Chefs Blog | Culinary Industry | Culinary Education

What is Comfort Food?

As the countdown to 12 begins, one must eat twelve grapes, one with each of the chimes of the clock that announce the arrival of midnight. With each grape, there is a wish, one for each month of the year. I have welcomed the New Year choking on grapes, since I can remember, but that is not where the tradition of New Year's Eve ends. This holiday and food go hand in hand. Not only, is New Year's Eve one of the busiest days in the restaurant business, but many traditions revolve around food.

Growing up, my family was very superstitious. Much of the "craziness" came about in New Year's Eve when there were so many traditions and things to accomplish to welcome the new year that it became a chore. In addition to the grapes, we had a Champagne toast, followed by washing our hands with sugar to welcome a sweet new year. As I walked around the block with a suitcase in one hand and a broom in the other, I wished that no one I knew could see me. This year I am looking forward to the walk around the block to welcome the idea of a long journey and to incorporating all of the other New Year's traditions.

As years have passed, I have learned more about the traditions from other cultures. Black eye peas and lentils represent good fortune in many places including the Southern United States. Pigs represent prosperity, greens are a symbol of wealth (since the leaves look like paper currency), fish in many cultures will mean a plentiful harvest, and oranges are for good luck in Chinese culture since the word for orange sounds like the word for luck in Chinese. The Philippine tradition has people collecting seven round fruits. The round shape signifies a complete cycle and seven due to that being a lucky number within the culture. These are just some of the few. Each tradition began for a different purpose. The tradition of the grapes began in Spain, one year when the grape harvest was so plentiful that the king of Spain gave out grapes to everyone on New Years Eve. It is now continued due to the round shape of the fruit and the number twelve, representing a full year.

For many, it is the shape and color of the food that makes it good to eat on New Year's Eve. Circles represent a complete cycle, a full year.  Green is representative of wealth. Therefore, many cultures will include round, green foods within their New Year's celebrations. This year I will spend New Years Eve at my sister's, enjoying many round, green finger foods that she has planned for the evening. In addition, I will be making candied clementine rings, dipped in chocolate with pistachios to welcome the year with another good fortune.

I will once again choke down the twelve green grapes, have a Champagne toast, wash my hands with sugar and welcome the traditions that I once found embarrassing, as I celebrate with two of my favorite things: my family and food.

Candied Clementine Rings with Chocolate and Pistachio

1 ½ cups Water

½ cup Sugar

2 clementines, sliced into ¼ inch rings

Melted Chocolate

Crushed Pistachios

In a medium skillet, add the water and sugar and bring to a boil.

Add the clementine slices and cook over medium heat.  Turning them occasionally, until the liquid reduces to thin syrup and the clementine slices are translucent. This will take about 20 minutes.

Turn down the heat to medium low and simmer until the syrup becomes thick and the slices are tender but have not broken apart, turning occasionally, about 10 minutes.

Transfer the slices to a rack to cool. Reserve the syrup for another use.

Dip slices in melted chocolate and dip into crushed pistachios. Place on a rack to dry.

 Traveling and Learning Through Food with Common Threads

Vanessa was shocked to hear the package of chips she was eating is not healthy. "I bought it in the healthy section of my school cafeteria," she exclaimed. Many children try to make healthy choices, but have a different idea of what is healthy. Others don't have access to many fresh, healthy products because they are so expensive. Many of these aspects have led to increased numbers of obese children in the United States. There are ways of making good, nutritious food on a low budget. Common Threads, a non-profit organization founded by Chef Art Smith, sets out to teach children about what foods they should eat, improving their physical well-being, cultural diversity, and how to work and socialize with others. All of this happens while teaching them how to cook. 

            With the dedication of many world-renowned chefs who make up part of the Chef Advisory Board, recipes were developed to teach low-income children between the ages of 8 and 12 about eating healthy. Students "travel" the world through food. Each lesson, introduces them to the culture of a different country through foods from that region. These classes allow the kids to learn hands on. They cut up their own ingredients and do most of the cooking. They use 8- inch chef knives, and other tools to prepare their food. This happens with the assistance of volunteers who dedicate their time and commit to a semester (12 weeks) of supervising and guiding children through the cooking process.

            I began volunteering with Common Threads for the first time two weeks ago. The class I volunteer with meets every Tuesday from 3:30pm through 5:30pm. Every week, I work with the same four children. We have visited the United States and Turkey in the past two weeks and the students made their own jelly and were introduced to hummus, tabbouleh, and turkey kefta kebabs. Many were asking for seconds and others were already planning to go home and make it with their parents. Some compared it to the school cafeteria food, wondering, if it's so easy to make, why can't they serve food like that at their school. 

