DAY 5, September 20th 2011:
We had a tasting today. They still intimidate me a bit. Tasting are just what they sound like. A client comes in and tastes food for an upcoming event. There is extra pressure becucase it's a small meal and we are trying to impress the client, so everything needs to be flawless. We also did a "personal preference meal" which is also high pressure because the customer is paying a lot for the food. In a personal preference we essentially have to prep enough for 4 meals. Generally we will have a count of how many want fish, how many want beef, how many want chicken, or vegetarian options. But with personal preference the customer chooses at the table, so we have to have enough for essentially all getting chicken, fish, steak, or veggie. Overall it was a slow day in terms of the amount of food we did, but it was still stressful.
 |
| Zucchini blossoms |
 |
| Zucchini blossom |
 |
| Fresh Scallops |
 |
| Pancetta |
 |
| Scallops seared off by Drew |
 |
| Lamb Lollipops for the tasting worked on by chef Ben and Dante |
 |
| Stuffed Sole and beef tenderloin for the tasting by chef Ben and Dante |
 |
| Vegetarian Lasagna by Sonnie |
 |
| Vegetarian Lasagna by Sonnie |
 |
| Garnish for the tasting by Dante |
 |
| Butternut squash ravi with sage cream for the tasting by chef Ben |
 |
| Crazy desserts for the tasting by pastry chef Min |
 |
| Individual bites of the tasting items |
 |
| The full tasting items |
 |
| Salmon gravlax with dill cream fraiche by Maria |
 |
| Maple glazed carrots |
- Drew and I disagreed about how the carrots should be done. I said they need to be blanched and he said they should just be roasted raw. I did a couple trays raw so we can compare which are the better carrots!
 |
| Tenderloin steak for the personal preference meal |
 |
| Potato crusted halibut for the personal preference |
 |
| Egg, spinach, mushrooms, and pancetta for empanadas |
 |
| Empanadas made by Sonnie and Luis |
 |
| Croque Monsieur, not sure who prepped em, but I fried them |
 |
| Quatered and servered with a raspberry sauce |
 |
| Another badass dessert by the pastry team |
 |
| Sauteed peaches for peach risotto made by Drew |
 |
| Braised short ribs made by Aaron |
 |
| Mashed pots |
 |
| Bacon wrapped scallop with pea vines and peach risotto drizzled with balsamic reduction |
 |
| Fried potato gnocchi with lemon beurre blanc and fried zucchini blossoms |
 |
| Stuffed and fried zucchini blossom |
- Delicious, like jalapeno poppers without the zip. Tempura batter made with club soda makes them light and fluffy.
