This cooking adventure begins

So, if you're like me you like the cooking channels.  In my case I live it everyday.  I cook everyday all day.  Its my job and I love it.  I feel as though time has been slipping by so fast, so I wanted to change and document everything I've been doing.  So I've started a bit of a photo-journal.  My way of slowing things down and reflecting on everything that's happened.  Some of the pictures are pretty cool and I thought I'd start sharing.  Fortunately where I work I have the enough time to be able to take pictures of pretty much everything I cook.  My chef in fact encourages me to click away.  So this will be a little window into the real world of cooking.  Consider it a slow-mo reality show on cooking.

DAY 1: September 14th, 2011

 FLOWERS! First thing I noticed as I was walking to work.

"African Meatballs"

• A lot of the time we have to fake it and pretend like we know how to cook food we have never even experienced.  It's part of the job though because the customer demands it and we do our best to create an authentic experience.  I made these guys with onions, panko breading, nutmeg and coriander.

Seared off meatballs.  These would end up in the oven and be yumyums.

CHEESE! Made by our In-Room Dining crew.

"Peri-peri sauce" 

•  Sauce was fire! Gotta love that burn.

Blanchin some penne

"Stuffed Leg of Lamb" made by chef Ben.

"Crispy Rosemary Potato Cakes" made by Rodrigo

"Warm Potato Salad"

"Cheeseburger sliders"

• These little gems were made with American Kobe beef, put on a brioche bun, with a little herb aioli, sliced toms and cheddar cheeeeeeeeseeeeeee.

"Cod with kidney bean ragu"

• This was a weird one, it came with a roasted poblano salsa as a garnish. I didn't get to taste it, but its one that I didn't really understand.

"Sliced roasted strip lion with a cherry demi and herb roasted carrots"

"Butternut squash ravi with sage cream, sauteed spinach and roasted butternut squash"

 DAY 2: September 15th, 2011

Reduction for "Ancho Chile Demi"

REDUCE!!!!!!

"Peach and blueberry compote" made by Jeff

"Sweet Peppper rings" garnish for lots of our dishes

Cooked "Peach and blueberry compote"

"Golden beet, sweet potato and russet potato gratin" made by Drew

"Roasted turkey breast"

"Cedar plank roasted and maple glazed salmon" made by Tom

"Amuse bouche"

"Chorizo phyllo tartlets"

• These little guys were awesome.  Chorizo with goat cheese and cilantro stuffed in little phyllo cups.  The cups were frozen though, which always make them a little dry but you try making 400 phyllo cups you'll understand why we do frozen.

"Pear and brie in phyllo with raspberry dippings"

"Asparagus tips" garnish on the gnocchi

•  I wasn't there for the plate up on gnocchi but it sounded good.  Potato gnocchi with truffle cream sauce and asparagus to garnish.

"Fried Gnocchi"

400 salmon and 400 chicken breast

• This is a little peak into our process.  This is how we make enough salmon and chicken to feed 400 people and keep it all hot and juice.  They are all seared and trayed up.  Then we put them onto racks and roll them into a big oven which cooks them the rest of the way.

WELL thats it for my first 2 days playing with my camera!