New Information for incoming class January 3, 2013

Hi,

Please read ALL of this post and ask questions before the start of class. I may be updating information between now and Day 1, so check the blog frequently - especially on Monday and Tuesday.
This is where you should look each day for information about the course in general and instructions specific to your class and station. It's VERY important that you read and analyze your recipes, watch all videos AND read the daily information posted here. A significant part of your grade hinges on being prepared for class and these are the tools to prepare with. Day 1 begins at 7:00 AM , Please be prepared as instructed in advance.

Tracking Schedule - Has been sent out to your group leader as in excel format so that you can read entire contents. If you did nt receive or do not fully understand your assignments for Day 1 or ANY other day, it's yuor responsibility to contact me and get clarification before the beginning of class. Find your name and "Number" (the number of your assignments will be listed next to your name - first person on the roster is "Student #1") and scroll across to see what your cooking assignments are for each day.

Heads up - The most common mistakes made on Day 1, class wide, are:

Not watching the MUST WATCH VIDEOS before coming to class on Day 1.
Not having a complete and detailed time line in the correct format
Not analyzing recipes fully
Not researching terms, ingredients, technique that you are unfamiliar with - if you don't know it - look it up, view pictures and watch videos
Not knowing how to set up a basic work station
Not knowing basic cooking fundamentals covered in Culinary Fundamentals such as - how much starch do you need in a slurry to thicken a set amount of liquid; the proper dimensions of classic knife cuts; the temperatures at which things cook; Not knowing basic measurements - how many pints in a gallon?, etc...
Not being organized or efficient enough to complete the work assigned on time. 

On a station by station basis, here is more in depth info for you:

Sous Chefs: Sous Chef s - look at the tracking schedule , identify other sous chefs, meet and coordinate as a team. You are ALL responsible for "making it happen". Practice delegating but,  if you delegate, follow up and make sure it was done properly.

Kitchen Set Up - See Diagram on Moodle Page, - this is a "Model" and will vary by the day, but it's a good point of reference to start, be familiar with all aspects of kitchen set up. Speak to Chef about specifics for Day 1.

Food Orders (Meat, Fish, Storeroom) must be picked up and in the Kitchen by 7:00 AM each day.

All China and Dishware must be checked against our China Inventory Sheet and stored (hot or cold) as soon as you come in and the carts taken back to the dish room. This is standard every day. A Supplemental Food Order sheet should be started on a clean sheet of paper. The supplemental will list Item, Quantity, and Station ordering the item. Usually the supplemental is due to me no later than 7:30 AM, but on day one 8:00 AM is acceptable.

Sous Chef's Paper Work, each day you receive a clip board with these papers. It's your responsibility to know how to use them. If not sure - ask in advance. On the Day if you are assigned to be a sous chef, it is important for you to review this.


Early Morning Supplemental. Note "Item-Quantity-Station Requesting"

Sanitation Supply Ordering Sheet, based on par-stock system. Amount we SHOULD have on hand is listed, order what we need to get UP to that amount. If we have enough already, fill in blank with an "X"

Flip Side of the Sanitation Sheet. This is the end-of-the-day cleaning check list to make sure everything is left clean and orderly

Daily inventory sheet. While the rest of the group cleans, the sous chefs inventory what we have for the following day's menu.This allows me to order more if we are short, or back something out of the next morning's order if we are over stocked. Important to do this accurately - it shortens early morning supplementals and keeps our cooler from getting over crowded. Sous Chefs should fill in ONLY the "On Hand" column. Chef will fill in the "Order Column" as he needs to.

Student #1
Responsible for Moo Shu Vegetables and the sauce: Read recipe, watch video for Moo Shu, but also for vegetable cuts for stir frying. On Day One be prepared to make 5 portions - 1/2 of the recipe provided - with assistance of the chef. Having watched the video, you should be able to set up the station properly for the chef to walk you through the first batch. On Days 2+3 you will be preparing at least one full recipe, perhaps more depending on demand. Plan to prep the vegetables and other MEP for the Moo Shu as quickly as possible, work in a clean, organized fashion. The sauce should be made and pre-portioned into  1 oz. white china ramekins, these will be held on the side to accompany each plate. Assist Station #5 with Moo Shu Pancakes if time permits. Be ready to cook, all MEP at a wok station,  by 10:00 AM

 Common mistakes - not cleaning bean sprouts properly or cutting vegetables properly, not watching videos closely enough to understand the procedures.

Student #2
Responsible for Cantonese BBQ Pork and Lacquered Pork Ribs: There will be 4-6 pork butts ready for you when you arrive; 1 will have been brined and marinated - "oven ready" - for days 1+2; Pork butts coming in on Day 1 will be As Purchased/Bone in - you will need to fabricate them into small roasts as indicated in the recipe, make a brine, and submerge them over night. These will then be marinated on Day 2 and, finally, Roasted on Day 3.

1 of the pork butts already in marinade is for roasting on Day 1, the others are for roasting on Day 2,  put them in the Chinese roasting oven at 160C as early as possible on those days. Watch the video on using the oven + make sure you know how to use it.
You are also responsible for setting up a pork carving station for service. On production days the pork should be held in the conventional oven at 90C on a sheet tray with a rack. When you get an order, the steam table line will pass you a plate with rice and cabbage on it - you will take a pork butt from the oven, slice a portion, plate it, and put the pork butt back in the oven to keep it warm.
Once pork is in the oven, begin prepping the ribs for days 2+3, watch the video for "Rib Fabrication" and follow that technique. There won't be any ribs in marinade waiting for you when you arrive on Day 1 so you should prepare to clean and marinate 3 racks on Day 1 for Day 2 and the same on Day 2 for Day 3.
You will notice that Chinese Spice Powder is NOT purchased from the store room. We make it ourselves in small quantities. Have a copy of the recipe and a knowledge of the process for making it before you come to class. The recipe is embedded in the BBQ pork recipe.
Common Mistakes - Not watching videos, not knowing how to use Chinese Roasting Oven, fabricate pork butt or ribs, not knowing how to make Chinese Spice powder

Student #3
Responsible for Steaming 8 cups of Chinese Long Grain White Rice and Shanghai style Steamed Fish: Read recipe and watch video for preparing rice, set up all necessary equipment and ingredients, and ask chef to demonstrate procedure to class, follow through with steaming of rice for Family Meal on Day 1and Service for Day's 2 + 3 as directed in recipe - rice must be ready for service no later than 10:45 AM.  Read recipe for fish, review photo and instructions for Wok Steamer, prepare fish as described and fire in batches of 2 or as needed for service. Ask chef for details of "firing" each day - timing may vary depending on traffic. On Day 1 be prepared to produce 5 portions of fish, on Days 2+3 - 10 portions, or as indicated by Chef.
Common mistakes: not understanding how the fish is cut or garnished,cutting fish garnish improperly,  not knowing what type of ham to use, burning the garlic for the bok choy, not reading recipes, reviewing information, asking questions in advance.

Student #4
Responsible for Aromatic Lamb Shoulder and Braised Cabbage:Read the recipes for each, study the photos of the Mise en Place, set up your station and ask chef for assistance in starting each dish. The lamb will take longer than the cabbage, so get that set up and started first. On Day 1 prepare to make 5 portions of Lamb and 10 portions of cabbage. On Days 2+3 - double the amounts unless otherwise instructed by Chef. When items are finished cooking, check seasoning with Chef and then "Hot Hold" in covered deep 1/2 hotel pans until service. It's important for you to be finished cooking and clean your woks by 10:15. Others will need to use your woks for "ala minute" stir fry.

Student #5
Responsible for preparing the Moo Shu Pancakes to accompany the Moo Shu Vegetables prepared by Student #1 and chicken for the Tangerine chicken prepared by student #7. The  dough for Moo Shu Pancakes needs to be made, rested, and rolled out as early as possible; prepare 1 full recipe of dough for each day. Ask Chef to help you get started, but see if you can walk yourself through the procedure and get all of the necessary equipment in place before asking for a demo. Watch the video on cooking the pancakes, it's embedded in the recipe.Remember to preheat the cast-iron gridddle and skillets while you prep the pancakes so that they are hot when the pancakes are ready to cook. The dough for Day 2 needs to be made as well, make that separately, wrap and store in the cooler for Day 2..You will cut, marinate, batter and fry the chicken for Tangerine Chicken Recipe, do this well ahead of service, drain chicken on absorbant towels and give it to the student preparing the rest of the Stir Fried Chicken Dish. This MUST be completed by 10:00 and given to Student #7. Look at the recipe and, on Day 1, prepare 2# of chicken (1/4 recipe). On days 2+3 prepare 4# (1/2 of a full recipe) unless directed otherwise by the Chef.
Common mistakes are - not watching video or following instructions for pancakes, not knowing how to fry battered items ( chicken) properly or how to set up a fry station efficiently, not following directions.

Student #6: Responsible for preparing the Smoked Bean Curd and Celery Salad and The Chinese Sea Weed Salad: Through research, be familiar with the ingredients used in these recipes. Do not assume that they will come in packages labeled clearly in English - know what you're looking for. Read the recipes for both salads and on Day 1, be prepared to make 1/2 of the Smoked Bean Curd and 1/2  recipe of the seaweed salad. For Days 2+3 make 1 full recipe of teach.Currently, there are no photos embedded in these recipes, speak with me about shooting some if time permits.  Common mistakes are: Inconsistent knife cuts for smoked tofu and celery - they should be similar and uniform; over soaking/under soaking seaweed and wiping away the flavorful white powder on the surface of the Kombu - leave it on, talk to the chef. Both salads may be dressed 30 minutes prior to service.

