be fine.  I just have to walk around with it gimpy and gauze-wrapped for five days!

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July 4, 2011

Follow Your Bliss, or Something Like That

by Jen Wanous

With school wrapping up this week, there has been much to reflect on.  Six months ago, I left my life as I knew it to start anew and follow my passion for cooking. Perhaps I read one too many ‘O’ articles or maybe it was the sign in front of my bed that says, “follow your bliss”, but I sautéed boldly into the future with a large loan and a full-time job in event management now behind me.

The school has kept me intrigued by teaching me new cooking techniques as well as about food and its connection to healing.  From seaweed to pasta and bread to sauces, we covered a lot of ground in this intensive program.  The people I met at the school, from Jeri at the front desk, to all the teachers and my fellow students, everyone’s care and passion was clear.  I am leaving culinary school now with much satisfaction, many new friends and an eagerness for the future.

My experience has really lit a fire (or burner) under my ass. Now, of course, it’s time to take what I’ve learned and apply it to a real world career. Off into the sunset I will sail, a fierce chef with a clear vision and the degree to back it up. My plans to confidently dive into the post-culinary school waters are solidifying as you read this. Get ready, world!

J/K. I have no clue what lies ahead. I have the knowledge and the passion but the concrete applications are still proving to be allusive. Private cheffing? Catering? Starting my own business? If so, what kind of business? I know these are questions that face all recent graduates and it would be very easy to fold under the weight of the various options. Luckily folding ain’t my bag and never has been. So it’s off to meet the next challenge head on. In one hand I will have my newly acquired and sharpened knife kit to take care of all the practical matters of slicing and dicing. In the other hand I will have my well-worn tool kit filled with my old reliables – optimism and determination – to get me the rest of the way.  Stay tuned!

Photo courtesy of Arielle Nugent.

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May 16, 2011

The Beatuy and Glamor of Culinary School

by Jen Wanous

After shelling fava beans for hours, fingers wrinkled and back sore, this Cinderelli was able to go to the ball.  And what a ball it was!  The James Beard Award gala is the Oscars of the culinary world.  No expense was spared.  With a black tie dress code and food from some of the best chefs in America, I was was wowed by the glitz and glamor of the evening.  The chef from my prospective internship, Gabrielle Hamilton took Best Chef of New York City!  In her acceptance speech she said,  “All you have to do is open a can of sardines and a box of Triscuits, call it a signature dish, and you get Best Chef New York City.”  Another reason why I think this woman is so awesome.  Even after winning best chef of New York City, she abstained from pretentiousness.

My date, Annie and I indulged in some of the 30 odd dishes available –  a smorgasbord of gourmet samplings from the top chefs in the country.  I smiled when I saw the smoked sea scallops and fava beans.  The day before I had worked with chef Timon Balloo of Sugar Cane restaurant of Miami to prepare that dish.  I told Annie and every other person in earshot , that I shelled those favas!!  I was proud to be a part to the event from the inside out.  As an Events Manager prior to starting culinary school, I was often on the inside of events, rarely able to enjoy them.  This time though, I was able to have the inside scoop and be able to fully partake and appreciate what exactly went into pulling an event like this off.   Back to the food:  we had caviar on prosciutto, octopus carpaccio, pulled pork on grits, salmon sashimi…and the top distilleries were handing out the latest cocktail concoctions.  Big ice cubes were all the rage and we enjoyed a Hendrick’s Gin drink poured over one of the giants.  We made small talk with the co-owner of the Spago chain and nodded a hello to Jacues Pepin.  It’s fun to be famous!

Meanwhile, back at school, we had a week of baking.  From cakes to pies to cookies, we rolled out some beautiful gems of sculpted sugar.  We learned how to make most treats vegan and some even gluten-free.  They all were delicious.  Stay tuned for a gluten-free baking post.

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May 9, 2011

Special of the Day: Soft Shell Crabs

by Jen Wanous

While upstairs in the kitchen, during a busy 7pm dinner rush, Mashama asked me to get the soft shell crabs for her. I thought this would be a simple task, like fetching the garlic chives or the Serrano peppers I had brought up earlier. In the cool recess of the refrigerator walk-in, I saw the large plastic bin labeled “Crabs; Be Careful!” with little ventilation cuts takes taken out of the top.  Seeing those, I quickly put together that these soft shell crabs were still living! Suddenly, a little guy inside the box flailed its pinchers at me. Certainly, I wouldn’t be killing these crustaceans. I would just go up stairs and let them know that they had not been prepared and someone else would do it because I hadn’t a clue of how to.

Back upstairs, Mashama told me to bring her a crab so she could show me how to prepare them. With a snip of the sharp kitchen scissors, the crab’s face, butt, some of its shell and part of its inner workings were gone. She held them with such confidence and ease that I took the box of 14 wiggling crabs downstairs, each step telling myself that it would be okay, that I just had to do it, it wasn’t a big deal. With scissors in hand, I went to grab for the first one and it grabbed back! I flinched and might have squealed out loud too. I was so glad that no one else was downstairs to watch me freak out. And there, on the sanitary, industrial steel tables, I took a deep breath and snipped the face off of the first crab. Of course, it wiggled a bunch, and I dropped it, so I had to pick it up again and cut its tail off, then the pokie parts of its shell and then pull up the flaps of its sides to scrape out the gills. Its eyeball cavities oozed grey and green gelatinous substances and even with its face off, it still was flailing about. At first I was afraid that it would pinch me but then I realized that the claws weren’t actually grabbing anything, probably because of their small, pre-exposure-to-a-rough-life-to make them hard shells.

