Day thirty six

a courtesy of

If you precook squash with fennel, mix with béchamel sauce, add some cheese and put it into oven, what will be the dish?

Today I was at Google for my stage interview. It was four hours work, may be not under microscope, but under control.

First and the most important, I did enjoy working there. For sure, some things are done differently as we taught in the school (making bechamel by feeling and not by measurements). It was unfamiliar kitchen for me, but the experience was great. I was teamed with a cook from that kitchen and we worked together.

At the beginning we made vegetable graten. Butternut squash was peeled and sliced, as well as fennel. Then we partially cooked them together. Meantime we made bechamel sauce (milk with roux), mixed it with parmesan cheese for flavor. Then we mixed everything together and distributed mixture in a number of
pans (fourteen to be exact) and placed them into oven. In about 30 minutes it was ready to serve.

Another dish we made  is sautéed Chinese broccoli with garlic and chili flakes. At the beginning we cut the broccoli so we had leaves and stalks separate (as the cooking time is different). Then we started from stalks and sautéed them until almost ready, then added leaves, garlic, salt, pepper, and chili flakes. A little bit more time on fire and it was ready. Chinese broccoli is quite bitter, but after cooking and with addition of aromatics the taste was much better.

After that I had a review with the Sous Chef. She gave me some paper to feel up and I left the Google. I hope this was a good sign and I will go there for my externship in August. I really like there, great atmosphere, goog people, very good food. Will see...