"Turkey is a country?' some children asked as we told them last week that this past Tuesday we would be making food from a country that many didn't know existed. "Hummus sounds like humans," exclaimed a 10-year old boy as we began preparing the dish. They took turns smashing the chickpeas into a paste and wanted to show me their strength as they juiced lemons. Most of them had never had Hummus and Tabbouleh. The kids were shown how the dish is normally eaten in Turkey and were taught how to say "cook" and "good" in Turkish, which many recited over and over as they ate the food leaving most plates completely clean.

            The kids take home copies of the recipes and one of the children in my group told me yesterday, she and her mother had made the blueberry jelly we prepared last week in class. "We wanted it a little sweeter," she said, "so we added more honey because last week we learned that it is better than sugar, and it was delicious!" She was excited to go home yesterday and show her mother what we made in class so they can go to the store and buy ingredients to cook it together. Another student watched very carefully as they were taught how to use a knife. When we walked into the kitchen she asked me to show her again, "...just to make sure I remember how to do it because my mother told me I have to teach her what I learn," she said.

            The children look forward to coming every week, as do the volunteers. There are six more volunteers working on Tuesdays. We look forward to sitting down to eat with the kids and seeing their reaction, as they taste the food they just prepared. A Le Cordon Bleu Miami alumnus and current Le Cordon Bleu Miami students are also volunteers. We were all excited to get a hug from the children as they got ready to go home. I can't wait for next week. We're going to Thailand!

For more information on Common Threads, please visit their website www.commonthreads.org

 Celebrating my Hero: Julia Child

I decided to post a second entry this month in honor of a person I deeply admire, the one I credit with becoming an instructor and teaching about food, the one who helped spark my interest in food and told me time and time again I too could do what she was doing: Julia Child. Many people go to culinary school to become chefs, but not Julia and not I. I took a few cooking classes as part of my Hospitality Management degree at Florida International University. My chef instructor, Michael Moran, became my mentor. He knew about my admiration of Julia and my passion for food. After Julia passed away, he told me, I had to continue down the path I was headed because someone had to follow in her footsteps, since then, that became my goal.

Five years ago, I decided to go to culinary school and it was not to be a chef. I was pursuing my Masters in Gastronomy at Boston University, a program Julia created in order to continue teaching people about food. She was the reason I chose to attend that program. She passed away before I was able to sit in on one of her classes (which she sometimes taught at the school, while sitting on a metal stool that still sits in the kitchen and is known as Julia’s stool). Still, every day, I walked into my classes and thought I was learning from Julia. I enrolled in the Boston University Culinary Diploma program in 2005 (after having years of experience in restaurant kitchens and other positions). However, this was not only part of Julia’s contribution to the school and vision, but the program would allow me to learn from Jacques Pepin, another person I deeply admire, and due to his connection to Julia, I would again in my mind learn from her.

Leaving Boston was a very sad moment in my life, as I felt at home there, and for many years, so did Julia, but I had found a wonderful opportunity I could not turn down. I was offered a job at Le Cordon Bleu as an instructor, yet another connection to Julia. Here, I have been able to teach students about food, tell them they too can do what we do, and show them that French food can be unpretentious and simple. In simplest terms, I am doing for others what Julia did for me. Since coming to Le Cordon Bleu, I have also started writing about food. I watch Jacques Pepin religiously on Saturdays and continue to read Julia’s books and recipes as inspiration and a reminder of why I do what I do every day. So, five years after Julia’s death, I still continue to learn from her.

Julia not only taught me how to cook, but also showed me that you could do more with food than just become a restaurant chef. She was an author, and a television entertainer. She made cooking shows possible and popular. It is due to her that an entire network can now be devoted to food and followed religiously. Julia is the reason many chefs got into the business and I have not yet met someone who does not admire her. Once a day, while at Boston University, I would sneak into the kitchen and sit on Julia’s stool hoping that by doing this, I would absorb some of her knowledge and personality. I like to think I did.

I look forward to August 7^th, the opening of Julie and Julia. I am getting together with my friends, cooking a meal from Julia’s the “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” and then off to the theater to watch the story of her life. August 7^th, my friends and I will celebrate Julia Child.  I encourage all of you to do the same. I will post again next month and let you know how my celebration of Julia turned out. Until next month, in the meantime, I will leave you with her words “Bon Appetit”.