Student #7:Responsible for Tangerine Chicken and Sauce. This dish requires three components to be brought together for final stir frying at service. You are responsible for preparing the vegetables and sauce components, setting up the wok station for stir frying, and the actual stir frying itself. The Chicken component will be prepared by Student # 5 (see above), and given to you no later than 10:00 AM. On Day 1 you should prepare 1/4 of the recipe, on Days 2+3 prepare 1/2 of a full recipe unless otherwise directed by the Chef. Prepare 1/2 recipe of sauce for each day. Watch the video imbedded in the recipe to see how the dish is finished.
Common mistakes: Vegetables are not cut uniformly, sauce is not made ahead, student does not know how to use - or how much - slurry to thicken amount of sauce made.Mise en place is not all at station when cooking begins, wok is allowed to get too hot before cooking begins.

Student #8: Responsible for Fried Rice and Stir Fried Bok Choy. On Day 1 Prepare 1 full recipe of each dish. On Days 2+3, prepare 1 full recipe of fried Rice and 3x (3 kg) of bok choy.  All of the Bok Choy we receive each day is for you to prep - cut as directed, cleaned, blanched in heavily salted water, shocked, gently squeezed dry, divided into 4 batches for service; the bok choy will be served on several different dishes through out service. Garlic should be sliced into thin "chips". There is a video to watch embedded in the bok choy recipe, but please ask me to help you with the first batch - the garlic can burn very easily if you don't control the wok heat. For the Fried Rice you will need to steam and cool enough rice for Day 1 and Day 2, start very early so the rice for Day 1 is COLD when you start the stir frying process; you should be completely ready to start the fried rice by 10:00 AM in the same large wok you will later use for bok choy - you'll need to be finished with the fried rice by 10:30. The Common mistakes are - Not cleaning or cutting bok choy as directed, under or over blanching the bok choy, not cutting garlic properly for bok choy, burning garlic for the bok choy, starting fried rice with warm or room temperature rice, not allowing vegetables to caramelize in stages for fried rice, scorching the bottom of the wok for fried rice.

Student #9: You are responsible for Steaming 8 (or more, as chef requires) cups of Chinese long grained white rice, preparing, filling, steaming, and having ready for service Shao Mai dumplings and the sauce that accompanies it. Read the recipes and watch the videos on preparing rice for steaming and for shaping Steamed Dumplings and study the set up for the Wok steamer photograph It's helpful to have the rice rinsed and ready to steam by 10:00 AM. The Dumplings should be shaped and ready to steam in a wok steamer by 10:00 as well, for Day 1 prepare 1/2 recipe, for Days 2+3 prepare 1.5x the recipe of Dumplings;  The Ginger-Soy dipping sauce recipe should be scaled to make 1 cup (240 ml) on Day 1 and 1 liter on Days 2+3.The sauce needs to be portioned into 1 oz ramekins before service begins - make sure you have counted out the appropriate number of ramekins early in the day, you WILL NOT be able to find them later if you forget.
Common Mistakes:Mis-measuring and/or not timing the rice properly, not resting or fluffing cooked rice, not following directions for dumpling filling or wok steamer set up.

Student #10 Responsible for Hot and Sour Soup and Mapo Dofu (Grand mother's Bean curd):
For Day 1 produce  1/2 recipe of soup and 1/2 recipe of Mapo Dofu. On Days 2+3 prepare 1 full recipe of each. Watch the videos for both dishes, read and analyze the recipes and set up MEP to start cooking both, the chef will then assist in your first attempts.The soup MUST be finished and in a soup warmer, wok cleaned, by 10:00 - the woks need to be empty and clean for stir frying by 10:30. The soup should be held hot in a covered Bain Marie for service, we have a soup warmer which will be set up near the door just prior to service. The chili-ginger oil you make is to be shared with Student # 14 for the Grilled Chicken Wings. Common mistakes: Not watching videos for the preparation of the dishes or the use of woks, not knowing how to use slurry to thicken soup, mis-measuring ingredients for dishes, not starting soup early enough or moving quickly /efficiently enough to get both done prior to the 10:30 deadline; not having proper number of hot soup cups ready for service.

Student #11 Responsible for Producing Fried Spring Rolls and Pan Fried Dumplings. For Day 1, make 1/2 recipe of each dish. For Days 2+3 make 1 full recipe of each.Read and analyze recipes and watch videos for the production of both.  Organize yourself to work and prep efficiently. Make the dumpling dough fist - you may make enough for both Day 1 + 2, divide in half and allow to rest, covered. Next make filling for Spring Rolls. Assembly of both will be a class activity, your job is to set it up, coordinate the shaping and filling, and then the finishing and cooking. Chef will do a class demo on both and students will rotate on and off of your station, each shaping several dumplings and rolls. Both items and the accompanying spicy mustard sauce for the spring rolls must be ready to cook by 10:30. Common mistakes: Not making dough and preparing filings early enough. Not setting up production stations efficiently so that others can assist, not being properly set up for cooking and serving two items at once - feel free to talk to Chef about how to set this up on Day 1.

Student #12: Responsible for Cucumber and Bean Starch Noodle Salad and to start the Red Rice wine. Be prepared to produce 1 recipe of this salad each day of the menu. The Bean Sheet Noodle Salad is very straight forward, read the recipe, be able to identify your ingredients,and follow the instructions. Ask chef concerning texture of the noodles after soaking as directed - they should be pleasantly chewy, the salad may be dressed up to 30 minutes before serving. Currently there are no photos for this dish, speak with Chef about shooting a sequence for future use. The wine takes at least 3 weeks to complete from Start to Finish, Once started, you will work with chef throughout the block to monitor and watch it develop. We may take photos and/or video to document the end result.


Student #13: Responsible for Stir Fried Pork with green Chilies.  The recipe is fairly straight forward, but you should analyze it carefully, write a sequential time line for preparation and an order of ingredients for cooking. Be sure to watch all Must See Day 1 Videos to understand the vegetable cuts and the wok use. When MEP is set, speak to chef about a demo. There are no photos or videos for this dish yet, if time permits we will shoot some of each on Day 1 to embed into the recipe for future use. Common mistakes are yet to be determined, however, being under prepared and under informed about techniques and ingredients are common problems with any new dish. Be smart.

Student #14: Responsible for Grilled Chinese Chicken Wings. Prepare by reading the recipe, setting up a station with the ingredients and equipment and consulting with the chef before assembling or cooking. If possible we will take photos and/or shoot some video for future classes.  Prepare one full recipe on each day 1,2 and 3.
Common mistakes : Improper grill set up, not understanding fundamentals of grilling, not being set up on time, not asking questions ahead of cooking.


Student #15: Responsible for Steaming 8 cups (or more if required by Chef) Chinese long grained white rice and preparing Wonton Soup. For the soup, prepare 1/2 recipe of the broth and the garnish but 1 FULL recipe of filling for wontons. Read the recipes and watch the videos on preparing rice for steaming and for shaping the wontons. On Day 1, once you have prepared the filling and set up the station for shaping wontons, the Chef will do a class demo and each student will shape 5-6 of them.   It's helpful to have the rice rinsed and ready to steam by 10:00 AM. The wontons should be shaped and ready to boil  in a wok by 10:00 as well - the woks need to be empty and clean for stir frying by 10:30. The broth should be held hot in a covered Bain Marie for service, we have a soup warmer which will be set up near the door just prior to service. Common Mistakes: Mis-measuring and/or not timing the rice properly, not resting or fluffing cooked rice, not following directions for making wonton filling or cooking/cooling/holding wontons or soup garnish;not starting soup early enough or moving quickly /efficiently enough to get both done prior to the 10:00 deadline;  not having proper number of hot soup cups ready for service.

Student #16: Responsible for Stir Fried Beef with Scallions. This is a New Dish for the course, prepare by reading the recipe, setting up a station with the ingredients and equipment and consulting with the chef before assembling or cooking. If possible we will take photos and/or shoot some video for future classes.Common mistakes are yet to be determined, however, being under prepared and under informed about techniques and ingredients are common problems with any new dish. Be smart.

Student #17:  Responsible for Szechuan Peppercorn Bread and "Pork Floss". It's important to start the bread dough early so that it has time to rest. While the dough is resting you should prepare the other ingredients for the bread. It's a good idea to set up a griddle or several cast iron pans on the grill or stove top and pre-heat them while you finish the bread. Also part of your MEP should be a dry hotel pan lined with several clean, dry towels for holding the bread as they are cooked. This is a New Dish for the course so there are no videos or photos yet, talk to the chef on Day 1 about shooting some for future use. The Pork Floss is a time consuming process stretching out over 3 days. It's important to read the entire recipe before Day 1 and to follow the sequence each day to stay on track. The end result is shelf stable for a long time and has many uses throughout East Asian cuisines. Again, this is a New Dish for the course, so talk to the chef before each step in the sequence so that we can photograph and/or video the process. Common mistakes are yet to be determined, however, being under prepared and under informed about techniques and ingredients are common problems with any new dish. Be smart.

