Fire 2...
Wednesday, November 29
Today we had our "A la Carte 2" course, which was a course like yesterday where there was a simulated restaurant kitchen. However, this time the dishes to prepare a la minute or to order took more time to prep and mise-en-place and were more complex to cook... chicken seared, flambed, the creation of a reduction sauce with portabello and shitake mushrooms, and the chicken and sauce served over roasted potatos... or, a sauteed marinated tempeh with curried coconut sauce and pineapple chutney over rice... or, a tofu teriyaki stirfry with udon noodles and assorted vegetables. Again, the chef ordered constant dishes in a variety of ways and we moved from station to station responding to her requests. It was not easy to remember what to do without a recipe or instructions and to remember everything exactly while you are under pressure to perform. However, it was exciting and fun.
After school, we booked a kitchen and our lead chef instructor for a Friday Night Dinner practice to try a variety of dishes, including chai and green tea ice creams with almond milk (two flavours, both winners), a variety of ginger cookies (still looking for the right recipe that is crispy and complements the ice creams), sea vegetable salad with sesame ginger dressing (a winner), and home-made dal and grilled chapati bread (both winners). It was fun to work together to try out the different recipes, and then eat them. We have to cook our four-course meal for a group of 10 people next Tuesday, including the president, teachers and staff, and are critiqued and graded so the pressure is on and because we have limited time we are working separately and together to perfect our recipes for the big day. One of the things I am charge of is the sea vegetable salad so I have been researching and looking at various stores for the kinds of sea vegetables available and then trying them out to see what they look and taste like and how best to prepare them. I also have been perfecting my ginger sesame dresing and the type of vegetables I will put in the salad (including texture, kind of cut, how to reduce production time, etc.). But, I am happy to say that our chef loved the salad and said it's been over a a year or so since someone attempted a sea vegetable salad and he's been hoping a student group would try one again.
In the morning, we had our second course on business and entrepreneurship where our instructor spoke about key financial documents such as the business plan and "turn charts" to project how many seats you will be turning a day and the average cheque amount. We had to write our mission statements for our potential businesses and then share them with the class for review, discussion and ideas. Also, we discussed other aspects of owning a restaurant such as creation of a menu, which should be one of the first steps, and tips for creating an effective menu such as never placing the most expensive items at the top or bottom of a menu page. Tomorrow we have our third business course, a business quiz, and then a wheat-free baking course.
Food for thought...
1. What is the usually the busiest day of the year for restaurants in a city? 2. When is there usually a dramatic decrease in sales for restaurants in a city? 3. How many restaurants fail in NYC in one year usually? 4. How much does it usually take in terms of money to open up a good restaurant in NYC?
Answer: 3. Mother's Day, followed closely by other occasions such as Valentine's Day, pre-Christmas holiday celebrations, etc. 2. Right after income tax time; 3. 26% the first year, 19% the second year, and 14% the third year. So less than what people usually think and if you make it to year three than you are safe. 4. Usually a few million dollars.
Today we had our "A la Carte 2" course, which was a course like yesterday where there was a simulated restaurant kitchen. However, this time the dishes to prepare a la minute or to order took more time to prep and mise-en-place and were more complex to cook... chicken seared, flambed, the creation of a reduction sauce with portabello and shitake mushrooms, and the chicken and sauce served over roasted potatos... or, a sauteed marinated tempeh with curried coconut sauce and pineapple chutney over rice... or, a tofu teriyaki stirfry with udon noodles and assorted vegetables. Again, the chef ordered constant dishes in a variety of ways and we moved from station to station responding to her requests. It was not easy to remember what to do without a recipe or instructions and to remember everything exactly while you are under pressure to perform. However, it was exciting and fun.
After school, we booked a kitchen and our lead chef instructor for a Friday Night Dinner practice to try a variety of dishes, including chai and green tea ice creams with almond milk (two flavours, both winners), a variety of ginger cookies (still looking for the right recipe that is crispy and complements the ice creams), sea vegetable salad with sesame ginger dressing (a winner), and home-made dal and grilled chapati bread (both winners). It was fun to work together to try out the different recipes, and then eat them. We have to cook our four-course meal for a group of 10 people next Tuesday, including the president, teachers and staff, and are critiqued and graded so the pressure is on and because we have limited time we are working separately and together to perfect our recipes for the big day. One of the things I am charge of is the sea vegetable salad so I have been researching and looking at various stores for the kinds of sea vegetables available and then trying them out to see what they look and taste like and how best to prepare them. I also have been perfecting my ginger sesame dresing and the type of vegetables I will put in the salad (including texture, kind of cut, how to reduce production time, etc.). But, I am happy to say that our chef loved the salad and said it's been over a a year or so since someone attempted a sea vegetable salad and he's been hoping a student group would try one again.
In the morning, we had our second course on business and entrepreneurship where our instructor spoke about key financial documents such as the business plan and "turn charts" to project how many seats you will be turning a day and the average cheque amount. We had to write our mission statements for our potential businesses and then share them with the class for review, discussion and ideas. Also, we discussed other aspects of owning a restaurant such as creation of a menu, which should be one of the first steps, and tips for creating an effective menu such as never placing the most expensive items at the top or bottom of a menu page. Tomorrow we have our third business course, a business quiz, and then a wheat-free baking course.
Food for thought...
1. What is the usually the busiest day of the year for restaurants in a city? 2. When is there usually a dramatic decrease in sales for restaurants in a city? 3. How many restaurants fail in NYC in one year usually? 4. How much does it usually take in terms of money to open up a good restaurant in NYC?
Answer: 3. Mother's Day, followed closely by other occasions such as Valentine's Day, pre-Christmas holiday celebrations, etc. 2. Right after income tax time; 3. 26% the first year, 19% the second year, and 14% the third year. So less than what people usually think and if you make it to year three than you are safe. 4. Usually a few million dollars.
posted by Caroline at 8:34 PM
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