Preparing Food for Management Fuction

23 February 2011

We prepared food for our meet the management function, taking place on the 24 February 2011. The chef students had to prepare most of the food with help from the senior chefs to cater for more or less 85 people. The menu includes the following

MENU

Roast Beef

Beef Stew

Chicken Wings

Spatchcock chicken

Different types of sausages

Rice

All types of beans

Malva pudding

Custard

Marshmallow treats 

We were asked to explain what cooking method did we use today?

My tasks included to shallow fry sausages in a little bit of oil but not overcook them. We took the sausages and arranged them on sticks with grapes, tomatoes, green peppers and lemon slices using different combinations to make it look more presentable and not plain. I also had to take half of a roast beef and stuff it with rosemary, garlic, and whole baby carrots and smoked oysters. This was baked in the oven.

Some of the things that I learned today were that all students had to work together to prepare the food and ask help from one another. The kitchen can get very busy and if the executive chef speaks you need to listen otherwise none of the task that needs to be completed will get done.  The kitchen can be a very stressful environment but also provide a good energy to feed off of and to keep the adrenalin going to finish on time.

It is also a good idea to have a chef’s cloth with you at all times with which to move and carry pots around so that you wont get burned. Some safety that I learned was to always keep your nose open to detect any gas leaks to prevent a gas explosion. Other things include never leaving your pots unattended and always light your own gas burner.

Some chef tricks that I learned was that vegetables that grow under the ground always need to be cooked starting with cold water so that its does not break up into small bits when cutting it. Vegetables that grow above ground you can cook with boiling water from the start (blanching them). All green vegetables you need to cook in a pot with the lid off so that all the impurities do not go back into the vegetable giving it a bitter taste. When cooking mushrooms never wash them beforehand because they absorb water. If they are dirty wipe them with a soft cloth. When cooking mielies you must blanch them with boiling water and keep the lid half on the pot. All these things will help you to maintain as much nutrients in your vegetables.