Chef Frustrations: Culinary Team Building

Last week, my team and I had the opportunity to have one day culinary session in Enderun Colleges, one of the most prestigious schools in the country when it comes to culinary arts.  It was actually our office who organized the event as part of their Wellness program.  I was lucky enough to get one spot as my team mate had to back out due to some urgent work (thanks Lem!).

We have to make three meals that day; appetizer, main course, and dessert.  Our mentor, Chef Thomas, first demonstrated how to cook all of the dishes.  After that, we had to draw lots to know which dish we are going to make.  I got to be part of the dessert team.  Yey!

It was an amazing experience to see a real pro cook in front of you.  I got to see his tricks with slicing and dicing.  He made gourmet cooking look easy.  And it was!

These were what we had to copy

It was off to the kitchen after the demo.  Our team finished first, since we have to make the sauce after eating the main course (yes, we got to eat what we made).  We felt like real chefs inside the kitchen lab, with our white aprons and toque, and being surrounded by lots of tools that would really help you cook with ease.  After that, we had to go down to the restaurant where we are to eat, fine dining style.

The Dessert Team

Richard, Cuthbert, and Jacqueline doing the appetizers.

Our ingredients

Table set up

Here are some pictures of what we cooked that day.

Grilled Tuna on Ratatouille Salad, Olive-basil Vinaigrette

Oven Roasted Beef Hanging Tender, Baked Sweet Potatoes, Grilled Shitake Mushrooms, Herb Dressing (whew!)

Strawberries in Buckwheat Crepes, Lemon Honey Sabayon

The sabayon turned out to be too thick (I think it lacked water), but hey, I was still proud of what our team came up with.  We made it up with the presentation :)

We didn't know that there was a contest and the group who did the main course won (So jealous even if I don't know their prize yet. Haha. Competitive.)  But I gotta admit, the meal was delicious.  All of it were.

For more information regarding the short courses being offered in Enderun, visit their website at www.enderunextension.com