Student #18: Responsible for Northern Chinese Vegetable Salad with Emulsified Dressing and Spicy Cabbage Pickle These are both New Dishes for the course, prepare by reading the recipes, setting up a station with the ingredients and equipment and consulting with the chef before assembling or cooking.The Spicy Cabbage Pickle should be stated on Day 1 and finished and served on Day 2. On Day 2 make another batch to finish and serve on Day 3.  If possible we will take photos and/or shoot some video for future classes.Common mistakes are yet to be determined, however, being under prepared and under informed about techniques and ingredients are common problems with any new dish. Be smart.

December 21 - I'm taking a break

For the Incoming Class starting January 3, 2013 - I'm taking a break for a few days. I will most likely publish a new post with details about day 1 by Sunday. Check back then. Thanks

Day 11 Look ahead at Prep and service of Indian Menu

Be prepared for a quiz after clean up on Wednesday afternoon and the final on Thursday morning. The quiz will be the same format as the previous and cover Vietnam and Thailand - 15 multiple choice questions and 10 tasting items from Vietnam and Thailand. The final on Day 13 will be given as soon as you arrive in the morning and take about 30 minutes. It will be similar format - multiple choice and tasting - and cover all units including India, it will have 30 multiple choice questions and 20 tasting items.

On Day 11 to Prep for Days 12 + 13

If you are on any of the Days 12 + 13 "Grill - Roast" stations - Erik, Meghan, Kathy, Doug - you should be prepping the Tandoori Chicken on Day 11 for the Indian menu. 

- Station #4 - Justin - find the Yogurt recipe in the Indian Section and be prepared to make yogurt. If this is a problem, communicate with me and I'll delegate to someone else - but it needs to be done. 

- Station #9 - Peter You should have spice paste made and pork marinated for all Pork Vindaloo on Days 12, 13 before the end of Day 11

- Station #14 - Mark - If you have not already started - Find the Recipe for Idlis and begin the fermentation on Day 11.

Station #13 - Doug - Remember to make the Lamb Stock with Chef on Day 11 so it's ready for Days 12+13.

- Station # 16 - Falisha - If you have not already started, begin the Dosa on Day 11. The batter must ferment over night to be any good.

OK -Station by Staion instructions for Indian Menu

HEADS UP - Indian People do NOT eat with chop sticks, they traditionally eat with their hands. Please do not put chop sticks out for service during the Indian Menu.

We will be making our own yogurt on Day 11 for use on day 12 + 13, Have someone Drain 4 quarts of yogurt as soon as you arrive. To drain -  line a china cap with moist cheese cloth and place it over a bain marie, put yogurt into china cap and leave to sit for several hours - do not press, squeeze, or otherwise try to push the yogurt through the cloth - let gravity do the work.

 ANYONE: If interested and have time, see the recipes for Mango Lhassi and Jal Jeera. They're fun and different and we an drink them with family meal.

Sous Chefs - All entrees will be served on a 12" round plate LINED WITH A BANANA LEAF CIRCLE. Let me show you how to cut the circles and be sure we have enough for service on Day 13. YOU MAY NEED TO ORDER EXTRA ON SUPPLEMENTAL. Traditionally, Indian diners will not eat from plates, they use banana leaves to hold the food, this presentation acknowledges that.

Everything will be in 1/2 hotel pans on the steam table except for the accompaniments. Sous Chefs - Consult with me ahead and draw a detailed diagram of where everything will go on the steam table for Day 13. There won't be enough space on the steam table for the rice - put rice in chaffing dish at end of steam table near plates.  After the chaffing dish for rice, start with the vegetables, then the Dal, then the proteins, then breads, finally the "dumplings"


As always, Sous Chefs will need to make sure we have the food picked up from Store room, Fish room, Meat room - delegate as needed to make sure the food is at the kitchen by 7:00 AM.  Also sanitation supplies, supplemental, china check in and storage and make sure the cold station people set up for  TASTING TRAY for the Indian section of the course guide on Day 12,  and demo table set up for service on Day 13. For service on Day 13, think ahead, figure out who will be cooking and who will be serving, where everyone should be during service and how you will expedite to them-  communicate to them in advance. Ask Chef and past Sous Chef/Expediters for advice. 

  Instead of Street Food like the previous menus, we will need to set up a cold condiment plating station. The condiments will be a variety of different chutnis, spreads and pickles to serve with each main plate on  Day 13 for service. Consult with Chef on the best set up for efficient service - all items will be cool/room temp: Tamarind/Date Chutney; Coconut Chutney; Mango Chutney; Cucumber Raitha; and Vegetable Achar - Sous Chefs, .  Think about how to set up the service table with small containers for each component, I strongly suggest drawing a diagram of how you will lay this out BEFORE coming to class. Because the components do not need to be kept hot,the "Plate Tree" may be set up just before service to speed things up at the beginning.

Students #1, #6, #7, #13 - All  Grill /Roast stations will be making Tandoori Chicken - so if that's your assignment, I want each person to individually prep and cook their own batch. If you try to short-cut and combine efforts you're cheating yourself out of an experience you may not get again for a long time - tandoori ovens are becoming more common in the west, but are still very rare. All Grill/Roast people should talk to me about sharing the experiance with the rest of the group by hooking up with some one NOT assigned and teaching THEM how to use the oven after learning how themselves. Since the meat has been marinating overnight, remove from marinade and put on skewers early in the day. The meat will cook more easily if it's not cold right out of the cooler. Skewered meat can be held on plastic lined sheet trays at room temp. Be ready to put skewered chicken in oven by 10:00 AM. Serve from steam table in 1/2 hotel pan according to the sous chef's diagram.Check out a brief demo here

 
ALSO - Tandoori Chicken Accompanyment - Work together with other stations preparing the chicken to make one batch of Onion and Cucumber Kashumber to serve with it. Chef will demonstrate plating. 

Student #2 - Lamb shorba - Review method with chef before starting. The broth should have been made on Day 11 and shoulder cooked already - soup itself is simple, make it in a large wok and check flavor with me before serving. Cooked meat should be quickly shredded and put into the strained soup, let it cook as long as possible so the meat shreds are falling apart. For day 12 make a full recipe of the Shorba Base, but only enough garnish for family meal. Be sure to save at least 6 liters of soup for Day 13, and on Day 13 be sure to have enough garnish for about 40 portions. Also on Day 12, make 6 cups of saffron rice pilaf - make sure you understand the pilaf method; on Day 13 make 10 cups. Serve from a chaffing dish in shallow, full hotel pan.

Student #3 - Make 1/2 recipe of Lamb Korma for Day 12 and a full recipe for Day 13. On Day 12, make sure you have enough lamb for Day 13. Don't forget to have garnishes ready for service on both days. Start early, braise in small rondo on top of stove - keep covered, stir often, don't scorch.  Cashew paste is made by soaking cashews in hot water and then pureeing in food processor. Serve from steam table in 1/2 hotel pan. Ask Sous Chefs where to put everything on the steam table - they should have a map.


Student #4 - I'd like you to prepare 2x the recipe for Naan and, once you've had some practice, I'll put you in charge of coaching the rest of the class and allowing each person to bake one or more pieces
Everyone should watch this demo before class on Day 12. You can make the naan dough a day ahead for Day 13 but you have to use ICE WATER for the liquid to retard the yeast fermentation. If you do this, remember that in baking you WEIGH the water, and that frozen water (ice) weighs as much as liquid water. So, when measuring the water, weigh out 1/4 of it as ice. If you are making it on the same day as you intend to use it, you want it to rise faster, so use luke warm tap water and start the dough for naan early - it needs to rise, be divided, and rise again. If it's already been made from the day before, remove from cooler and divide and let rise. Naan should go into the tandoori oven between 10:30-11:00. Watch the video so that you are familiar with the set up and make sure you know which tools to use on your station for a demo by 10:30.

Student #5 - You are primarily responsible for preparing and coordinating the plating of the accompaniments to the Breads and main dishes, so be prepared to make Mango Chutney, Cucumber Raitha, and Vegetable Achar and to get the Tamarind -Date Chutney and Coconut Chutney from the stations preparing them. All of these will be served together on 6" round plates to each customer. Since all components are served at room temp, it's fine to pre- plate and hold them for service. Ask several people to help plate and prepare 16 plates for day 12 + 50 for Day 13. Because we need to serve lentils with Indian Food and we have no one assigned for this you are also responsible for making 1 recipe of Dal Sambal on Day 12 and 1.5x the recipe on Day 13. Dal are easy to make, but consider starting very early. Toasting the spices for this can be tricky - get chef to help you start so you don't burn them. Bring to the steam table in a 1/2 hotel pan and place it according to the sous chef's diagrams.

Student #6 - See Tandoori Chicken instructions for Station #1, above.

Student #7 -  See Tandoori Chicken instructions for Station #1, above.

Student #8 - Tomato Dal Rassam and Saffron Rice Pilaf. Prepare 1/2 recipe of Dal Rassam on Day 12 and 1/2 recipe on Day 13. Speak to the Chef about seasoning before serving. For Pilaf, prepare 6 cups of rice on Day 12 and 10 cups on Day 13. Read recipe carefully, understand the pilaf method completely, and confirm with chef before beginning to cook. Serve rice from a chaffing dish in shallow, full hotel pan.

