Cuisine of Americas week one

Our first buffet after
externship

Back to school!

After five months of externship it's great to be back to school. We got another five jackets with the name on it. Strange that we did not get pants, only jackets. After four days of classes I would say that our group is different as to compare to the first year. People have changed during the externship. We also lost a couple of individuals, probably not the most cooperative ones. The group now is really a team, not a bunch of individuals on their own agenda. As a result it is much easier in the kitchen and we are more productive.

Externship week twenty two

Cioppino from the menu this week

Final week of the externship...

That was the final week of my externship and it was quite unremarkable. I worked this week at the Big Table. The choice was mine where to work and I chose this cafe because the chef is a cool guy and also I had a hope to sneak in the closed cafe and work there. My hope did not come true, I believe because of security (my badge was not approved for that zone). The chef was too busy with other projects and seminars, he was almost always away. The manager of that cafe gained too much power and now she is playing bossy lady.

The whole week for me was full of jumping from one station to another throughout a day. Help this station, then help that station. Literally having nothing to do after

Externship week twenty one

Duck confit

How to make the perfect duck confit...

This week I was back to the HangOut one of my favorite cafe on campus. I was there in September 2013 and now when I had a choice where to spend my last two weeks I chose this place without doubts. The chef is the same (this was the main reason I came back), the food are really interesting. Some dishes we made this week are:  slow roasted leg of pork, crab Singapore style, leg of lamb, fresh pasta with mornay sauce with saffron.
Here is a recap of

Externship weeks nineteen and twenty

Composed salads on buffet

Is it good idea to make mayonnaise in a blender?
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Yes, that's right. These two weeks were short for me (three days off for Christmas, and two days off for the New Year), so I decided to combine these weeks in one full working week. Also these two weeks I am working at the same place - Crave. So it will be total four calendar weeks at this place. It feels good. I like the chef, people are nice here. Also because I am here for a long time, finally I got a station to be in charge of. It's the salad bar, which is quite easy and does not involve much cooking. In addition to the salad bar this station

Externship week eighteen

One of the dish from this week

Moving forward, close to the end...

It was my second week at Crave (yes, I am late again, don't know why this time). Second week was better than the first one. I did less prep work and more cooking. Also it's easier to work now, as I know people better. That part of my externship (changing a kitchen every second week) was probably the most difficult.
Also the chef here is really good. He spends a lot of time in the kitchen and he is ready to share his knowledge and experience with other people. I like this environment, because it's impossible to know

Externship week seventeen

Everyday tasting at Crave

The gift from the above...

Unexpectedly I found out that there is a rotation this week for me. My internship at the Japanese place was just for one week. Actually it was a gift from heaven. I came to work like to a salt mine. The place I was moved to is quite nice. The majority of people are Mexican here, but they are different! They are friendly and ready to help



Monday
Worked with a receiver. Helped him to sort out all stuff we have received that day. Monday is usually the biggest delivery throughout the week. There were a lot of produce, meat, and some other stuff. After that we were working on prep. Delicata squash was the fist job. I would expect

Externship week sixteen

Temaki with spicy tuna

What you can expect in Japanese kitchen?

I apologize for finishing this post so late. The whole weekend was dedicated to sort all belongings we shipped from Canada. We finally received it here in SF, so we had to pick up our container, unload it, return the container to U-Haul and sort everything. The apartment is still remind a warehouse, but it's getting better.

About my externship. Last week there was another rotation and I am at the Japanese cafe called Atom. I was really excited about this place, because I love sushi and hope to practise how to make them. I was in a state of shock. Have you seen a movie Ramen Girl? It was not SO bad in the kitchen but close enough. I though that there is a standard on campus, but I was wrong. So what to expect from the Japanese kitchen? I would say Japanese attitude. If you are an intern in the kitchen you are