Internship: Day 4, 10/12/05

So these are the days that you hear about when people talk about the hell of staging and internships. It started out well—D2 was making some fabulous french toast with boysenberry compote and fresh whipped cream when I came in. Much more appetizing than the scone I’d picked up at Starbucks on the way in. But then I spent much of the day making 50 lbs. of sauerkraut. It took me 3 or 4 hours to cut and slice (on the slicer) an entire case of cabbage. Chef kept coming through and laughing, saying he thought this must be a world’s record for slicing. By the time I was finished, the entire right side of my body ached. Once that was done, I took the cabbage and layered it with a cup of salt, and 2-3 juniper berries per layer. Then I had to take a huge masher and press the layered cabbage until enough juice was released to cover the mixture. At this point I asked D, “You guys hate me don’t you?” He laughed and assured me that they don’t, and said that he’d had to do this three times last year. Once the cabbage was all pressed (D helped), we put it into a bucket, put a weight on it, wrapped the whole thing in multiple layers of plastic, and set it on a shelf. It will continue to sit and ferment for an entire month.

My next job was deveining and mashing piles of foie gras to be used for a foie gras terrine. I was only about halfway through the pile at 6pm. D took pity on me as he was leaving and said he’d finish the other half the next day. I was so glad, because I had plans for later that night and was happy not to have to forego them. On Monday, I’ll have my first day on the line. I’ll be working with T on cold pantry for lunch. Lunch seems very mellow, and T knows what it’s like to be new (he was staging, too, until very recently) so it shouldn’t be too stressful. I’m looking forward to it!

The second bright spot of the day: D2 took the leftover french toast slices, diced it, and made french toast ice cream, which most of us took a break to devour. It’s really cool that they let the staff experiment when they have time. Y was working on a new dish all day, and is going to be attempting a pumpkin aioli in the near future. It’ll be interesting to see what he comes up with.

Wine and Beverage: Day 2, 10/11/05

Wine Quote of the Day

“In Europe, we thought of wine as something healthy and normal as food and also a great giver of happiness and well being and delight. Drinking wine was not a snobbism nor a sign of sophistication, nor a cult; it was as natural as eating and to me as necessary.”

—Ernest Hemingway. A Moveable Feast

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In this class we discussed some of the differences between New World and Old World wine classifications and labeling. We also tasted wines from each of six primary grape varietals:

Big Six (Lightest to Fullest)

Whites
1. Riesling
2. Sauvignon Blanc
3. Chardonnay

Reds
4. Pinot Noir
5. Merlot
6. Cabernet

Highlights from the class are below, and you can view a PDF of my full notes here.

Answers to the “What Do You Know?” test here.

Also, I’ve started an overview of the varietals here: Red and White. This will expand as we cover more of the varietals in class.

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Classification

New World classification: Varietal (Merlot, Cabernet)

Old World classification: Geographical (France, Bordeaux, Medoc)

Wine classification is generally broad for generic, lesser quality wines and specific for complex, higher quality wines.

Varietal

• Applied to New World wines.
• Grape listed on bottle is regulated.
• In California and Washington the wine must contain at least 75% of the specified varietal.
• In Oregon, the specified varietal must be 90%.
• In Alsace, France the specified varietal must be 100%

Lower required percentages allow vintners to compensate for weaknesses in the wine.

Geographic

• Applied to Old World wines.
• Wines are usually named after the region in which the grapes are grown.

Generic (Jug-Based)

• The names of American wines in this category are unrelated to the geographic location or varietal origin and have no relationship to European wines using the same designation.
• Jug-Based wines consist of a blend of different grapes and are often of lower quality than grapes that compose varietal wines.

Proprietary

• In California, wine makers have been producing wine styled after Bordeaux. “Meritage” (pronounced like “heritage”) is typically the name given to these wines. They’re generally made from 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, with the balance being varying quantitites of other Bordeau-style grapes.

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Elements of Viticulture

It’s estimated that there are as many as 10,000 strains, clones, and hybrids of Vinifera grapes. Only about 30-40 of those grapes varieties are actually used.

1. Grape Varietal
The type of grape is probably the single most important factor in the taste of the wine. The flavor is also affected by:

• the age of the vines
• soil composition
• exposure to sun, rain, climates, and microclimates
• grape handling and fermentation
• type of yeast used
• aging, use of wood

The same varietal can be grown in different parts of the world and create different-tasting wines.

2. Climate (Weather and Location)
Wine grapes grow best in temperate climates. The challenge is to ensure enough acid in the juice to balance the sugar content.

• Warm climates = more sugar, higher alcohol content
  Too much sugar = flabby, flat wine
• Cool climates (i.e. Burgundy) = more acid, less sugar, lower alcohol content
  Too much acid = sour, overly crisp wine

Some regions are allowed to practice “chapitalization,” adding additional sugar to the wine.

3. Soil
Unlike most crops, which require rich, fertile soil, most grapes make better wine if grown in poor, rocky soil with good drainage. Soil types that are ideal for specific varieties include gravel, sand, limestone, and clay.

Appellations and Regions

• The French term “Appellation” refers to a viticultural region distinguished by geographical features which produce wines with shared characteristics.
• In 1935, France set up the Appellation D’Origine Controlle (AOC) laws, a countrywide system based on geography for controlling the origin and quality of wine. These strict guidelines specified vineyard location, grape varietal, growing technique, crop yeield, grape ripeness and ensuing alcohol content and winemaking practices.
• In the U.S., appellations are known as “American Viticultural Areas” (AVAs). American labels may identify a wine’s AVA when a minimum of 85% of the wine comes from that location.
  