Student #9 - Pork Vindaloo should be marinating for both days, check tracking schedule to see who made it and where it was stored. Take 1/3 of the marinated pork and other MEP for day 12 and 2/3 for day 13 and let chef help you get started early with this.. You can make it in a large wok, but you have to be very careful about heat control and evaporation - keep the flame low and keep the wok covered. Serve from steam table in 1/2 hotel pan - see sous chef's diagram for where to place it.

Student #10 - Pooris (puris) bread -Make 1x recipe for dough on both Day 12 + Day 13.  Check with chef for proper consistency, let it rest, ask chef for advice on rolling and cutting. Watch demo on frying and pre-heat cast iron pans about 20 minutes before you plan to fry. These should be fried before service and held warm on paper towels to absorb extra fat. Serve from steam table in 1/2 hotel pan lined with paper towels, sous chefs will have a diagram telling you where to put them. Don't cover fried foods with foil, plastic, or metal lids when on steam table - they get soggy.
Also - Staion #10 - The recipe for Coconut Chutney may also be label "Coconut Pachadi" - This should not be made a day in advance, the raw onion will over power everything if it sits too long. Crack open fresh coconut, remove flesh, and grate. Toast in oven, stir occasionally to keep coconut from scorching. Toasting chick peas - they must be toasted until they are cooked through and REALLY crunchy - if they're soft in the center, they're not done. Check with Chef for proper doneness, you won't know until you've experienced it.

Student #11 - Mushroom and Cauliflower Curry - A braised vegetable dish. Long, slow, moist heat, covered. All MEP ready by 10:00 at the LATEST, cook slowly until cauliflower is very tender. The finished dish should be wet and more like a vegetable stew.

Student #12 - Chicken Biryani - This is a new dish for K1.Carefully analyze the recipe, write a good time line of the steps you'll take and consult with the chef before starting to cook. Make 1/2 recipe on Day 12 and 1 full recipe on Day 13. Be Aware that the size of your cooking vessel is very important, the chicken should just cover the bottom of the rondo with crowding; too much surface area and too little chicken will scorch and burn.
Both dishes served from steam table in 1/2 hotel pans.Have all ingredients and equipment ready, pre-prepared by 8:00 and ask chef to get you started with the Biryani itself, cooking onions and rice should be done before this.

Student #13 - See Tandoori Chicken instructions for Station #1, above.

Student #14 - Samoosas and Idlis-  For Samoosas, make dough early and let rest while you prepare filling, let me help you toast the spices for the filling, they burn easily.  You should make 1 recipe for Day 12 and 1 for Day 13. The samoosas should be fried in small batches as needed for service and served from steam table in 1/2 hotel pan. Sous chefs should have a detailed diagram of where everything goes, follow 


their instructions. See demo above.

Idlis are steamed, fermented cakes which require overnight fementation and preparation. You should have made the initial ferment on Day 11 and be prepared to steam them on both Days 12 + Day 13. Idlis require special molds, ask Chef to supply them on Day 12..

Student #15 - Paneer Saag - make cheese as early as possible, 7:15 or so on Day 12. You can make enough for both days on Day 12. Speak to Chef about a variation on the plain cheese which requires overnight brining - you can do this on Day 12 for Day 13 use. Anyway, after forming the curd,  let drain and firm until cool, then cut into small dice. Spinach is braised - meaning a longer, slower, moist heat method. Have all MEP near a wok and be ready to start cooking slowly by 10:00. Let simmer on low heat, covered, until spinach is very soft. Then finish with cheese and yogurt. The paneer saag is a braised veg dish, it needs to be started in a large wok no later than 10:00 in order to cook slowly and gently and should be finished no later than 10:45. Make 1/2 recipe on Day 12 and 1 full on Day 13.

Student #16 - Bondas - Make 1/2 recipe for Day 12 and 1 full recipe for Day 13. Cook potatoes early, let chef help with spices toasting. Combine cooked potatoes and spices and let chef demo how to size and shape the bondas themselves - they should be about the size of a small golf ball - a SMALL one. Dip in batter and fry only as needed for service. Serve from steam table in 1/2 hotel pan according to sous chef's diagram. Remember - don't cover fried food on a steam table. The Fermented Dosa require over night fermentation, start soaking the Dal on Day 10, process into a batter on Day 11 and  let ferment until Day 12. The batter will be good on Day 12 + 13 - fermenting slightly longer makes it better. Speak to chef about cooking on a special griddle.

Thailand Days 10+11

If you're making Jasmine Rice, measure and rinse like Chinese Rice. For Day 10 we need 12 cups total and 20 cups for Day 11.  on full steam, covered. HAVE CHEF CHECK WATER LEVEL AND PLACEMENT OF PANS IN STEAMER BEFORE COOKING.

If you're making the long grained sticky rice, it's been soaking over the weekend, drain the soaking water, line a perforated 1/2 pan with moist cheese cloth, spread rice evenly over cheese cloth and cook in steamer for 15 minutes. Remove, check texture with chef, cover with moist towel, allow to cool and then transfer to a room temperature pan, keep covered with moist towel and hold for service.

Sous Chefs -
As always, Sous Chefs will need to make sure we have the food picked up from Store room, Fish room, Meat room - delegate as needed to make sure the food is at the kitchen by 7:00 AM.  Also sanitation supplies, supplemental, china storage and check the TASTING TRAYS from the Vietnamese Unit. Also, on Day10+11 set up a street food table similar to the Vietnamese one. Draw a diagram and present to chef early each day for approval. Also responsible for demo table set up for service on Day 11. We will need to set up chaffing dishes for Street Food on Day 10 (for demo/practice/family meal and 11 for service.) It will   include Hot: Beef Satay with Peanut Sauce-  Fried Fish Cakes and  Cool/Room Temp: Seafood Yam -Long Grain Sticky Rice-Green Papaya Salad and Cucumber Salad; in the center of each plate will be a 1 oz. ramekin containing a small amount Nam Prik Pow. Think about how to set up the service table with chaffing dishes and small containers for other components.Your diagram should show all of these and any items needed for service.

Student #1 - On Day 10 work with the other "Steam/Poach" stations to prepare the 12 cups of Steamed Jasmine Rice as described above. Also, on Day 10 prepare 2 liters of Hot and Sour Soup and on Day 11 8 liters of Chicken - Galangal Soup; hold both hot for service. See video on how to poach shrimp in soup broth here:

Student #2 - Massuman Beef Curry is a straight forward braise. Prepare a recipe using 1kg Beef for Day 10 + 1.5 kg on Day 11. Discuss with Chef how we will plate a "Curry Sampler Plate" for Day 11 and be ready to compose a trial demo plate by 10:30 on Day 10. Any braises should go to the steam table in 1/3 hotel pans. Since it will be part of a Curry Sampler Plate with the other curries being prepared, you should at least look at those recipes so you are familiar with how your dish will be plated. Curry Stations are #2, #8, #14, #16.

Student #3 - Fried Fish Cakes and Deep Fried Eggs. For the fish cakes, be sure to hand mince fish and slice long beans PAPER THIN - this is really important. On Day 10 follow recipe for 500g fish, Day 11 1.5 kg fish. These are fried just ahead of  service on day 11. See video for shaping the cakes here



For the Deep Fried Eggs -10 eggs both days. The directions are pretty straight forward, but it's a technique not common in western cooking so let me help you get started. The eggs can be fried in the same oil used for the Noodles on station #9, any time after the noodles are done, and held at warm room temperature for service in a 1/2 hotel pan lined with clean paper towels. It's very common in SE Asia to see already- fried eggs on street carts, waiting to be used as accompaniments to other dishes. Yours will be used to accompany the curries.

Student #4 - Green Papaya Salad/Cucumber Salad/Nam Prik Pow
Make 1/2 each salad on Day 10 and a full batch of each on Day 11. Make 3x the recipe for Nam Prik Pow on Day 10 and reserve most for Day 11 - PLEASE CHECK with me about the process of frying each item separately so you get it right - this is a common problem area. The salads are not very complex, but there is a lot of chopping - so start early and move quickly. It's fine for them to sit and marinate until service. To see a unique method for shredding papaya, see this video
 

Student #4 - Nam Prik Pow - read the recipe and MAKE SURE you understand before you begin the process. This is a labor intense preparation which occasionally gets ruined by students who don't follow the instructions properly. Check with the chef before you begin. You'll be making enough for family meal and soup production on Days 10 + 11 as well as having some to use as a dip on the street food plates. SUBSTITUTE THE DRIED SHRIMP WITH BELCAN SHRIMP PASTE - see chef for this as well. 

 Student #5 - Pad Thai Noodles - prep for 5 portions on Day 10 and 12 portions on day 11. Be ready for cooking demo at 9:30 with the Chef and a plating demo at 10:30 on Day 10. On Day 11 you will fire your service food at 11:20 and put it on the steam table with tongs. It will be served in a deep noodle bowl.  Soaking the noodles properly is important - soak them for 5 minutes ONLY in hot tap water, drain and hold for service. Have your garnishes on the line and be sure to instruct line servers on how to plate properly on Day 11.

