beijing bound?

so yeah... ummm... riiiiight... i've been kinda quiet on this lately. partly because there's been so much going on in the past few weeks. so to keep this short and sweet, march's focus was on Stocks, Soups & Sauces. you might be thinking... *yaaaaawn*... but what i've learned is that a good stock is the foundation of a flavourful soup and more importantly, sauces. who would've known that simmering browned veal bones in water with some caramelised onions, celery, carrots, tomato paste, garlic and some herbs and spices could be so important and delish! bottom line... i made some pretty damn tasty soups and many amazing sauces that will, no doubt, become very important as i progress through the culinary program.

Soup of the Month:
a Lobster Bisque and a Seafood Chowder... both were so good that i had to name #1 and #2 :P~~

Sauce of the Month:
a Saffron Sauce that was to die for!

from the choices above, i guess it's evident that i love my seafood... yummmm :)

i'm now well into the month of april and block 5 - Meat, Poultry, Fish & Vegetable Cookery. it's kind of nice as we're looking after and working the pm shift at the school cafeteria so that means we all get to sleep in a bit and take a break from the 530am wake ups. of course, i shouldn't get too comfortable as we'll again be morning zombies next month!

i'm really enjoying block 5 as we're finally doing some real cooking. i say 'real' because the other months have mainly focused on basics and foundations/components of cooking. whereas now, we're actually taking all the pieces of the puzzle and putting them together to create proper dishes... well... kinda proper as we're cooking in quantity for the cafeteria. nevertheless, we're learning various cooking methods to create dishes utilizing fish, meat, poultry, veggies and matching them up with complimentary sauces and visually appealing garnishes. furthermore, our chef is a gun! the guy is a wealth of information and such a great teacher. it's no wonder he's been on the Canadian Culinary Olympic Team for 12 years... he's also the coach! learning from and watching him work has been amazing. he focuses on working cleanly and efficiently. and presentation is everything! in his words, "if you respect your food, others will notice." wise words from a wiser man.

so what's up with this 'beijing bound' heading? well... part of the reason i've been so busy is because i've been focused on getting myself to beijing. what's going on in beijing? why why why, you ask. well, one of the largest, if not the largest, vancouver catering companies has teamed up with the vcc culinary arts and hospitality program to do a joint venture and cater Team Canada at this year's Beijing Olympics. so after writing up and submitting a cover letter and resume - along with 63 other applicants - i was shortlisted for an interview with the culinary arts department head and the chef de cuisine at http://www.culinarycapers.com/. the chef was very cool. the interview went extremely well and i walked out of the room thinking that i had a good shot at getting in. of course, it seemed like every other candidate walked out thinking they had killed the interview too! that brought me back to reality and i decided to keep a level head about the entire thing. so a couple days passed and no word. another day passed, and still no word! finally, on friday, the department head came around to our class and asked to speak with me. "herman," he said, "you're going to beijing." i'm going to beijing!!! i'm going to beijing!!! i walked back into the kitchen with a smile. all my classmates were asking, "well???" i gave the thumbs up and the class went loud with a round of cheer and ovation. i love my classmates... they're my support system. i'm a happy man. this will surely be an experience of a lifetime. i may not win gold in beijing but i'm proud to be supporting my homeland, Team Canada, and doing it in my motherland, China :).

thanks to everyone for your support and believing in me. it means more than you'll ever know :).