An Apple What!?

Week 1, Day 5- The day started off pretty well. We have to do a line up uniform check each day before class starts. I received extra props for wearing my name tag from our substitute instructor. Chef Sara was out sick so Chef Nate was taking the class. He was a bit more strict on the uniform this morning. I was one of three with their tag on. No one had really told us it was a requirement of the uniform, but why else would they give us one if we weren't supposed to wear it? And if you know me at all you know I HATE name tags. Yea for me!

Today we worked on more knife cuts, the apple swan. Yeah, an apple swan and a tourne of potatoes. Needless to say both of these cuts are pretty advanced. Nothing like jumping in with both feet. I'm pretty sure my mom would not be proud of the profanities that left my mouth while trying to cut these things.

An apple swan is what it sounds like, and would basically be used for a decorative piece for a catering dish/display. A tourne could be used as a decorative garnish made from a potato, carrot, or even a squash. It can also be used as a starch or vegetable accompaniment on a main dish. Here is a video on how to do the cut, my pictures of my first attempts are below.

I also turned in my first paper in 15 years. The assignment was a two pager on a foodbourn illness outbreak. We were to discuss the outbreak and the type of pathogen, possible causes, possible steps that could have prevented the outbreak. I chose the peanut butter salmonella outbreak of 2007. Conducting the research on all these outbreaks was pretty gross and was a definite reminder to ALWAYS wash your hands properly and keep a clean kitchen. YUCK!

Apple swan w/ the stem :0)

Potato Tourne