 Competition is Healthy for Chefs

Competition teaches a chef to improvise, keep one’s composure, and work methodically when working against the clock and other talented competitors. It is also an exercise on dedicated to practice their skills and hone them. This allows a chef to work faster, while still keeping the standards and quality of the dish high. Competition fosters camaraderie and puts to the test organization, skills, creativity, and the ability to be resilient. It teaches students to use critique to improve upon themselves and their food instead of bringing them down. After the culmination, competitions give them a sense of accomplishment and pride that will give them the drive to continue to the next, more intense level of competition.

On Thursday, June 25, 2009, our students entered our Fourth Annual BBQ rib competition. The pressure was intense, while the participants prepared their entries. They all worked methodically, and swiftly. Most of them admitted to having practiced their recipes every day and having dined on ribs for the last few weeks. The competitors were confident and the fight against the clock and their colleagues was a welcome challenge.

Students presented the judges with a unique preparation of BBQ baby back ribs and the judges were impressed by the results. The panel of judges was made up of local chefs.

Fellow students supported the contestants while feasting on BBQ prepared in the culinary courses and served as a farewell lunch and dinner for students leaving on summer break. Students and faculty cheered as the winners were announced. Chef Said Shehadeh, who organized the competition, announced Carlos Betancourt as the 1^st place winner for the morning competitors and reminded the students, this is the year we get our pig trophy back.

The first and second place winners of each round of competition (morning and evening) will become the team that will represent Le Cordon Bleu Miami at the Fourth Annual Rib Cook-off. We will go up against competitors from Florida International University, Johnson and Wales, The Art Institute of Ft. Lauderdale, and the Florida Culinary Institute. The first two years of the competition, our students were awarded first place and brought home the pig trophy. Last year, however, the trophy was won by the participants representing Florida International University.

After returning from summer break, the team of four will come together with Chef Shehadeh and practice the preparation of the ribs that will become the winning dish of the Rib Cook-off. In October of 2009, the four students will beat the pressure, the clock, and the other teams to bring the pig back to its home at Le Cordon Bleu Miami.

The timed preparation made the competitors nervous and filled them with adrenaline, which allowed them to get through the competition having completed a good dish. The support of their fellow classmates was the perfect display of camaraderie as cheers exploded when the winners were announced. Most importantly, this competition allowed them to accomplish something many thought they could have done before. This was one of the first competitions these students were able to compete in and having done so makes them, already, better prepared to become successful chefs.

 South Florida is a great place for food in the summer. We are entering the season of some of the most interesting ingredients and they are celebrated everywhere in the Southern Part of the state. The Fruit & Spice Park holds their Summer Fruit Festival this June with the purpose of introducing South Floridians to the fruits of summer. From mangos and mamey to lychees and starfruit, all kinds of exotic fruit from around the world thrives in the humid, hot weather of South Florida.

            Florida is the second largest producer of avocados. This summer fruit forms a part of many dishes in South Florida. From the savory use in salads to the sweet preparation in a Brazilian shake, avocados are one of the most versatile summer fruits. In order to celebrate this wonderful product, Le Cordon Bleu Miami has partnered with the Haas Avocado Board.

            Le Cordon Bleu Miami students will be able to participate in a contest taking place June 19, 2009. The students will submit recipes featuring Haas avocados. They will be able to enter recipes in one of the following four categories: Breakfast/Brunch, Appetizers/Small Plates, Entrees, and Desserts. Because Haas avocados are the star, each recipe must include at least half an avocado within one portion of the recipe.

            The recipes will be judged for best use of the ingredient, flavor, originality, and the presentation of the dish. In addition to a first place price of $750, second place price of $500, and third place prize of $250, this contest offers participants the opportunity to use their creativity and innovation to come up with a unique dish that will express their culinary point of view.

            As chefs, success is measured, not only by the execution of the dish, but by its originality. The participants will use their creativity and newly learned skills to show off their culinary creations for the opportunity of a chance to win the grand prize! Good luck to all of the participants!

 The Recipe for a Successful Culinary School Experience

One can prepare food by tossing a few ingredients together. However, food is enhanced when we use the proper techniques, herbs and spices to help the flavor, and select the best cooking methods for the foods. A student can go through college and learn by working with or alongside instructors, fellow colleagues, and the proper materials, but those are just some of the ingredients necessary. With the proper technique, cooking style, and flavorings, the college experience will be more rewarding. What is the recipe for the most successful culinary school experience?

