Endings ... and Success !

The end of the semester has arrived on the calendar ... and the past 2 weeks have been a frenzy of learning to plan, actually planning out time and structures, and then everyone coming together to develop a wonderful tasting menu highlighting the students' learning and developing skills.

The menu makes only a promise ... it is the delivery to the table which tells the story, and the look of delight on the faces of our customers is the final punctuation mark.

I'd say this brigade has hit better than a homer ... they tore the cover off the ball AND hit it into the lake!

Let the pictures tell the story.

Chefs Emily and Colin arrived a bit before 06h00 to start making bread. The rest of the group drifted in when their planning sheets told them to arrive ... the whole lot was hard at work by mid-morning ... and the tables were set, the drinks prepared, the coulis made,

the fritters fritted and pasta designed to have fresh basil leaves right in the structure of the pasta itself!

Salads were built and plated.

The demi-chicken breast on peach reduction and salsa verde was created.

The pastas were filled with a slightly warmed shrimp filling then cooked and topped with a delicious cream sauce with butter-braised mushroom nuggets.

Lamb racks were frenched and prepped in our dredge of herbs and spices, to be mounted on a teensy potato fritter on a bed of rosemary sweet potato smear.

Teeny tiny cheesecakes had been made and set out with slices of killer-good Meyer lemon semifreddo.

Green Onion Cakes were rolled and fried into dreamy lofty delicious treats!

Warm and cool beverages has been prepped and set out.

Finally, banana slices tossed in our own middle-eastern style dry rub ended the feast.

And ... the crowd went wild!

Well done, everyone. A wonderful final exam, a great semester and HUGE amounts of learning and personal growth. Congratulations to each of you as you continue your journey of learning.

And, as always, an enormous vote of thanks to our wonderful community volunteer, Ruby Trostin, who has made this semester's work go smoothly for us all. Before this final exam Ruby interviewed every student team, ensuring they knew what they were doing and checking their time-estimate as well and ensuring their requisition was correct...THEN she went home and spent hours typing up the full requisition of food Mr Chef to buy! THANK YOU Ruby!! As well, special thanks and a grovel of gratitude to my delightful volunteer kitchen assistant Noah, who has kept us all tidy and this old chef heavily-caffeinated for months!

Salmon in our Dishwasher

We have a sort of pathetic dishwasher in our kitchen. The Arm-Strong model (4 students' hands in the sinks) works MUCH better on dishes.

However sorry and excuse the machine is for dishes, it cooks fish just fine, thank you very much.

Not like this.

(I don't remember where I found this image, but I love it. Thanks, someone!)

We take a nice filet of Salmon (or Char or Trout) and ensure there are no pin-bones. Add some lemon juice and slices of lemon (if nice ones are available) and some pepper and fresh dill. Wrap it tightly in THREE layers of tinfoil,

securing the edge-creases with a smoothing spoon. Then invert the wrapped fish onto an upside-down baking tray

and put it into the dishwasher. Put another tray on top, seperated if at all possible. Then run the machine for about 18 cycles (our cycle is 110 seconds). Thanks to Chef Jacob today

who stood by the side of the raging machine and poured in water and pushed buttons at just the right times. At home just put it on the pots and pans cycle, with the hot air dry ON. You can do your dishes at the same time ... don't forget to add the soap!

Remove, allow to rest for a few minutes then peel off the foil and serve!

What could be simpler?

Enjoy on simple rye or pumpernickel bread with a smear of very fine Kozliks's mustard.

Chef Keely demonstrates.

Serve with Humility and Tranquility

I am SO proud of my students!

Last Wednesday night's catering for a condo association in Forest Hill ...

We were ready to go with ginger and pear shooters with sherry and creme fraiche, horiatiki and Sicilian bruschetta on house croustades, home-made ciabatta or olive cheeks with Kozlik's mustards and 24-hour slow-roasted HiLow Farms brisket

with caramelized sugar onions, simple salad

with house croutons, gravelax

with piped cream cheese on house crackers, a selection of Canadian cheeses and mini

cheesecakes with 5 offered coulis styles (orange, raspberry, blackberry, pear and blueberry).

Conclusion = happy happy people!

😑😊😀😆

The very next afternoon (after spending all morning cleaning equipment from the night before), the whole brigade went down to The Good Shepherd Mission on Queen Street East. There we served lunch to about 350 street people and others in perilous, precarious circumstances. I took no photos of this event, but will share the following:

For the young student chefs it is an absolute eye - opener ... we have done this now for three months, and they recognize some of the people they're serving. It can be jarring. Being part of this service, even for a while, can be a hard personal challenge.

