An Education in Organization

I generally consider myself a clean and organized person. In comparison to the high standards in Chef Chris's kitchen, I feel like a slob. The focus of today's lesson was on sanitation. We learned how to properly set up each station in preparation for the days cooking and how to break down and clean every surface after class. Every single container, from the tupperware holding the salt to the plastic squirt bottle with the red wine, is supposed to be labeled. There is masking tape at each table and we are required to carry a sharpie in the pocket of our chefs jacket at all times. It takes about twenty minutes to set up the kitchen properly and although it seems a little excessive right now, I'm sure that when we get busy cooking all this preparation will be worth it.

Next Monday is our first exam. It will cover food safety, equipment identification, and herb identification. Considering I was a biology major in college and I used to work in a food safety lab, I think the food safety section should be pretty easy. On the other hand, equipment identification is surprisingly difficult. Today we covered a bunch of stuff I had never heard of before, including this nifty broiler-type device called a salamander. We have also been practicing herb identification for the last two days. I am doing pretty well except that I have a hard time differentiating between curly parsley and chervil.

Well, I did some research* and it turns out that chervil is also called French parsley and has a subtle anise-parsley flavor. Both chervil and parsley are herbs of the carrot family and are mainly used as garnishes. I don’t know what would possess you to go out and pick wild chervil, but if the thought ever crosses your mind I would be careful because it looks very similar to the poisonous hemlock plant.

*On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen by Harold McGee