Student #6 - Stir Fried Squid with Basil- Prepare 1/2 recipe for Day 10 and 1 full recipe for Day 11. Be ready to do a cooking demo with Chef at 9:30 and a plating demo at 10:30. The ingredients are stir fried in 3 batches to avoid losing temp in the wok and sweating the squid, you can mix the Oyster Sauce, fish sauce, sugar, and chicken stock together before service. Watch the video, it's pretty easy. I want to do the first batch with you. Squid will be served from the steam table in a 1/2 hotel pan into an oval casserole sitting on an oval plate with Jasmine rice on the side. The squid should be kept very cold throughout the prep process, but not allowed to submerge or soak in water - it soaks up water like a sponge and makes the dish more of a soup than a stir fry. Pat the squid as dry as you can before cooking. Here's a demo of the technique, although this is a bit wet

Student #7 - Sea food Yam and Streamed Jasmine Rice. On Day 10 work with the other Steam/Poach stations to prep jasmine rice for family meal as described above. On Day 11 please prepare 8 cups on your own for service. On Day 10 prepare 1x the Seafood Yam Recipe, on Day 11 prepare 2x. You should watch the video "Ouch Hot Water" for how to poach the shrimp and squid

The Seafood Yam is served at cool room temperature on the street food plate. Have it ready by 10:00 on Day 10 for setting up the plating station demo and on Day 11 have it ready for putting in position no later than 10:30

Student #8 - Pork with Green Curry - On Day 10 prepare 1/2 recipe, on Day 11 prepare 1.5x. 
Since it's a braise, it's important to start early, so hustle. Use a small rondos or large sauce pot with cover, remember to keep it covered until the meat is tender to avoid drying out and burning by evaporation. Also remember that you can braise in the oven - the range will get crowded later in the morning, if you don't have room on top of the stove, you can finish in the oven. Discuss with Chef how we will plate a "Curry Sampler Plate" for Day 11 and be ready to compose a trial demo plate by 10:30 on Day 10. Any braises should go to the steam table in 1/3 hotel pans. Since it will be part of a Curry Sampler Plate with the other curries being prepared, you should at least look at those recipes so you are familiar with how your dish will be plated. Curry Stations are #2, #8, #14, #16.

Student #9 - Fried and boiled Noodles. There are a few typos in this recipe which I can't correct and upload from home, but they're not too difficult to work around. Basically you are going to make an egg pasta dough (adjust with a small amount of water if needed), cut noodles by hand, set up a wok as a deep fryer (let me help you with that), deep fry the raw noodles and then boil them to soften before using as a garnish with the curries. After frying the noodles, Station #3 can use the same oil to fry eggs, so work with Chef to set up and fry noodles and then let Station #3 know when the oil is free. Also - For days 13+14 - you are assigned to the Pork Vindaloo - read the recipe for that and prepare the Spice paste and marinade on Days 10 + 11 as indicated so they are ready when you need them.

Student #10 - Pickled Mustard Greens and Pickled Shallots. Ideally, these have been started last block or earlier in this one and ready for service now, you will start another batch of each for use NEXT block.  Read the recipes and talk to Chef about any adjustments. This may be too light a load for you, if so, let's discuss additional recipes to work on. If you think you'll have time, look at the recipe for Jungle Curry 1x, it would be a different style of curry than the others are making and a nice contrast.


Student #11 - Pork Laarb - Prepare 1x the recipe on Day 10 and 2x on Day 11. be ready to fire a demo portion with the chef at 10:00 on Day 10 and do a plating demo at 10:30. On Day 11 be ready to fire 1 recipe for family meal at 10:30 and one recipe for Service at about 11:45. Discuss this timing with Chef on Day 11 - it may change. Also, we may have extra fish or poultry in the cooler to use up. If you have extra time, we could try variations of the Pork Laarb by substituting a different protein.


Student #12 - Grilled Issan Chicken - the chickens marinating from Day 9 should be taken out of the cooler by 9:00 and allowed to come to room temperature while the grill heats. Be SURE to have the grill station set up properly -  zone the grill, have all proper grill ling and grill cleaning tools. On Day 10 fire the chickens for Family meal at 10:00 with the chef's assistance. When cooked to an internal temperature of 70C degrees, remove from grill and allow to rest and carry over cook before cutting and serving. Be prepared with a cutting board, knife and pan for a cutting and plating demo with the Chef on Day 10. On Day 11 begin grilling chickens for service at 11:15 and have ready to serve from the line - from a 1/2 hotel pan - by 11:30. Be sure to have an accurate, calibrated thermometer


Student #13 - Ground Meat Steamed in Banana Leaves. Although beef is listed, we also have other options available in the cooler, so lets look at all of them before you start to prep. Make 1x recipe on Day 10 and then lets assess for Day 11. You will need a wok steamer to cook the packets, see the Video at the beginning of the course if you;re not sue how to use this. Be prepared to start cooking at 10:00 for family meal on Day 10 and at 11:15 for service on Day 11. Leave the packets at room temperature for at least one hour before steaming to assure consistency of cooking.


Student #14 - Duck Red Curry. The duck has marinated over the weekend, we can prepare 16 pieces for Family meal today and the rest for Day 11. Talk to the chef about timing and portion on this as soon as we come in. The ducks were fabricated on Friday, but if you want to see how it's done Here's the 1st of a 3 part series on how to break down a whole duck, you can follow the link from there to see the rest of the series.

Here's an video to give you an idea of how to make the curry itself
 Student #15- Tum Yum Krob - Read the recipe so you know what's involved, gather the mise en place,and then work with the chef to follow each step. This is an easy recipe once you understand it, but it's very different from western snack food. Make 1x this recipe fro Day 10 and then discuss with Chef how much to produce for Day 11.


Student #16 -Yellow Shrimp Curry 1x for Day 10 and 2x for Day 11. Very straight forward recipe, be sure not to cook the shrimp in the sauce before you need it - if the sauce is hot, on Day 10 you should only need to poach the shrimp in the sauce for 3-5 minutes before family meal.
Discuss with Chef how we will plate a "Curry Sampler Plate" for Day 11 and be ready to compose a trial demo plate by 10:30 on Day 10. Any curries should go to the steam table in 1/3 hotel pans. Since it will be part of a Curry Sampler Plate with the other curries being prepared, you should at least look at those recipes so you are familiar with how your dish will be plated. Curry Stations are #2, #8, #14, #16.This dish is fairly simple. If you think you will have extra time, bring a copy of the Pork Adobo Recipe and have enough familiarity with it to start it early enough to serve for family meal as well. This is not mandatory, but it would fit well into the menu.

Day 8 + 9 Vietnamese Menu

Most entrees will be served with a "Table Salad" on the plate, the sous chefs will set up a station for assembling table salads and will make a communal Table Salad for family meal on  Day 8.

On Day 9 Each Student preparing an entree dish is responsible for preparing table salads for their service - See Video. Remember that herbs dry out quickly, keep yours covered with moist towles through out the day.

As always, Sous Chefs will need to make sure we have the food picked up from Store room, Fish room, Meat room - delegate as needed to make sure the food is at the kitchen by 7:00 AM.  Also sanitation supplies, supplemental, china storage and set up  family meal on Day 8 and demo table set up for service on Day 9. For service, think ahead, figure out who will be cooking and who will be serving, where everyone should be during service and how you will expedite to them-  communicate to them in advance. Ask Chef and past Sous Chef/Expediters for advice. Sous Chefs are responsible for preparing Communal Table Salad for Family Meal on Day 8 - Talk to Chef. 

Street Food Station 

Like Dim Sum on the Chinese menu, We will need to set up chaffing dishes for Street Food on Day 9. Consult with Chef on the best set up for efficient service. The Street Food Plate will look like more or less like this, but have a few more items on it. When we compose the demo plate on Day 8 I'll photograph a new presentation. 

From K1 Menu Photos

Draw a great diagram of how the street food station will look.  Where will everything be? Plates? Ramekins of sauce? Chaffing dish with each compartment labeled, Where's the sticky rice? The salad rolls, and mango salad? Don't use utensils to plate- use gloved hands - faster that way.  

Nuoc Cham is an important condiment served with most meals in Vietnam. Student #9 is responsible for preparing enough for the class on both Day 8 + 9 and portioning it into small 1oz ramekins for service. On Day 9 we will need 65 ramekins at the start of service. 

All of the recipes for the Vietnamese section are loaded onto Moodle but the videos are not embedded yet so I'm trying to post some of them here.  Again, I'll want to take photos or shoot video of  the new dishes and new shots for some of the older ones too, so when you have MEP set up, talk to me before putting things together. Here are the details of each station on Days 8+9:

Student #1 - Caramel Pork in Clay Pot - this is how it's listed on the tracking schedule, but the Recipe Title is "BBQ Pork Belly in Caramel" - so look for that. This is a 2-3 day process, the pork belly is marinating now, it should be roasted by the person on station #5 early on Day 8 so a small batch can be made for family meal -  you can also set up your Mise en Place for Braising on Day 9. Talk to Chef on Day 8 about how much to serve and how much to save for Day 9. The finished braise will be served with steamed jasmine rice from the steam table and a room -temperature table salad on the plate.

