Potato hate.

Week 2 for college and the job search. College is going a lot better then the job search is which is good in one aspect but the funds are running low and tea and cookies at college don't help the ever decreasing bank account.

Today I can confidently and modestly say I did not look lost standing outside my kitchen, wandering around the stairwells or hovering trying to open lockers that clearly didn't work like last week.

Our  lesson today was precision cuts. Lovely little things these are...tricky and specific as they require a ruler as a kitchen tool. There is Brunoise which is a 1-3mm dice, Julienne which is 2mm x2mm x40mm (also known as match sticks), Jardiniere which is a chunkier cut 5mm x5mm x25mm (also known as Batons), Paysanne can be cut into different shapes eg triangle, circle, half moon, square & diamond but has to be 10mm x10mm x2mm and finally Macedoine which is a 5mm dice. We chopped carrots, leeks, onions, celery and turnip. Raw turnips are a stinky vegetable that is for sure.

After all the tiny chopping and shredding we learnt how to tourne potatoes. These will be the bane of my existence. Tourne potatoes for those like me who did not know what this was until today is turning a dirty, great big potato into uniform egg/football shapes which have seven sides using a turning knife. Mine turned out like wonky, lopsided french fries. I was told that I need to practice at home every time we have potatoes. I have now made a conscious effort to try and not have dinner at home purely so I don't feel guilty for not practicing this tedious task. Turning potatoes is quite difficult to explain how to do so check out this youtube clip I found which makes it look so much easier then it really is. Trust me when I saw the teacher do it I thought that this was going to be a breeze and very therapeutic. No. Not the story at all.

I don't want to look at another potato ever again.

This afternoon was also full of theory. We learnt about food presentation and had a sneak peek of what is to come in the course. We get to cook at the college restaurant where everything is made to order. The food looked delicious; pumpkin soup with homemade gnocchi, panfried fish which precision cut vegetable, goats cheese ravioli in a cream sauce, panna-cotta, tarts with spun sugar on top and profiter rolls. AND that was only a few things we saw. Woop we get to do more then chop throughout the semester. I think Chef showed us this to keep our hopes up... all we've done so far is chop, chop and CHOP.

I also learnt today that you can get sued for manslaughter if you give someone food poisoning in your restaurant and they die. Not a nice thought to finish on but theory was boring and we were all hoping for an early mark which didn't happen.

Cooking next week WOOP!!!

Thanks for reading & watch this space for cooking astonishments and catastrophes. Until next time. Happy eating!