Tall Dream

Graduation Day

I'm officially a chef!

I received my tall hat today and wow, not only does it have height, it's also ridiculously large. I feel dwarfed by its size. (By the way, ever wonder why a chef's hat—also known as a toque—has pleats? The folds are believed to signify how many ways a chef can cook an egg. Most toques have 101 pleats.)

At graduation, one chef handed us our diploma while another placed the toque atop our heads. We made our way through the line of chefs, each one hugging and congratulating us. There were a few speeches as well as an awards ceremony (I received an outstanding volunteer award) and a surprise slideshow made by two classmates. Afterwards, we toasted with Champagne.

That night, my friend and fellow classmate—along with our significant others—celebrated in the fanciest of ways at Del Posto. Five courses plus an extra pasta, bellinis and two bottles of wine were just what the new chefs ordered.

Six months passed by so quickly. It's hard to imagine why I ever debated not taking time off to attend culinary school; enrolling was one of the best decisions I've ever made.

I've decided it's best to just go with your gut.

Mission Accomplished

Day 120

I did it!

After 600 hours of chopping, butchering, sauteing, braising, baking, plating and so on, I have completed my classic culinary arts training.

Today was a test not only in cooking ability but also time management, pressure and patience. It was truly one of the most difficult tasks I've ever had to complete in my life.

Yesterday—Martin Luther King, Jr. Day—I ironically had a dream. I had a vision of selecting the poached cod and chocolate orange parfait pairing from a hat. I remember feeling relieved knowing that the end was almost near. Oddly enough, my vision proved true: That pairing is what I ended up with for the final today. Relief. Talk about eerie.

So there I was, with two manageable dishes and as much of a sense of calm as I could've felt for the situation.

First dish up was the cod. I was moving at a good pace—until it was time to plate. As much as the chefs reminded us about allowing ample time for this, I didn't give myself enough of a buffer. I was a minute late, as were half the people with the same dish. Stressful, but not completely detrimental.

The second and final dish was the chocolate orange parfait. Part of the reason I was late plating the cod was because I pretty much finished the dessert at the same time. Because the parfait contains gelatin, it has to set for quite some time. I didn't want to risk waiting until after I sent out the cod—I'm afraid it wouldn't have been long enough to gel. Instead, it would have been a goopy mess. My instincts were right: The parfait was pretty damn close to perfect. And this round, I was on time.

At this point, it was a waiting game. We cleaned up our stations and listened to a briefing on who the guest chefs were judging our dishes (notables included Michael Psilakis and Aaron Sanchez). Then we headed out into the dining room for our final critique. At least we had a glass of Champagne to calm our nerves.

I was pleased with my remarks—especially the last comment from a chef (who isn't a big dessert fan and is married to a pastry chef). He said my parfait was the best thing he ate all day. I blushed—and it wasn't from the Champagne.

It looks like I will be a tall hat tomorrow.

Final Days

Days 118-119

The last day of class has arrived.

I'm feeling every kind of emotion right now: excitement, exhaustion, sadness, happiness, nervousness, anxiousness... the list goes on. Just about the only emotion I'm not yet feeling is relief, but I'm hoping that will come at 3 p.m. Tuesday when my two plates are judged and I get the green flag for graduation.

The final works like this: Students pull a piece of paper from a hat, and on it is their fate for the day. It lists two dishes that must be completed in an allotted time. Every dish has multiple components—some more difficult than others—but each is challenging in its own way.

There are four possible combinations of the eight total dishes. Chefs and students agree the seared pork chop paired with the lobster consomme is the hardest combo; I'm counting on my lucky stars to not get that deadly duo. Either way, I'm preparing as much as I can this weekend for the final. I plan on cooking multiple dishes to jog my memory in terms of what I need to accomplish come Tuesday.

Besides it being the final week of culinary school, this week was just like any other in the kitchen. I finished the last couple days on entremetier, creating sandwiches and canapes for the restaurant. My contributions included a turducken sandwich (yes, you heard that right), roasted bone marrow with shallot confit on crostini, and chilled pear soup with a blue cheese crisp and amaretto "caviar."

No time for being inventive this weekend; I'll be replicating Level 6 dishes. Preparation for the final starts now.

Pierogi Power

Days 115-117

Sometimes you just need a taste of home.

