Day 1

[cape chef]

Hi all,

Here is brief summery of my first day.

Day 1,

Sat in one morning lectures covering Wine and some of it’s basic.

Still wines vs. sparklers
Grape varieties
Racking
Riddling
Climates, soil etc.
Dosage
Disgorge
Sugars and yeast and there roll
Fortified wines
Acids and the like.

The students then took a quiz about the points covered in the lecture, then we went on to discuss recipes we will do in production. Regional American was what the student where working on this day.

After we discussed kitchen staples, in this case they studied nut oils and there applications.

The Pacific Northwest was the region being discussed then executed in production.

Dungeness crab cakes with wild rice served with an herb remoularde
Pan seared Halibut with apple/cranberry compote
Rack of lamb with Washington state Merlot/Thyme sauce
Risotto and Oregon truffle cakes
Baby green beans with lardoons (I forget what else)
Oven roast veggies
Warm flourless cake with an espresso sauce

There were 15 students and they were broken up into pares with two designated as Sous chefs.

Half the class prepped and prepared the lamb rack while the other half prepared the halibut.

It was very exciting to observe the different levels of competence. Some students had a pretty good feel for building there recipes and cooking them in the proper techniques, while other students needed more attention and hands on assistance.

Everything came out quite nice with good textures, flavors and colors. Everything is then presented on platters and garnish with appropriate garnish and brought out to the dining room where the students eat and the food is critiqued.


That’s it for now, I’m off to the Cromwell campus to meet and sit in with some other chefs, I’ll keep you posted as often as I can, and thanks for the interest.

[chrose]

Brad, it sounds exciting! Congrats again, looking forward to hearing more!

[phoebe]

Brad, it all sounds wonderful! But I'm a little confused. You said you "sat in" on the wine class. You didn't teach that one? It does sound like you taught the Northwestern one though. Right?
The descriptions make me want to take more classes for the experience and the great info!

How's week 2 going? Do you find class prep, helping students, and critiquing their work to be stimulating? Do you miss cheffing (chefing? )?

[cape chef]

Originally Posted by phoebe

Brad, it all sounds wonderful! But I'm a little confused. You said you "sat in" on the wine class. You didn't teach that one? It does sound like you taught the Northwestern one though. Right?
The descriptions make me want to take more classes for the experience and the great info!

How's week 2 going? Do you find class prep, helping students, and critiquing their work to be stimulating? Do you miss cheffing (chefing? )?

Hi Emily,

Last week and this week are dedicated to developing my daily lesson plans, exams, quiz's and sitting in with other teachers to see how the curriculum is presented. This week is the final week of a 15 week module so the students are busy with there finals and final practicals. Next week we're off and return on May 10th. That is when I actually start teaching my classes. French Regional and Food and wine will coincide with each other in lecture.That will be the first 10 weeks of my mod, the last five weeks I will be teaching The Techniques of healthy cooking.

The first 7 1/2 weeks will be the food and wine, then the second 7 1/2 weeks will be Food and Beverage cost controls.

My evening classes are a little different in that the French goes for 12 weeks and then I piggy back with international cuisine.

My Thursday class will be my only freshman class which I will teach introduction to baking for 12 weeks then co-teach advanced culinary skills to the seniors.

I miss "Cheffing" but I love teaching.

Hope this helped clarify

[Mezzaluna]

You're a born teacher, CC, I have strong feelings about that. What you'll find hardest at first I'm pretty sure is adjusting to the clock during class periods and the calendar (It's time for midterms now you say??).

Lucky students! I hope you enjoy it.

Ann

[cape chef]

Originally Posted by Mezzaluna

You're a born teacher, CC, I have strong feelings about that. What you'll find hardest at first I'm pretty sure is adjusting to the clock during class periods and the calendar (It's time for midterms now you say??).

Lucky students! I hope you enjoy it.

Ann

Ann,

Your right about the "clock" aspect of teaching.

Lecture will start promptly at 8:30 with a couple 10 minute breaks until 11:40. The students then have until noon, then it's into production until 3:00 (no break) in this time you must cover key points of the curriculum. The school is the only in CT accredited by the ACF (although i'm not an ACF guy, it is an excellent curriculem)

[Mezzaluna]

I recall carefully preparing my first lessons as a student teacher. It took hours to get them just right and took up several pages of very small writing.

I was through the first lesson in 20 minutes. That left 25 minutes. If you've ever had those "naked in public" dreams, you'll get a clue for how I felt! In time your internal clock will adjust, exactly as you now know the precise moment to leave the saute pan and go over to retrieve your dish from the salamander.

In cooking you can't just stand there; there's always something to do. In teaching, you can- and should- wait for students to process what you've been saying so they can formulate good answers. Think of it as holdover cooking time!

There is much to learn, Grasshopper.

[cape chef]

Dear Ann,

This is great advice and I admire and respect you so much for your ability to teach as well as understand and share the concept is wonderful and calming to me. After so many years of "supervising" and "delegating" I agree that the transition to teaching and understanding the difference between a student and a subordinate should, and will be an interesting and even a humbling experience.

I hope you don't mind if I tape your expertise as I go on.

[shroomgirl]

Where have i been....no don't answer that.....I thought you were just teaching a class for a semister, did not realize that you are actually TEACHING totally. WOW! You'll have to give us the real inside of everyday lecturing. So do you gotta wear the tall white hat?
This is too cool. Glad you went for it.

[cape chef]

Thanks Shroomgirl,

Where have you been? I can only imagine seeing your starting up your farmers market soon.

Today and tonight among other things we did freshman orientation.Some students and I prepared finger foods and such for the students and family to enjoy before we started orientation. Went through the student manual, did a Q&A and generally pumped them up for there first module. The age range was interesting because there were kids right out of high school, to mature adults.

Theres eyes lite up when it was time to distribute there text, knives "Wustof" and there uniforms.

Can't wait to get going

[Mezzaluna]

Thanks dear CC for your kind words. I'm sure you will derive as much energy from your students as they are getting knowledge from you.

[momoreg]

Somehow I missed this thread, but better late than never. Brad, it's exciting to read about your new experience. I hope your colleagues are supportive and helpful through your transition. I also wish you an eager bunch of students. Keep posting...

[Mezzaluna]

I'd say having a two-year-old and working as a pastry chef is enough reason!

That reminds me.... your little guy's birthday is this week, right?

[momoreg]

It was today, in fact. Good memory, Mezz.!

[cape chef]

Happy birthday Aaron!!!!

Did mommy bake you a cake?