Culinary School Experience

Ingredients:

Students

Books

Knife Kits

Chefs and Instructors

Attendance

Flavorings:

Asking questions

Studying

Taking notes

Volunteering

Skills enhancement

Student clubs

Cooking Techniques:

Commitment

Punctuality

Professionalism

Passion

Dedication

Team work

Procedure:

Although this dish can be made without any flavorings, it will be very bland and will greatly benefit from the use of the above mentioned ingredients. The cooking techniques suggested will enhance the dish even more.

Come to school on time (fifteen to 30 minutes earlier will allow additional time for preparation). Study the material from the books at home and come in having read the material that will be discussed in class. Bring in all your necessary tools. Remember, you are working in a team and have others who depend on your timeliness to accomplish their tasks.

While the chef instructors or professors are giving their demonstrations or lectures, take good notes that will guide you through your own production and study. Ask questions to gain better understanding and ensure that all the major ingredients are absorbed properly into the mixture. For further learning after class, volunteer at events inside and outside of school. Join student clubs to get extra time with instructors and fellow students and learn about an area of interest to you. Attend skills enhancement courses or meetings during instructor office hours to get one-on-one instruction from the chef instructors and professors.

Attending culinary school is a commitment you made to yourself and requires you to take time and make an effort to complete assignments and projects in and out of class. Completing all expected tasks on time and working well with others will display professionalism. It takes dedication and passion to get the best results. The quality of the final product will depend on how many of the ingredients, flavorings and procedures you use in preparation of this dish. You get out of education what you put into it.

Take advantage of working in a team to learn from your fellow classmates. Do not skip any steps or use excuses in this recipe; exchanging the necessary ingredients may alter the end product.

All students have a life outside of school. It is important to schedule your days to allow for the necessary requirements to be completed and remember that this is an investment in your future. Every lost learning opportunity will cost you not only the dollars paid for the education, but also the learning that did not occur because of having missed the lessons. In addition, the impression you make on your instructors and fellow classmates can help shape your professional career. Remember, the people around you may one day be the ones hiring at a job you are applying to and culinary school is your opportunity to make a great first impression. Although not all the ingredients are necessary to get a culinary education, using them, the flavorings, and proper cooking techniques will result in the best recipe for a positive culinary school experience.

 Why should you get a culinary education? Many students pursue a culinary degree to one day become an executive chef or own their own businesses. Many others, however, do not intend to work in a kitchen but begin their career path with a culinary degree. However, becoming an executive chef is not the only career path for culinary students. There are many other options for a career path with a culinary degree, some of which will be discussed here.

            Growing up I wanted to be a chef, but as some say sometimes life gets in the way of life, so I took a detour. After pursuing a degree in Hospitality Management, I entered the industry and worked in different capacities; as a cook, a manager, in catering and in spas. Through my journey I began to discover how vast the culinary field is. Seven years later, I went to culinary school, but at that time, I already knew I no longer wanted that degree in order to become a chef.

            Culinary training does more than teach us how to cook, it teaches discipline, organizational skills, how to follow directions, how to think on our feet, how to multi-task, and that is just the beginning. One of the things every person in the world has in common, is we all have to eat. Food surrounds us. We see it in movies, in cookbooks, in magazines, on television, at hospitals, restaurants, hotels, schools, it is everywhere.

            As Marcel Proust, a French author wrote, sensation memories are some of the most vivid. Sometimes we remember a moment in our lives because it is triggered by a smell, taste, or sound we once knew as children. As culinarians, we have the gift to create those memories for people through many avenues.

            Food stylists learn culinary techniques to produce food that will be featured on television, movies, magazines, and advertising. Food scientists develop new food products for companies. These products will be included in the menus of large chain restaurants, or on the shelves of supermarket chains. Food writers use the skills to best describe techniques, flavor profiles and textures of food that they write about in their columns or magazines. Dieticians come up with healthy alternatives and recipes for special dietary needs. Catering managers put together menus for events. Purchasing agents need the skills to be able to select good quality products and then receive these in an appropriate manner for any establishment. Cookbook authors write recipes and take pictures of food they have created so it can appear in their books. Culinary instructors learn the skills to pass them along to the next generation of chefs, food writers, stylists, cookbook authors, dieticians, managers, chefs, and teachers. Innovators create new areas of growth and opportunity within the culinary field every day and the opportunities are beyond the scope mentioned before.