Semester Two of Matthew McNair Secondary's Culinary Arts Program is well underway.
Returning students have been busy, making two soups, a short order item, a choice of two entrees with side dishes, items for the sandwich station and salad bar, as well as a variety of cookies, cakes, quick breads and yeast breads each day.
New students have completed their Foodsafe Level One course and have spent a few weeks experiencing the steep learning curve of working in our fast-paced professional kitchen.
As I look back on the last six weeks, I smile as I remember some of the students' comments and discoveries, and for this week's column, I want to share a journal entry submitted by a new student of mine, Nancy Zhou.
Nancy is in Grade 10 and for the project portion of the course, she has chosen to do a journal. As you will see, her writing is honest, reflective, engaging, and thoroughly enjoyable to read.
March 10, 2014: Remember how I mentioned in my past journal entries about how time passes by so quickly when one is in the kitchen? Well, I'm here, saying it once more, because yet again, time is a culprit; it is a thief who takes away every minute and second. It is a month into this class, and I find myself falling into a familiar pattern.
After the morning announcements, I put my hair up, go into the laundry room and get my jacket. I then report to my supervisor, who happens to be Ray this week, and realize the day's bustling agenda. While every day is different, there is a recognizable, fixed pattern, similar to a skeleton.
After an active week of sanitation, I am back to working with food for the soup and sandwich station. Although soup and sandwich, and meat and grill are separate stations, I often find these two fields merge.
Today, I learned a great deal of cutting and chopping techniques for vegetables. Each vegetable has its own unique method, but there are a few things that are common for each food. Firstly, there is a proper way of holding a knife.
Grasp it firmly, not just on the handle, but also on the metal part as well. Next, fingers are always curled, with the pinky and thumb behind, otherwise someone will end up with a painful injury.
Lastly, relating to the curled fingers, it is the knuckles that should be touching the blade when cutting, to keep things controlled and steady. I keep these points in the back of my mind as I like my fingers.
There are also tips and tricks when it comes to cutting and chopping. For example, one can keep a vegetable without a flat side steady by planting the knife's tip on the cutting board.
I also learned the proper way to transfer the boiling soup from the big stock pot to the small urns that are used when serving.
As I said, I think that the meat and grill, and the soup and sandwich stations are related. These two groups who work together, and with Ray, the supervisor, to produce the entire menu for the school lunch break. We watch out for each other, giving help when needed. Together, we prepare wonderful concoctions every day.
Today was also my first day doing service.
I thought it would be quite stressful and challenging, knowing that the cafeteria does a mass amount of business every day.
That was, thankfully, not the case, even though one does have to move quickly.
I also thought I'd be intimidated by the customers, but once I got out there, I found they said their "please" and "thank-yous," with zero amount of complaining.
I think with all these skills I have learned today, if I ever do get a job in the food industry, I can say that I am, or will be, well-trained and prepared.
This program has helped me to build not only my skills, but also my character.
Dora Ho is a culinary arts instructor at McNair Secondary.