To get through the rest of the 13, staring googily-eyed in front of me, I started things like, “You were such a good crab. I’m sorry I have to cut your eyes off now. Thanks for being so big, someone will really love eating you.”  And other things, some even in a whisper, out loud, to myself, “You can do this. Only 10 more.”  My heart was racing and tight. It was comforting to remember that the owner of this restaurant (the person who essentially bought these crabs) had recently written a book telling about her first experience killing a creature. It was a chicken and she told about how hard it was and the delicate balance of life and death. It was deep. And here I was, in her kitchen, channeling her courage and before I knew it, the 14th tail had been chopped off and I was done! I marched my way upstairs, so proud of myself, arms extended, chest puffed and Mashama took them with a quick “Thanks.” and went on, in the fiery heat of the sauté station to make the seven orders in front of her.

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Prune is the restaurant where I hope to do my culinary school internship. The owner, Gabrielle Hamilton is nominated for Best Chef at tomorrow night’s James Beard Awards (the Oscars of the food world). Her book is called, “Blood, Bones and Butter”.

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March 21, 2011

Bringing Beef Jerky

by Jen Wanous

Have I mentioned that my school is crunchy, earthy, herbal? Being educated in Santa Cruz, I am well versed in these ways. I have walked the straight and narrow as a vegan and was a proud (“meat is murder” bumper sticker sporting) vegetarian for 8 years. I have however since, changed my ways reigning as the current Bacon Throwdown champion of New York, enjoying the bounty of a carnivores diet.

In my class at culinary school, there are 16 of us. Five vegan. Four gluten-free. The rest are vegetarian, except for one other, besides me. (Maybe a few flexitarians when the ribs on the grill look too good.)

As a snack in my first week, I decided to pack along some beef jerky. High protein, low fat, stores well.  A shriveled up carcass of deliciousness resembling what a well mummified labia must look like.

As I slowly pulled it out of its pouch, I felt the 26 veggie eyeballs on my jerky. I quickly covered up the bag as I discreetly munched. I was sure that the beefy teriyaki aroma was filling the space around me and I would be detected. After getting through the tough chews of just a couple pieces, I stashed it back in my bag and decided to work on my corn chips.

Now, in my second week at school, I feel a bit better about my meat eating status. In fact, I just made a yummy bacon sandwich. As I’m writing this even, my fingers are slicked in a bit of lard, as I type this out on my handy dandy iPhone on my lunch break. (I do have a year’s supply of bacon you know!)

Here is the recipe:

Bacon Sammy

4 crisp pieces of bacon (more if you’re feelin it)*
2 slices of bread (sourdough is yum)
Goat cheese
Caramelized onions

Optional: sautéed kale
Parsley, chopped

* fake’in bacon will work too, veggies.

Here’s how you do caramelized onions:

Slice 1/2 an onion. Put about a tablespoon of hot fat in a pan. Add a few dashes of salt.  Med heat to get a little bit of browning on ’em then turn the heat down. Cook ’em for a good 15 mins on low heat until they get a really nice caramelly brown color. Pour a tad of wine in the pan (about 2tbs) to deglaze and pick up the deelish bits. Then you have caramelized onions to add to your bacon sammy.

Assemble all ingredients except the parsley in the sandwich. Place face open in a toaster oven or broiler for about 7 mins, until the goat cheese is browned. Add the parsley. Enjoy!

xo

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March 7, 2011

On the Eve of Day One

by Jen Wanous

My first day of culinary school is tomorrow.  Important questions are on my mind like what should I wear (on the only day I will not be in uniform) and what the heck should I bring for lunch!?

The school is the “Natural Gourmet Institute” so some degree of crunch, (both in outfit and in meal) will be expected.  A friend suggested showing up in a full clown costume…the idea of recreating myself sounds appealing…but “honk, honk” like a clown horn is a bit much.  I decided on my subdued (yet sexy) secretary look—light on the lipstick (god forbid I’d come off as trying too hard).  I’m sure my true hippyness and silliness will shine through—clogs and jokes will get me there.

Now, to more important things…frozen burrito, no too easy…almond butter and honey sandwich…closer, but not sophisticated enough…quinoa and kale—that’s the ticket!  I decided to add some of my homemade enchilada sauce, just in case I need to show culinary credentials on my hour-long lunch break.

It’s not likely that I’ll be quizzed on the ingredients of my sauce, but this is a big day…I want to sufficiently impressive.  I’ve been in the process of becoming a “good cook” for years and now I’ll have the proper education to back up my passion.

Outfit planed, lunch packed, I’m left to wonder about who my classmates will be in this intimate 16 person, six month-long program.  A cross between Survivor and Top Chef comes to mind…only less competitive I hope!  Who will be the crazy one?  Who will be the tough one?  I hope I’m the good cook one that people like.  It’s hard to kick that “people pleasing” thing…but that’s what will make me good in business…the super successful business I’ll have with food!  Here’s to setting intentions.

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