Last week when I wasn't feeling the greatest, I stopped by Veselka on the way home from school. I was too tired and too weak to cook, and I just wanted something comforting. The East Village restaurant, which has been around since the 1950s, serves up Ukranian food like borscht, kielbasa, goulash, stroganoff and pierogies. I ordered the latter, plus some chicken noodle soup. After all, what's more comforting than food you grew up eating?

Sadly, my taste buds were far from the ability to taste, so I had no idea if the food was good or bad. Either way, my craving for pierogies didn't fade. I decided that once I felt better, I would make them myself.

So I spent this past Sunday rolling dough, braising meat, mashing potatoes, and filling and folding the pierogies into half-moons. I made two types of stuffing and accompaniments: 1) veal cheeks topped with a wild mushroom ragu and horseradish creme fraiche and 2) potato cheddar topped with sweet sauerkraut. Both were amazing.

The dough is courtesy of my favorite chef, fellow Clevelander Michael Symon. Don't be surprised if the outcome is sticky; it will be. Also, give it time to rest (at least two hours or up to two days).

Pierogi Dough (courtesy of Michael Symon's Live to Cook)

1 large egg

3/4 cup sour cream

8 TB (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1 TB fresh chives, chopped

1 tsp kosher salt

2 cups AP flour, plus more for rolling dough

Work the egg, sour cream, butter, chives and salt together by hand to form a dough. Don't worry if the mixture is not uniform—and don't overwork it. Pour flour onto a work surface and make a well in the center. Add the sour cream mixture and combine thoroughly with your hands until a dough forms. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least two hours.

Roll out the dough on a slightly floured work surface to 1/8-inch thickness and cut into 3-inch rounds. Spoon 1 TB of filling onto each round. Brush edges of dough with a small amount of water and then fold in half. Press edges with a fork to seal.

Cook in boiling salted water for about 4 minutes or until the pierogies float. Drain. When serving, heat butter in a large skillet until it froths. Add pierogies and cook until golden brown.

You can fill the pierogies with anything your heart desires. Make sure to have applesauce and sour cream (or creme fraiche, like I did) at hand for topping.

Na zdrowie!

Duck and Cover

Days 111-114

T minus one week. That's it.

I don't think reality has yet hit. It still feels like school isn't close to being over and I've got plenty of time to find a job. I better check myself before I wreck myself. (Thank you, Ice Cube, for the advice.)

I've already completed most of the final rotations. This week, I checked off saucier with some good-looking pork chops and duck breasts. I plan on practicing both dishes at home in the coming week so that I can get them down to a science.

Monday marks the last day of pastry, complete with a mock final. For the practice exam, I'm expected to complete a smaller yield of the Level 6 recipes—pear tart tartin with chartreuse ice cream and chocolate orange parfait—both which have multiple components. I'm anticipating a hair-raising experience.

Come Tuesday, I'll enter my final rotation: entremetier. It will be a nice way to wind down a crazy six months, as my team will put our knowledge and creativity to use for the restaurant's amuse-bouches.

Preparing for that final should be amusing...

New Year, New Career

Days 105-110

Happy New Year!

Seeing Jan. 1 on the calendar brings to my mind two things: 1) Graduation is a mere two-and-a-half weeks away and 2) I need to find a job.

With all the breaks recently (Christmas, an extra day due to the East Coast blizzard and New Years)—not to mention a forthcoming three-day weekend for Martin Luther King Day—my schedule is out of whack. The last five-and-a-half months of school, I've felt the right amount of momentum needed to learn; practicing techniques and dishes without much of a break helped cement the information in my brain. Now, I'm feeling a bit out of tune.

It doesn't help that I got sick in between Thanksgiving and Christmas or that I'm feeling ill again. My nose is completely clogged, so I have to ask a teammate to taste every one of my dishes for seasoning.

That's not to say I didn't practice during my time off. I spent Christmas cooking for my in-laws (Polish sausage—homemade during Thanksgiving with my mom—with sauerkraut and spaetzle); the day after Christmas cooking for friends (rosemary-and-paprika goat cheese pasta, Sicilian cauliflower, and kale salad with roasted butternut squash); and New Years Day cooking for my brother (pork ragu with gnocchi and mussels steamed in white wine and saffron and tomato butter).

The next couple weeks I intend to keep my nose to the grindstone. Hopefully, my nose will give me the chance to smell and taste again.