I’m sorry for being so quiet this week. It still feels a little unreal to say this, but we have officially finished our last week of school. I do not think it will fully sink in until Tuesday morning, when I would normally be getting ready, packing my knives, and heading back into the kitchen for another day of class.
This final week of culinary school was busy, emotional, and very bittersweet. Instead of our usual production schedule, we spent most of the week preparing food for the graduation buffet on Friday. The buffet was for the classes ahead of us, who had already completed their externships. Since we did not have our regular morning demonstrations, we were able to sleep in a little later than usual and use some of the extra time before class to cook breakfast for one another.
Those casual breakfasts ended up being one of the best parts of the week. We made everything from a traditional Salvadorian breakfast to crepes, French toast, eggs, and other dishes that we shared together before getting started on the day’s work.
On Tuesday morning, we were given the menu for the graduation buffet and each volunteered for different dishes. I chose to work on the potato salad, which meant that much of Tuesday was spent peeling around 60 Idaho potatoes and cutting them into small, even pieces so they would be ready to cook on Wednesday.
We were expected to feed about 250 people on Friday, so every recipe had to be prepared in large quantities. It was a great reminder of how different production feels when cooking for a large event instead of a small group or classroom service.
In addition to our assigned buffet dishes, we worked in teams to prepare a marquetage. These are decorative food displays created with aspic. Instead of consommé, we used water and gelatin, which created a clear, flavorless base similar to firm jello.
To make the displays, we used large pieces of glass, either round or rectangular, and sealed the edges with homemade play dough. We then poured in the liquid aspic and allowed it to set in the refrigerator. Each team could create its own design, so we used stencils, cut out shapes, and filled them in with different colors. The process took several days, with each step spread out across the week. Hadley, Tasha, and I worked together on the roast beef platter below. Tasha seared and roasted all of the meat, and I sliced it the day before the buffet.
On the day of the event, we assembled the finished platter and got it ready for service.
Here are a few other platters that my classmates created for the culinary school graduation buffet.
For the next dish, they filleted whole salmon, spread salmon mousse between the two fillets, poached the whole preparation, and then garnished it with very thin slices of cucumber and radish. It was one of the most striking platters on the table and looked incredibly impressive.
The platter below featured baked chicken drumsticks and thighs. After cooking, the chicken was brushed with a mixture of aspic and mayonnaise, then decorated with carrot flowers. It may sound unusual at first, but this platter disappeared very quickly once the buffet opened on Friday.
Here is one of the main potato salad platters after it had been assembled and garnished for the buffet.
We also served pâté-burger sliders on homemade mini brioche buns, which were a fun addition to the menu.
Another dish on the buffet was a seafood terrine.
There was also a huge dessert buffet prepared by the pastry students.
Along with the main platters, we prepared many other dishes and canapés. The menu included salt cod croquettes, smoked salmon roulade with goat cheese on brioche toasts, duck pâté, and egg rolls made by the one and only Chef Somchet.
In addition to all of the buffet production, we had a cooking demonstration focused on truffles and foie gras. I had never tried foie gras before, and as it turns out, I am not a fan. We also received our binders for Phase III, which is the externship portion of the program. During the next six months, we will need to complete and turn in several assignments while working in restaurants.
By the end of Friday, I think all of us were in disbelief that our time in the classroom kitchen was officially over. After saying some sad goodbyes to our chefs and classmates, we headed home to prepare for our restaurant externships, which officially begin tomorrow. I honestly do not know exactly what to expect over the next six months, but I do believe we have been well prepared. The transition may be challenging, especially during the first few weeks, but this final week of culinary school made me appreciate just how much we have learned.
Thank you again to everyone who has followed along, whether from the very beginning or more recently, as I have written about culinary school. I will be sharing more about my externship experience in the next few posts.
Stay tuned!