Student #2 - Bahn Xeo  - This recipe says that it requires overnight pre-prep,but you can soak the rice and dried mung beans on Day 8 for an hour in hot water and then prep over night as directed for day 9. The Updated recipe uses shrimp and pork, this video does not show that, but the technique is the same.

Ask chef about Shooting a new Demo. These crepes may be/should be made ahead of service and held above the saute line on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper. At service they are reheated in a non-stick pan and plated ala minute. Serve on a round plate with Steamed jasmine rice, a table salad, and a ramekin of nuoc cham.

Student #3 - Green mango salad + Lotus rootlet Salad. These will be served on the Street Food plates to all customers on Day 9. Make 1x Green Mango Salad recipe and 1/3 recipe of Lotus rootlet Salad for Day 8. Make 2x Green Mango salad and 2x Lotus rootlet Salad for Day 9.  Speak to Chef about the possibility of serving the Bun Bo Hue for Family Meal on Day 8 and Day 9 for service. 

Student #4 - Stir Fried Lemon Grass Beef - Make 1/2 recipe for Day 8 and 1 full recipe for Day 9. Very straight forward - The Recipe for the Beef itself is the same, there is a slight change to the accompanying greens, bring a printed copy of the recipe so we can go over it before you start to prep. See chef for changes before prepping greens. I'm probably being over optimistic, but if we have time to shoot a video, that would be cool. Let me know.

Student #5 - First thing in the morning, talk to Chef about roasting pork butt and pork belly for other uses, you and the person on Station #11 will be responsible for this together.  This is quick and easy and requires little attention once it's started. Watch the Video on using the Chinese oven - that can be found in the "Must See Video" section of Day 1. After that, You will prepare Grilled Beef in La Lot Leaf and Shrimp on Sugar Cane. Check with me first thing in the morning, some of the Shrimp mixture may already be made for Day 8.  Make the 1 full recipe of Beef mixture and 2x the recipe for the Shrimp mixture for Day 9. You will be preparing 15 pieces of each for Family meal on Day 8 and saving the rest for Making about 80 pieces each for Day 9 - let Chef know if quantity is lower than this. Watch the video on how to shape and form the shrimp and also on how to work with sugar cane. Chef can help. Also, Talk to Chef about setting up the Charcoal Satay grill  and how to set up the regular grill to avoid burning skewers and sugar cane.

The Shrimp On Sugar Cane is composed like this
 

And hopefully we will have fresh sugar cane - not packaged - to work with

 Student #6 - Your Tracking Schedule calls for preparing 10 cups of Jasmine Rice - this is a typo. Steam 8 cups for day 8 and 20 cups for day 9  (two full hotel pans). The method for this is the same as for the Chinese long Grained Rice.  Pho Bo - The broth should have been made on Day 7 for use on Days 8+9. You will have 2 types of beef to add to this - boiled beef (should be cooked and cooled ahead on Day 7)  and thin slices of raw sirloin. Plan to go to the meat room for about 30 minutes and slice the semi frozen meat down there at about 7:30 on Day 8 - you'll be slicing the raw meat for both days;  be sure to talk to Chef before you go. Enough broth has been made ahead for 2 days, so only heat enough for 5 portions on Day 8 - speak to Chef about putting up smaller portions for Family Meal. For Day 9 you will "sell" 10 portions to customers; plan to set up a Service Station with a tray stand and sheet tray for Pho "pick -up" during service.  Heat broth in a stainless pot on the range ,use one of the smaller woks, filled with simmering water, as a hot water bath to hold the stainless pot of broth. The wok next to the broth should have simmering water and a china cap - this is to heat and refresh the noodles. Draw a diagram of how you are going to set everything up. Noodles should be portioned ahead and held in cups - where will they be on the station? The Herbs? The raw beef?Where are your bowls kept? Under liner plates for Table Salad, Sambal, and Lime? All of this should be mapped out before you get to class. Check with chef before service if you have any doubts about the efficiency of your plan. You will pick up ala minute from The Table across from the small woks.

Student #7 - Braised Sour Duck with Watercress. Make 1x this recipe on Day 8 and 2x on Day 9. It's important to start braising early, if you need help fabricating the duck, ask the chef  EARLY so we can get you on track. I have a 3 part series on YouTube demonstrating how to fabricate a duck and use all of the parts, you can see it here When finished braising,place the finished product in a warm 1/2 hotel pan for service from the steam table with steamed jasmine rice.

Student #8 - Bahn Mi, Make 5 sandwiches on Day 8 and 15 on Day 9. This is a busy station, but most of the time consuming work has already been done ahead, you just have to bake the rolls and set up a sandwich station; if you're organized and move in a logical sequence things will go smoothly - so make a good plan. The Pickles and Pate have been made and the pork is ready to roast so get it into the oven and then weigh out ingredients for the dough and get started mixing it as soon as the pork is in the oven. For the dough - make 1/2 recipe on Day 8 and 1.5 recipe on Day 9.  While dough rises, prep and set out all other sandwich ingredients, and make chips; chips can be made as far ahead as you want - just not a day before.  The rolls should be ready to bake by 10:00, so that they have time to cool before cutting for service. By 10:45 the station should be completely set up on the rear table nearest the grill - the griddle will be set on the grill itself. I strongly suggest drawing a station diagram showing where everything will be, laying it out to flow smoothly during service. If you show me your diagram on Day 8 I will help you fine tune it - so give me your BEST effort and together we can see if it needs improvement.

Student #9 - Salad Rolls/Nuoc Cham/and Banana Blossom Shredded Duck Salad. The Nuoc Cham is served with every plate, so be sure to have it ready and portioned into 1 oz ramekins before service or family meal. You should make 500ml for Day 8 and 1.5l for Day 9 and fill each ramekin about 1/2 way.
On Day 8 you should make 16 salad rolls for family meal and on Day 9 you should set up to make 80. We will have the class cycle through your station, each making a few rolls for practice. Here's a video of how to use the damp kitchen towels for efficient construction of these rolls

For the Banana Blossom salad you can roast and shred all of the Duck legs on Day 8, make 2 portions fr family meal and save the rest to make 15 or more portions on Day 9. The Banana blossoms oxidize quickly, so have acidulated water ready before you begin to cut them and ask the chef for a demo - I'll want to shoot a new one to show how this is done. 

Student #10 - Stir Fried Chicken with Lemon grass and Tamarind is very straight forward, prep for 5 portions on Day 8 and 15 portions on Day 9. Work with the Chef on Day 8 on your first attempt to stir fry. If we have time to shoot a video of this dish, we will.

Student #11- First thing in the morning, talk to Chef about roasting pork butt and pork belly for other uses, you will work with the person on Station #5 for this - both of you will be responsible for getting it done early. This is quick and easy and requires little attention once it's started. Watch the Video on using the Chinese oven - that can be found in the "Must See Video" section of Day 1. The Spare Ribs are already in marinade, speak with Chef about amount to roast for Day 8 and whether to prep more for Day 9.Some of the pork belly you are roasting will be used for your skewers, so once thay are roasted - cool them and talk to chef about how to slice. On Day 8 slice, marinate and grill  20 skewers for family meal and on 9 prepare for 80. Ask Chef about the Charcoal Satay Grill - if it's available, we will use it on both days. Remind Chef to order charcoal on Day 8 Supplemental.

Student #12- Shaking Beef Salad. A simple stir fried dish, Plan to make 5 portions on Day 8 and 10  portions on Day 9. Yours will be the 3rd stir fry served during service on Day 9, so be prepared to cook later in the service period. If you have enough on Day 9 you may cook 2-3 orders early for Family meal.Prepare to butcher and marinate chicken for Days 10 + 11 - check with chef for quantity.

Student #13 - Fish In caramel sauce. Prepare 5 portions on Day 8 and 12 portions on Day 9. You should make the caramel for both days on Day 8 and reserve some for Day 9. Make the braising base early in the day, cool to room temperature and then reheat near service time. Because this is a fairly simple dish, you may have time to prepare some stir fried or pickled greens to accompany. Speak to the chef early in the day if you think this is possible.Also, there may be some pickled greens in the cooler from a previous batch - check there first and talk to chef about use.

Student #14 - The Tracking Schedule tells you to prepare the Stir Fried Chicken - this is a typo. Prepare for the Stir Fried Noodles with Turmeric and Pork. Be careful not to over soak the noodles before cooking - they should be somewhat tough and will soften as they cook with the liquid in the wok. Prep to make 5 portions on Day 8 for family meal and 10 portions on Day 9. If time permits, talk to chef about shooting a video of this dish. Be prepared to butcher and marinate 4 ducks for Red Duck Curry on days 10 + 11.

Student #15 - Grilled Fish in Banana leaves. Prepare 5 portions for Day 8 and 10 portions for Day 9. Cooking the banana leaf packets takes about 10 minutes on each side, so be ready to cook them all slightly ahead of service or Discuss with Chef how to stagger cooking times. Talk to chef about cutting. folding, and wrapping the leaves. Folding and wrapping the packets will take some practice, have filling ready early.

