This morning prep was much more organized. I and some other students arrived early and assisted the chefs in getting all the prep organized for everyone. We were completely ready to demo by 7:30.
But first, a written quiz. It isn't very long, and I have no trouble with most of it, but one of the questions throws me for a loop: "name the seven principles of stock making". I've learned to make a stock and some of the important points, but we haven't been taught "principles". I write down some of the important aspects of making a stock and hope for the best. I'm not worried about passing, but would like to ace the darn things.
After the quiz we covered two more of the mother sauces, Bechamel and Veloute. These very basic white sauces are the base for a near infinite variety of other sauces. Today, we will use the bechamel to make a cream of tomato soup and the veloute to make a cream of mushroom soup.
I have no problem with the bechamel. It comes out wonderfully. Great creamy consistency, wonderful color. It's great. Turning it into cream of tomato soup goes very well. Indeed, Chef Perez says that he would pay for soup that good, which seems like a pretty nice complement to me.
On the other hand, I struggle with the veloute. Both bechamel and veloute start with a roux. No problem. However, after adding the requisite chicken stock for the chicken veloute, my resulting sauce is much too thin. This is odd since I added the same amount of liquid to the bechamel's roux and it came out great. Fixing this is a bit of a pain. I have to make another small roux and then add my original veloute to this roux.
I've been slowed down, but my veloute is now excellent as well. Unfortunately, I subsequently struggle with the cream of mushroom soup. There just doesn't seem to be enough liquid. My soup is quite thick. I'm able to thin it with additional chicken stock, but the reduction has ruined my seasoning and my soup is bit too salty. It is also a bit cold, thanks to improperly warming it in a hotel pan. Ooops. Lesson learned. Ah well.
Though I finished both soups with plenty of time, I'm not entirely happy with my station management. I wasn't really able to keep up with the dishes towards the end. Still, I'm learning some things. Hopefully practice and experience will improve my efficiency.
Tomorrow French Onion Soup, Basic Pasta Dough and Bolognese.
Ernest Miller pursues research and writing on cyberlaw, intellectual property, and First Amendment issues. Mr. Miller attended the U.S. Naval Academy before attending Yale Law School, where he was president and co-founder of the Law and Technology Society, and founded the technology law and policy news site LawMeme. He is a fellow of the Information Society Project at Yale Law School.
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