New Class--Breakfast & Pantry

Today was the first day of Breakfast & Pantry. What a breath of fresh air. A week of demos and lectures before we really hit the kitchens full-time. We work in groups of three. We actually get to eat what we're cooking. And the chef is...a goofball. I know, I know. It's disrespectful to call him that, right? But he is a goofball. I say it with love.

After a brief introduction to the class, Chef demonstrated egg cookery 101. Sunny side up, over easy, over medium, scrambled, and omelets.

Toward the end of class, Chef let us go to the kitchens to practice these egg techniques. Dozens of eggs, clarified butter, lots of saute pans. I'm a newbie when it comes to runny yolks. I've only just started to be able to appreciate dipping toast into a runny yolk. So trying to make sunny side up eggs is a bit of a challenge. Just not my personal preference. I also learned a new way to cook an omelet. Chef acts like he's scrambling the eggs first and then mushes them all back together. He places the fillings on top (today we used ham, mushrooms, and cheddar cheese) and then rolls the omelet closed and onto the plate. We'd never seen such a fluffy texture. We were impressed.

The biggest challenge in all of the egg prep is controlling the heat of the burner. The chef wants no color on any of the eggs. At home, I like browned edges on my over medium eggs so I'll need to readjust.

Tomorrow we continue with eggs--poaching technique and Hollandaise sauce.