Student #16 - Tracking Schedule is wrong. Prepare to make Fisherman's Soup,  Dalat Style Congee and Long Grained Sticky rice.  Make only 1/4 recipe of soup for Day 8 and 1 full recipe for Day 9. Same with the congee. The congee is a rice porridge, similar to the one made for the Korean menu. Start the base early - it can't over cook, but it can dry out or get too thick. Watch the liquid level, you can add small amounts of water if needed. The condiments are not served with the congee, they're sprinkled on top by YOU as you serve each portion. You only need to prepare a small ramekin of each condiment and have them all on a tray ready for service. Talk to the chef about each condiment and how to set yourself up for service. If you work cleanly, the condiment tray you set up for Day 8 may be carried over for Day 9. Fisherman's soup - recipe is easy, watch demo of how to cook shrimp in the soup.

You can make soup early and hot hold - keep cooked shrimp on the side until service, put them in cups and ladle soup over them. Sticky Rice (Sweet Rice) - needs soaking over night, if it did not get soaked overnight from Day 7 to Day 8, we will make it only for Day 9. Make sure to soak 4 cups on Day 8 for Day 9.  You need to drain it, put it into a perforated hotel pan lined with moist cheese cloth and steam it for 15 minutes. Cook this early, it's usually served at room temperature, so it doesn't matter if it's not hot at service. Keep it for the street food station in a 1/3 hotel pan, covered with a moist towel.

Japan Days 6+7

NEW POST FOR DAY 7

A lot of this is the same as the previous post, Changes will be in BOLD. I rushed through this to give you an early start, if you have questions I'll answer them after 8:00.

 As always, Sous Chefs will need to make sure we have the food picked up from Store room, Fish room, Meat room. Also sanitation supplies, supplemental, china storage. We MUST be ready at 10:45 and have   family meal on Day 7. Think ahead, figure out who you'll delegate things to, and communicate to them in advance.

All of the recipes for the Japanese section are loaded onto Moodle but the videos are not embedded yet. Most of the recipes have Videos or Photos but you'll have to look at the Japanese Section of the Website to view them. Again, I'll want to take photos or shoot video of  the new dishes and new shots for some of the older ones too, so when you have MEP set up, talk to me before putting things together. Here's the details of each station for Days 6+7

Everyone should watch the Sushi Rice Preparation Demo that is now uploaded onto Moodle and all of the Sushi Demos on the website you can view these by going to the Japanese Menu and clicking on each individual recipe - there is a video for each type of sushi,  see below for how each station should be set up for sushi production. Christine and Corrine will be primarily responsible for setting up the stations and putting the garnishes and condiments in place, but they will be asking for help and delegating, so please be cooperative. On both days we will set up the sushi stations and rotate each person through so that everyone can make a few pieces of each type. On Day 7 each customer will receive a Sushi Sampler Plate with their meal, so we will need 85 pieces of each type to accommodate family meal and service.

Marilyn will be responsible for making the Sushi Rice but may ask for assitance - you will assist if asked

Making Sushi Rice is key. Watch the video and be prepared to start the process as soon as you come in at 7:00 am.
- Rinse and drain rice until water is clear - the more clear the water, the better the rice. Anticipate spending 15 minutes or so washing rice.
- Soak rice for 1 hour in fresh, cool water
- Drain and Air Dry rice on lined sheet tray from 30 minutes
- prepare vinegar solution while rice dries
- Steam rice - while rice is steaming, fill hangiri with cool water, when rice is finished cooking and while it's resting, dump water from hangiri, towel excess water out and then put rested rice into hangiri and add vinegar solution while "cutting" and fanning. Ask me for additional demo on this - I want to bring everyone in on it to watch.

- When rice is cool to the point that it's no longer steaming, stop "cutting" and divide rice into 3 1/3 hotel pans - one pan for each type of sushi. Cover rice with damp towels to keep from forming a crust and hold at room temp - don't refrigerate it.

Once the sushi stations are set up, I'll demo each type of sushi to get you started - if you're set up for demos by 10:00 am you can make all of the sushi slightly ahead of family meal and service. It works best to set up all 3 sushi stations on the same table so you can share ingredients, see below for station set up. I have not added photos yet, but we may also be making flavored rice balls - onigiri.

Sushi Plate:

From Japanese Plate Presentations

Sushi Station Set ups

Maki Station:

From Japanese Plate Presentations

Nigiri Station:

From Japanese Plate Presentations

Inari Station:

From Japanese Plate Presentations

Student #1 - Draw a diagram of the staion so that it's self sufficient except for the rice.
 Pork Cutlet is fairly self explanatory, but let me show you how to cut and pound the pork. You should anticipate plating directly from the fry station, so draw a detailed diagram of how the station will look. You can fry in the fryer, turn around to the table behind you and slice the pork, plate it with the salad and a ramekin of sauce and then pass to the steam table for rice. The sauce should be in 1 oz. ramekins, the cabbage salad should be dressed just before service, and the cutlets fried to order - if they are pounded thin enough they take less than 1 minute to fry. You'll need a cutting board and knife on your station to slice pork before plating - everything in Japanese service is cut to "bite size" before plating because there are typically no knives at the table. On Day 6 you will have 2# of pork to fabricate into 10 thin cutlets, make the appropriately small amount of sauce and cabbage salad to accompany.Day 7 you should have a total of 15 cutlets

Student #2 - You will assume responsibility - along with Corrine - for setting up the sushi stations according to the photos above and the videos. Also have the garnishes set as they were on Day 6. The recipes for the Sunomono, Pickled Ginger, and edamame are all very straight forward. You need to make enough Pickled Ginger on Day 6 for both days, the other dishes should be made fresh each day and you will grate fresh wasabe for family meal on Day 6 and prepare the powdered wasabi into a paste for service on Day 7. You will also prepare the Edamame - (make sure you get the ones IN the pods - the store room usually messes up the order and sends the ones out of the pods) 

Student #3 -  Your primary task - as listed on the tracking schedule, will be to prep and cook the vegetable accompaniments for beef teriyaki - be sure to remove the "strings" from the snow peas and the thin, brown ends from the bean sprouts. The Beef Teriyaki is very popular, so on Day 7 have 1/3 of your vegetables already sauteed and in the steam table at 11:30 ready to go, saute the remaining vegetables in batches one after the other once we open the doors. Since Japanese don't typically stir fry in woks, there are not a lot of "stir fry" competencies to assign you; so I'm going to have you also prep the Bun Bo Hue for the Vietnamese Menu on Days 8+9. It's pretty complex and spans a couple of days - it will also help you fill up some spare time when you're on the cold station of the Vietnamese menu. Look at the recipe and we can discuss on Saturday.As we discussed - if you can - make 1x the recipe for Yakisoba Noodles. I'll have noodles for you to use in the morning. All of the other ingredients should be on hand already. Stake out a wok station and be ready to for me to photograph /video. I want to see it first before I decide if we will serve it to guests or only to family meal.

Student #4 - Beef Teriyaki - Make sure you watch the demo on cleaning skirt steak. Cut and portion into 150g portions, 5 portions for Day 6 and 12 portions for Day 7. Marinate steaks and think about how to set up the grill station for maximum efficiency.  You will cook and plate from your station, so Draw a detailed diagram of how the grill station will be set up - Grill cloth, oil, grill brush, resting pan with rack, cutting board to slice meat, slicing knife, tongs. Set your station up so that you are "self contained". Again - if you draw a detailed diagram of your entire station and label all of the items you'll need, setting up will be much easier and you'll look like a rock star. Hint - Beef teriyaki is very popular. On Day 7 you're going to get hit hard as soon as the doors open. Have 5 steaks grilled and resting(not cold,just resting) at 11:30. As you get an order for one steak, fire another. Skirt steak should be cooked to medium doneness, medium rare is too chewy; as with other items in Japan, the steaks will be sliced just prior to plating - ask Chef for demo on slicing and plating.In addition to the teriyaki,  the Pork Butts for the Vietnamese Menu need to be brined on Day 6 and marinated on Day 7. The recipe for this is embedded in the Bahn Mi recipe in the Vietnamese section.Once you think the grill is properly set up - with EVERY THING - talk to me about fine tuning it. I'll work with you. Remember - the stations producing skewers will be using a portion of the grill, we should discuss early how that will work - it would help if you had a plan to talk about.

Student #5: 
Steam 20 Cups long Grained White rice  - THAT"S 20 CUPS - TWO HOTEL PANS - save any left over for congee on Day 8. - cook by the same method as used for China. We should  receive several whole flounder - but I have a feeling it's going to be filleted. Check with me when we see what we get and we will work from there. I only want to prepare the flesh from 1 whole flounder (4 filets, 2 portions) for Day 6. If we get more fish than that, ice it and hold for Monday. On Day 7 we will prepare 10 or more portions - see chef for exact count. The fish is rolled around  cabbage/spinach rolls,  watch the video on the web site for making them and check out the plate presentation for the fish. On Day 7 You may be able to get the fish early - try picking it up around 7:30. I can show you how to fabricate it and set up the plates, you will cook them as needed in a wok steamer and serve them in shallow casserole dishes set on oval plates with white rice and miso pickles miso pickles are made by Station 8 and should be in the cooler- the miso pickles can be VERY salty right out of the container, so taste them and talk to the chef, we may soak them in cool water for a while before service if needed. 

