School week 3

This week at school was pretty much devoted to getting ready for our first examinations. After each unit at school we will be tested in the same format. The first day of testing there is a knife test and a written test. The written test is pretty straightforward scantron, the knife test is pretty interesting though. We were given an hour to cut ½ cup potatoes into ¼ inch cubes, turn 6 potatoes (Which means to cut into 2 long footballs with seven equal sides) 6 turned celery pieces (2 inches long again with the top and bottom of the u shape removed so it becomes a flat piece) 6 fluted mushrooms, ½ chiffonade cabbage, ½ potatoes cubes 1/8 inch, and julienne of carrots 2 inches long 1/8 x 1/8 inch. It was a lot to get done in an hour. When we were done we were called to evaluate it with the chef. The evaluation was the chef grabbing a random handful of our vegetables and taking a ruler and evaluating the sides of out itty bitty cubes and sticks of vegetables. I got a 86% which I was happy with for three weeks of practice.

The next day was our cooking test. We had 3 hours to make cream of tomato soup, consommé, a sample plate of the different colors of roux, and a hollandaise. I got mine all done in plenty of time, and had the cleanest station in the class. I presented my stuff to my chef, and she said that everything was pretty much prefect. She knocked me off 2 points for my soup not being reduced enough (I hate tomato soup so it was hard to tell if mine was good tomato soup or not) , and my roux had a bit too much oil in it so she knocked .5 points off of that one. I got a 97.5, which not only was the highest grade in the class is pretty unheard of at the CIA for your first cooking test. So yay me!! I am feeling pretty good about everything and am excited for my next class skills 2 with a new teacher, Chef Tucker Bunch.

Photo 1 is of Turned potatoes (not mine, which are a little lumpy)
Photo 2 is of a fluted mushroom which is actually what mine look like.