First day of school.

First's of anything are always daunting. I had my first day at college for Commercial Cookery Cert III yesterday. After a practice run driving there the day before I had the transport down packed. Finding my classroom and the lockers was another story completely.

I found the washrooms and changed into black and white checked pants, my old school shoes (which are in surprisingly good nik considering I was at school four years ago) and a double breasted white chef's top with black buttons and headed to my kitchen to stand looking like a lost puppy. Okay maybe puppy is too cute and the wrong word to use here... like a someone waiting outside their home for someone else to come home because they've forgotten their keys and looking around looking slightly nervous because they need to pee and are considering the front bushes. 

After finding the lockers on the level below I dumped my bags, grabbed my kit and text books and walked back to my kitchen to find others also looking lost and standing aimlessly. Ooo you should see my kit... fancy stuff! 

I met my teacher and other class mates after we filed in the class room in drips and drabs. It seems I was not the only one who got a little lost and walked around the different levels going up and down three different types of stair cases. The day started off by being the first to jump in and writing the wrong date on all the forms and making most of my class also write the wrong date. Our teacher which we are instructed to call 'Chef' walked us around the kitchen which we'll be in every Wednesday and gave us the grand tour.

I set up my work station with a chopping board, a gastronome full of soapy water and a dishcloth and my chefs knife which looks huge for me. We grabbed our tray of goodies (carrots, leeks, celery, herbs, peppercorns, string, gauze and onions) and watched Chef show us how to chop. I have to break a bad habit after watching Chef show us the 'proper' way. I almost chop my fingers off the way I chop and now have to hold the vegetable with my left hand like a claw but having the knife touch my knuckle each cut. Hard to explain and even more difficult to do and not just do what I've been doing for the past 4 years. It just shows I should have done it right through school and not just when the teacher walked over to my station.

First we made a bouquet garni which is used to flavour soups, stocks and sauces. Yep! listened and learnt. We made two types; one using gauze and the other using an outer layer of a leek which I had never done before. For readers out their who want to know what is in a bouquet garni it contains celery, parsley stalks, peppercorns, bay leaf, thyme and it is all tightly tied together (my sewing skills from textiles came in handy here) like a large tea bag.

We stopped for lunch (ham, cheese and gherkin relish sandwich... not really gourmet but delish) then headed back to the kitchen for more chopping. After giving precision cuts a quick go we got dressed out of our uniform and headed to class for theory.

Theory. The dreaded word.
Talk about throwing us in the deep end, first day of theory was a literacy and numeracy assessment. I have not used my brain in four years and now they want me to take a maths and english test!? you have to be joking. But no they weren't... they said it is so dumb arses can't float through the course. Okay so not in so many words but summing it up thats what it was for.

They asked us what job we wanted and why. A chef. Because I love everything about food, cooking and being part of the most important part of peoples day. 

All in all I still have all my fingers and didn't need the first aid kit on my first day at cooking school.
A successful day.

Thanks for reading.