Student #6:
Use the recipe you used today. I will try to upload a pdf later. The braise is pretty self explanatory. Choose a small rondo - you don't want too much surface area or your braise will burn, if we don't have a proper size rondo, consult the chef.. When finished, hold it hot in a deep 1/2 hotel pan in the steam table. See photo in recipe on Website for plate presentation with Toasted sesame seeds, long, thin, bias cut scallions and Miso Pickles (you will share these with Student #5, so read their section as well and communicate with them on preparing these pickles for service). The Miso pickles won't be ready until Day 7, don't worry about them on Day 6. Read the miso pickle recipe so you understand what you are using, even though it will be made by someone else. The Miso is fairly expensive but it can be used over and over again, so don't discard it when preparing the pickles for service.

Student #7:
Set up as you did today, but with enough vegetables to make 8-10 entree portions. Producing tempura shrimp and vegetables using a wok set up as a deep fryer. Use the large wok closest to the service area. On Day 6 make only 3 portions, on Day 7 make 10+ (ask chef for exact amount on Monday). There is no video for this dish yet, so discuss station set up with the chef early in the day. If time permits, we will shoot a demo. The technique for coating the shrimp and vegetables takes some practice, make sure to work with the chef on Day 6. The tempura should be served immediately after it's cooked, so yo will be making it almost ala minute, have a station set up on a tray stand near the wok so that you are self sufficient.

Student #8
Make more miso pickles today and speak to me in the morning about mackerel. Plan to work with Corrine and Christine to set up sushi stations and make the bulk of the sushi - make sure to look at the station set ups above and watch the videos in the web site. Miso Pickles, Daikon and Carrot pickle, and Pickled Mackerel all need to ferment or cure for at least a day before using-  make them all on Day 6. On Day 7 you'll Slice the prepared mackerel sashimi to serve over cool sushi rice with other fish and garnihes in a bowl. This is "Chirashi sushi", I haven't written a recipe for it yet but will explain in detail on Saturday and most likely have an exact recipe by then.

Student #9:
Same as today except double skewers. Plan with others a traffic schedule for the grill and talk to me  first thing in the morning about it. ASk me about the possibility of using the charcoal grill - Satay Grill - as well. Chicken Yakatori Skewers - make 15 skewers on Day 6, but make the sauce ahead for a full recipe to be used both Day 6 and Day 7, it requires making a stock and a reduction which will take some time; on Day 7 you will prepare 45 skewers. Also, look ahead to the Vietnamese menu and prep and marinate the Lemon Grass Ribs. See chef for exact amount to prep.

Student #10:
Make as many squid skewers as you can. it would be cool to have 45 whole ones. Read my comments to station #9 for details and discuss with him and me. How many Grilled squid skewers you prepare will depend on how large or small the squid are. Generally we should get about 20 skewers from 1 kilo of small squid. On Day 6 make only 1/4 of a recipe of sauce/marinade and talk to Chef about how many skewers to make - probably between 6-8. Save the rest of the squid on ice in the cooler for Day 7. Don't forget to bake pate!!!You will also prepare the forcemeat for the pate from the Bahn Mi Recipe in the Vietnamese menu - look ahead for that. The forcemeat should be made on Day 6, allowed to absorb flavors over night, be baked in a water bath on Day 7, chilled and sliced for use on the Bahn Mi on Days 8 + 9.

Student #11: You are making 20 cups of sushi rice today - in two batches, as we discussed. Also - draw a diagram of your udon station so you are really ready to show me your best! Look at the notes I gave you and review. Although everyone else SHOULD watch the sushi rice demo on the web site - you MUST watch it. See the sequence of steps listed above, compare to the recipe and watch the video to make sure you understand. I'll be glad to work with you at each stage on Day 6. Make only 1 recipe of rice on Day 6 and two batches on Day 7. It's important not to crowd the rice in the hongiri when cooling it, so on Day 7 stagger the cooking of the two batches so that they finish about 20 minutes apart to allow you to season the each batch separately. In addition to sushi rice, prepare 1/2 recipe of Udon Noodles for Day 6 and then 1 full recipe on Day 7. On Day 7 Set up the Udon noodle station using the 4 burners on the right side of the range. The 2 left burners will be for another person to saute vegetables.  Have one large pot of boiling water with a china cap in it to refresh your noodles ala minute and then have 3 small pots with lids that you can use to make small 1-2 portion batches as needed throughout service. There should be a video for making the "spinach/cabbage" rolls embedded in the Flunder recipe on the web site, that's what you want to use. I prefer to cook this dish a few at a time during service so that everything is fresh. It's best to make a demo portion starting at 11:15 , just for practice. Just prior to service start 2 portions for the first order. When they are done, hold for the first orders and then start another one. It takes about 7-10 minutes for each batch, so if you fire the portions about 5 minutes apart, no one has to wait more than a few minutes. If you get hit with a lot of orders all at once you can fire 2-3 in the same pot and have the expediter explain that there's a short wait.

Student #12: We have discussed - if you have questions, post them. The tracking schedule has you assigned to make two soups - Miso and Scallop; I would prefer to make only miso this block, but severel different variations.  On Day 6 make 2 liters of Miso Soup using the Golden Millet Miso paste and on Day 7 make 8 liters using the Barley Miso and 4 liters using the Sweet White Miso paste - it will be interesting for us to all taste the differences. Be aware that you need to make dashi to use as a base for the Miso soups, the dashi recipe is embedded in the original Miso Soup recipe. Save the solids from the Day 6 dashi when you strain it, it can be used again to fortify the dashi on Day 7.

Student #13: Good to go as you were today. Let's discuss firing times and have a specific plating presentation before 10:00. Plan to make 2x the filling recipe for the noodles on Day 6. You will make only 1x the sauce and fill only 25 dumplings on Day 6, but save the filling and make 2x the sauce on Day 7 for service. Ask chef to order pre-made dumpling wrappers from the store room, we will experiment to see if they are as good as, or better, than the ones we make ourselves - but also be prepared to make the dough from the Chinese Pan fried Dumplings 1x the recipe. If you have extra time on Day 6 you may help Student #15 set up sushi stations.

Student #14: Use dry noodles and remember the finely grated daikon. those are the changes for Day 7. On Day 6 and day 7 make 1 batch each day of the Hand Made Soba Noodle Dough. On Day 6 we will make the Shoyu base sauce recipe to test it out. If it works, we will repeat on Day 7, if not, I will use soba noodles from the store room. As we discussed today, most of the dipping sauces are similar, based on combinations of soy sauce and other ingredients. The completed recipe, with garnish and plating instructions are not complete yet, I'll talk to you on Day 6 about how we will finish the noodles, but don't worry - it will be simple, Japanese noodle dishes are very simple. Mot likely we will cook the noodles, shock them to cool, hold them for service and serve in a bowl with a garnish of Bonito Flake, daikon paste, and Nori julienne on top and a 2 oz. ramekin of dipping sauce on the side. The main point is to get you familiar with a different type of pasta.

Student #15: You will assume responsibility - along with Christine - for setting up the sushi stations according to the photos above and the videos on the web site. Also have the garnishes set as they were on Day 6. I've also asked Justin to help you out, so include him in your plans.Your big job is getting all of the sushi garnishes prepped and collected. Each sushi plate will need, see the photo at the top of this page.
- 1 oz ramekin soy sauce
- 1 shiso leaf
- small amount of drained pickled ginger - house made on Day 6 for service on Day 7(from Student #2)
- wasabi for the plate and wasabi for the sushi production - see below (on Day 6 we will use freshly grated wasabi for the class, on Day 7 we will use wasabi made from powder)
- sunomono salad - get from Student #2
- blanched soy beans  - also from Student #2(make sure you get the ones IN the pods - the store room usually messes up the order and sends the ones out of the pods)

Get all of this stuff together early. The soy sauce in ramekins - about 80 ramekins on Day 7 - and all of the other stuff together on a sheet tray so you can bring it to the sushi production area when they need it (hopefully by 10:00 am). Communication with the other teams and sous is important. You can see a picture of the finished plate with all of the garnishes at the top of this page.

For grating fresh wasabi on Day 6, speak to the chef for a class demo and tasting. When you make the wasabi paste on Day 7, follow the recipe, but add the water slowly while stirring. When it gets to the consistency of play dough, good for shaping into balls or cubes for garnish, take half out of the bowl and set it aside. Continue adding cool water and stirring until it reaches a smooth, spreadable consistency - like toothpaste. This should go into a brown plastic cup for the sushi production stations.
If time permits, I will have a recipe for Onigiri (seasoned Rice Balls filed with savory condiments). You will use the same sushi rice as the others, so preparation of the condiments will be the primary focus. Most likely one will be based on the umeboshi plums and another on Kombu seaweed.

Student #16 - No Hamachi Kama on Day 7, prep as many salmon skewers as you can and work with Peter and Katie on a grill traffic schedule - talk it over with me wearly in the day. See my comments to Peter as well. Slight change of plan from the tracking schedule. We will receive 2.5 kilos of Hamachi Kama on Tuesday - unexpectedly. These are the "collars" of the very delicious Hamachi Tuna. They are very simply seasoned and grilled and make a great addition to family meal. See the recipe in the Japanese Folder and talk with me on Day 6 about timing. For Day 7 I have an alternative "Salt Cured Salmon" recipe which can be cured in 2 hours. If we have time, we can make a small trial batch of those on Day 6 also - see me as soon as we get in and I'll get you started,