Week 3: Winston the Lobster & Tongue Pores

Sep 14, 2017
3 min read

Day 1: Seafood galore! Walking into the kitchen I immediately wanted to be on the beach due to the fishy smell of our lesson for the day. Chef told us about the different processes of how seafood comes from the ocean to the plate in a restaurant. We then discussed how a fish should arrive when ordered for kitchen use. All of a sudden pulled out 10-pound salmon fish for us to all stare at. He then mentioned certain & important things should be seen when fish is ordered for us: smell (should smell like the ocean), see a layer of clear slime on the skin, the fish should be plump, the eyes should look fairly normal (and bounce back if poked aggressively), look at gills and make sure the flesh bounces back! Chef also taught us to make sure were versatile with all parts of the any ingredient in this case it was the salmon- which was delicious!

After our salmon demonstration, Chef showed us how to properly receive and "de-beard" mussels. Then we met Winston the Lobster who we watched pass away and then proceeded to eat him. Very interesting texture and taste to Winston. Shellfish aren't very tasty in my point of view.

My biggest AHA moment was when Chef mentioned how important it is to always be consistent when sizing out portions and to make sure to never lower our standards of quality when it comes to food we make.

Here was the salmon before & after Chef cut him to pieces.

Day 2: Walking into the kitchen today I rushed to the front of the class today to gaze upon the 43 different vegetables that Chef laid out for us to analyze & name. I did not know that Chinese goose berries were kiwis or that there was such a thing as an Asian pear. Who knew fruit and veggies could be so interesting to learn facts about?

After our fruits & veggie quiz, we had a little taste test of the 5 different categories of taste; salt, sour, bitter, sweet and savory. Which was very interesting to take part in. All different tastes have their own smell & taste no matter what is was.

Chef then began to discuss about what a company's ultimate purpose is for it's customers. The most common goal for companies is to make a profit which can interfere with their dedication to quality and health. A common example with this issue are apples. Chef mentioned that almost all of apples that Americans see in grocery stores are genetically modified because apples are supposed to grown in season not during every month- which SHOCKED me to my core (or should I say my apple core). In all seriousness, it was mind-blowing to hear that we've had to make so many modifications to FRUIT which is supposedly healthy for our bodies but apparently not.

My biggest AHA moment was focused around a quote that Chef shared with us, "search for places who grow with a passion for people, not for profit" which hit my soft spot in my heart! That's what the hospitality industry is all about and it's going to be so important for us all to focus on building relationships with people who are passionate about others. I want to live my life that way.

Here are pictures of Chef trying to create a 'lemonade' type substance & 4 different types of apples that all taste different and are all genetically modified. How great.