Cooking with Canada

Day 2 of Culinary Lab.

As the title suggests day 2 of Culinary Lab consisted solely of potatoe dishes. I peeled 6 potatoes then turned them into tournes, battonettes, potatoe puree and rondelles for Dauphinoise. Chef Backus-Foster also demonstrated the proper ways to bake a potatoe as well as make mashed red potatoes. The tournes were used for roasting in the oven, the battonettes were used for french fries and the puree was used for Duchesse and Croquette potatoes.

My favorite dish made on day 2 had to be the Dauphinoise. To make dauphinoise you must first use a mandolin to make thin even cuts of potatoe. Next the potatoe cuts are used to line the bottom of a casserole dish in a shingled fashion, nutmeg, white pepper, salt and greuyere cheese are then placed on top of the potatoes. Then you repeat to make another layer of potatoes, spices and cheese. Heavy cream is added then its off to the oven. Once the top is browned you remove the dishes from the oven and let them sit for approximately 10 minutes then it’s time to eat.

In conclusion I am now a potatoe making master, next I’m looking forward to honing my breakfast making skills in Day 3 of Culinary Lab.

James “Canada” Varanesi

Let me first start of by explaining the name of my blog. My name is James but I came from Canada so in turn “Canada” is the what everyone around Delhi has been calling me.

Enough about me lets get to the good stuff. My first day of class went fairly well. The class started off as an introduction to the kitchen we would be working in, I familiarized myself with my new surroundings then got down to business. We learnt all the classic vegetable cuts then had the chance to try them out. I can confidently say I did well on all the different cuts except for the potatoe tourne. I just couldn’t make the potatoe the right shape and if I did it wouldn’t have the right amount of sides.

In conclusion I really love getting professional training in something that truly interests me. In order to progress within my culinary lab I have to practice my cooking/knife skills regularly as well as keep an in depth up to date journal.

Til next time,

James “Canada” Varanesi