One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish
Chef Clark, after riding us really hard for the first day and a half of class, has mellowed considerably. Given that nobody would describe his demeanor as mellow, I can only assume that our group performed well enough to keep him moderately happy. We did do a nice job with fabrication and cleaning on Thursday and carried that over into today.
Meat class didn't make me want to stop eating meat, but fish class has me thinking about fish. I think it was the gutting on Wednesday that did it. The look, the smell, the texture... not good times. In meat you can wash your hands and nobody knows what class you're taking. With fish, you could shower and the smell would still be on you two days later. Yesterday I was on the ice team, the small group in charge of making sure the bins are correct in the morning, setting out all the fish for the day, and then checking in all the new fish that arrives in the afternoon. Whatever you do, don't ask Karen (the TA) what time the truck is coming. She'll let you know. Being on ice team is generally a miserable experience, because you're handling ice-cold fish, not to mention ice, and your hands hurt because of it.
Anyway, at lunch I grabbed a cheese plate from the Italian kitchen. And you know what the cheeses tasted like? Fish. So did the salami. Mmm... fish salami. This after extensive handwashing before leaving for lunch, too.
Today I filleted an Atlantic Salmon. I hadn't done any fish fabrication in probably a year, so I was pleased when my cuts were right along the backbone and didn't leave much flesh on the bones. It really does help to have a sharp, flexible fillet knife when working with fish, Ron. We also tasted some fish I'd never had before: Haddock, Pollock, Cusk, Brook Trout, and Steelhead Trout. Yesterday I had Skate, Turbot, and Dover Sole for the first time. Chef Clark steams them with no salt or pepper, so you can really get a sense of what the fish tastes like. We discuss the appearance, aroma, texture, mouthfeel, and flavor of the fish. He asks that when tasting, you try not to like or dislike the fish, only describe its characteristics.
It has been a long, hard week, and I'm really looking forward to these three days off. Happy Fourth.
Meat class didn't make me want to stop eating meat, but fish class has me thinking about fish. I think it was the gutting on Wednesday that did it. The look, the smell, the texture... not good times. In meat you can wash your hands and nobody knows what class you're taking. With fish, you could shower and the smell would still be on you two days later. Yesterday I was on the ice team, the small group in charge of making sure the bins are correct in the morning, setting out all the fish for the day, and then checking in all the new fish that arrives in the afternoon. Whatever you do, don't ask Karen (the TA) what time the truck is coming. She'll let you know. Being on ice team is generally a miserable experience, because you're handling ice-cold fish, not to mention ice, and your hands hurt because of it.
Anyway, at lunch I grabbed a cheese plate from the Italian kitchen. And you know what the cheeses tasted like? Fish. So did the salami. Mmm... fish salami. This after extensive handwashing before leaving for lunch, too.
Today I filleted an Atlantic Salmon. I hadn't done any fish fabrication in probably a year, so I was pleased when my cuts were right along the backbone and didn't leave much flesh on the bones. It really does help to have a sharp, flexible fillet knife when working with fish, Ron. We also tasted some fish I'd never had before: Haddock, Pollock, Cusk, Brook Trout, and Steelhead Trout. Yesterday I had Skate, Turbot, and Dover Sole for the first time. Chef Clark steams them with no salt or pepper, so you can really get a sense of what the fish tastes like. We discuss the appearance, aroma, texture, mouthfeel, and flavor of the fish. He asks that when tasting, you try not to like or dislike the fish, only describe its characteristics.
It has been a long, hard week, and I'm really looking forward to these three days off. Happy Fourth.
posted by JMB at
7:29 PM
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