(A little vinegar tasting)

A lot of my problems with school have been addressed.  Yeah, it’s not perfect but it’s a huge step in the right direction.  I’m not going to go into this so much  but we have a few new sheriffs in town and over two days I can already see the difference, I’m happy.

I have a new cooking class, it’s called Garde Manger. This fancy French word basically translates to the person that is responsible for keeping the pantry together in a restaurant…..salads, force meats, charcuterie, blah blah blah, jargon.   You know how I was working on salads,  cold sauces, and sandwiches over the past few months?  All in anticipation over this class.  I don’t want to be surprised by something, I want to have an idea what it is, do it once, then do it the next time and seek perfection (that will never happen). You’re going to see a lot of cool stuff on this site soon but I won’t be able to post recipes, we have to hand write them and I’m not going to type them just to dump them on  the blog.  You’ll see variations on this blog……that’s a good thing.

(Galantine with White Wine Vinegar Tarragon Mayonnaise)

(Ballotine with White Wine Vinegar Tarragon Mayonnaise)

I have two other classes. One is a wine class where we will go through the basics of wine while tasting and learning about food pairings. I am excited about this class because I want to finally experience what other people are always talking about when it comes to wine.  I don’t get it, food is my focus, wine is just there….hopefully, I can balance out the two.   If I can’t figure it out in class then I’ll just ask my sister (sommelier in-training),  Yashar (Seastar’s Sommelier), Cheri Walters (took me to school! click), Catherine Reynolds (One of the top 5 up and coming sommelier’s in the U.S.)……………..yeah, I’m in good hands.   Chef Redman knows his stuff, I already have 13 pages of notes for one class meeting!!!!

Speaking of Chef Redman, he teaches the other class I’m taking…..Product Purchasing and Product Identification. Learn what the products look like then learn how to buy them.  This is the business side of the cooking world.  Oddly enough this is the side I’m most comfortable with. Business………..not my favorite thing but I’m good at it.

This is going to be a great quarter. You’ll see a bunch of pictures and fun times. Stick around………PLEASE!?!?!?!??!

Eric