Before offering ourselves to their community yesterday we gathered together, and I told them "I don't care what or who or how you have any faith, if at all. I have great faith in your ability as decent human beings to choose to be kind. I have that on the door of my chefs office and you see it every morning upon arrival ... "Be kind, Do kind, Spread kind".

"In the end it is our choices which will define us, not our money, for kindness is a wealth that no one can purchase but can have in great abundance just for the decency of choosing.

"So offer your service today in exactly the same spirit as last night ... we are all one group of people in this city, each of us needy in some ways. Sometimes great wealth hides desperate need, and poverty just lays it bare and more easily seen. So today we are kind, we do something kind, we spread our kindness. And that is good."

My students served with care, interest, willingness, a friendly smile and compassion ... they are growing into being fine young adult Canadians with decent values and willing hearts.

I am impressed.

Thanks, everyone ... from the bottom of this old chef's heart.

Hot Date with Turkey(s) on Saturday Night!!

Well, Saturday Night has come and gone ... and created wonderful memories along the way.

Again this year we catered the Christmas party for H.O.T.T. (a community service agency here in Toronto). This is our fourth year doing this event for HOTT ... and we're always delighted to be welcomed back!

This year the real trick was the cooking in our kitchens at Monarch Park starting before 08h00 ... Chef and Mrs Chef turned up and got the ovens going. My students had prepared the turkeys on Friday and everything was ready to go ... Jenn and Cecelia got involved int he carving as soon as possible so things would go smoothly.

One of our wonderful teaching aides, Jenn Martone, and her grade 8 daughter Meghan both came and donated an entire day of hard work ... preparing,

carving, storing for transport ... there is so much to do.

Cecelia Spread, another teaching aide who works with Jenn, came and volunteered a whole day of work.

Somehow in all this Meghan found time to make, from scratch,

a simply delicious chili which was served to our little team and Ahmad Motlagh, the head custodian on duty on Saturday at Monarch.

Ladies, you all just rock!

Jenn, Meghan and Cecelia took all the food over to the Ralph Thornton Community Centre in our big hot-box that fits into the back of her van, and other students met us there for the final preparation and service.

We got everything ready for the feast, then enjoyed our own 'staff dinner' mas a stand-up in the kitchen ... a delicious lasagne that we'd made the previous week and frozen for just this purpose.

Final instructions were delivered.

Then ... SHOWTIME! A service for about 85 people ...

all happy to be welcomed, everyone delighted to be served and made welcome by my student chefs. It all went off without a hitch.

After the main course, pumpkin pie was served and a high-speed clean-up crew went to work in the kitchen, led by Cecelia. You rock for all those dishes with your team, Cecelia!!

My former student, Erin, helped out a lot and came over to thank her old teacher. she is now a special education teacher and is heading to work in East Africa in the new year.

Bon Voyage, Erin!

Then, we stuffed everything into the van at the end of the night, and gathered on the chilly sidewalk for our own good-byes. Christmas has come to us all in its own way ... and we are each the richer for being able to contribute.

Thanks to all the volunteers this year ...

Jenn
Meghan
Cecelia
Tiya
Ravia
Colin
Emily
Mrs Chef (Gail)

You are truly wonderful people and it is my good fortune to be able to work with you.

We have one turkey left over ...

November -- What A Hard-Working Month!

Well, here we are ... the end of November ... and so much has gone on!

First, and always, we try to enjoy ourselves. Work hard AND play hard. And taste everything ... sometimes not in moderation.

We have cooked for a variety of organizations ... H.O.T.T., WoodGreen, private clients ... and traditional 'seasonal' food has begun to dominate. Special equipment has been used ... like this amazing 14-legged potato-peeler!

There's nothing else like this ... anywhere.

The first Meyer Lemons of the season have come out ... they will get sweeter as the season progresses, but as our schedule pushes us around a bit, we have to take opportunity when it comes. One of my favourite desserts of all time is Meyer Lemon Semifreddo ... and we made a bunch of them. Toast the nuts, make the mousse, fill the forms, then ... Quinn made a load of coulis today, and we all got to taste. Well done!

We have a couple of VERY fancy events coming up and we're making gravelax. Here are the simple steps ... take a nice big whole fillet of salmon

and treat it with sugar and a little salt and lemon juice and fresh dill.

Lay one piece on top of the other and gently wrap, not tightly. Stick it in the fridge for about 2 weeks, turning every 48 hours.

Slice paper-thin and enjoy as you wish!

Hard work and sometimes-frayed nerves have all been part of this November ... but the results have been worth it. Every week I crank up the pressure in the kitchen ... I demand more and more, better and better ... and every student is rising to her or his very best.