4. Plowing, Planting, and Pruning

• In most Vinifera vineyards, cuttings of the desired varieties are grafted onto Vitis Labrusca.
• Pruning creates less yield, higher quality.

5. Picking
Grapes ripen in late summer or early fall, depending on the grape varietal, climate, and desired qualities of the finished wine. The overall goal is to balance the sugar and acidity of the wine.

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Enology

1. Harvest and Pressing/Crushing

• Grapes are put into the crushing/destemming machine.
• Juice (free run) is now separated or drained from skins, pulp, juice, and seeds (must).
• Free run is transferred to oak barrel or stainless steel vat.
• Must is pressed in order to extract more juice (second pressing).
• Residue is called “pommace” (sometimes made into Grappa).
  

2. Fermentation and Maceration

• White powdery film on grape skin contains yeast (called bloom). Yeast eventually breaks down sugar into CO2 and alcohol. Some vintners use purchased yeast rather than bloom, which can be unpredictable.
• Temperature control during fermentation is critical. Too much heat creates characterless, unstructured wine with too little fruit. Temperatures that are too cold lead to low sugar and alcohol content.
• When grapes are pressed, juice is allowed to remain in contact with skin and seeds for a period of time. Skin = tannins, color, and flavor.

1. Color: Wine color depends on contact time with skin.
2. Tannin: “Phenolic Compounds” are a group of astringent substances found in the skins, seeds, and stems, as well as in oak barrels. Tannin provides structure, texture, and ageability.
3. Flavor: More complex flavors and aromas are present due to the release of “flavanoids” from skins and seeds.

• Fermentation stops with sugar is gone or alcohol level reaches 15%.
  

3. Secondary (Malolactic) Fermentation

• Malo (fruit) Lactic (milk)
• Most red wines and some white wines undergo a second fermentation by bacteria called malolactic fermentation (abbreviated ML).

4. Clarification

1. After fermentation is complete, the wine is allowed to settle and the residue separates.
2. Wine is periodically drained from the dead yeast cells (lees) in a process called “racking.”
3. Wine can also be filtered through “centrifuging” (spinning) or “fining” (using egg white or other protein to remove impurities.
4. Clarification softens tannins.

5. Aging

• Method of aging depends on desired style.
  
  - Aging in oak barrels adds spice, vanilla, and other smoky flavors. The strength of these flavors depends on how long the wine is aged. Some wines are ages for several years to soften harsh tannins and to allow desirable flavors to develop.
  
  - Aging in stainless steel tanks preserves the grape flavor and fruit aromas.

6. Blending

• Some wines are blended with one or more varietals to add complexity or style before bottling.
• Other wines may skip this process depending on the desired style.

7. Bottling

• Wines are usually held for a few weeks to recover from “bottle shock,” a condition that causes a temporary loss of delicate aromatics.
• Bottles are sealed to prevent any oxygen from entering and destroying the wine.
• If desired, wine will be “bottle aged” in order to integrate wine components and add extra complexity.

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White Wine Grapes

Primarily green or white in color, about 50 major white grapes are grown worldwide, 24 in California alone.

Major Varietals

• Riesling
• Sauvignon Blanc
• Chardonnay

Other Varietals

• Chenin Blanc
• Gewürtzraminer
• Muscat
• Pinot Blanc
• Semillon
• Pinot Gris
• Viognier

Ramge of Color (Young to Old)

Green Tint > Straw Yellow > Golden Yellow > Light Brown > Brown Amber

1. Green Tint: Young, fruity, immature. 6 months to 1 year from harvest.
2. Straw Yellow: Majority of whites. 1 to 3 years from harvest.
3. Golden Yellow: Mature, 3 to 5 years. Probably aged in oak.
4. Light Brown: 5 to 10 years.
5. Brown Amber: Past its useful life, likely to be oxidized.

Red Wine Grapes

Primarily red, purple, or black in color, about 40 major red grapes are grown worldwide.

Major Varietals

1. Pinot Noir
2. Merlot
3. Cabernet Sauvignon

Other Varietals

• Barbera
• Cabernet Franc
• Dolcetto
• Gamay
• Grenache
• Malbec
• Nebbiolo
• Petite Syrah
• Sangiovese
• Syrah/Shiraz
• Tempranillo
• Zinfandel

Ramge of Color (Young to Old)

Purple > Ruby > Red > Brick Red > Brownish Amber

1. Purple: Young, fruity, immature. 6 months to 1 year from harvest.
   
2. Ruby: Majority of reds. 1 to 3 years from harvest.
   
3. Red: 3 to 5 years.
   
4. Light Brown: Mature, 5 to 10 years.
   
5. Brown Amber: Past its useful life, likely to be oxidized.

Rosé Wines (roh-ZAY)

Made from red, purple or black grapes.

• Often referred to as “blush” or pink wines. Blush wines are typically made from red grapes.
• The color comes from red grape skins. Winemakers shorten the contact time of the skins and juice after crushing (typically 2-3 days).
• The most well-known rosé wines are made in Provence (praw-VAHNSS) and Tavel (ta-VEHL), France. Rarely complex and never ages, rosé wines are totally dry or barely sweet, tart and fruity.
• White Zinfandel is an American twist on rosé that is engineered to be sweet.

Fruit Wines

• Some of the most popular fruit wines include red raspberry, blackberry, and cherry.
• Often the fermentation takes place under cold conditions to maximize the retention of the fruit’s character.
• Well-made fruit wines are a delicate balance between the fruit’s natural acidity and residual sugar. If the finished wine is too sweet, it tends to be cloying; too dry, and it’s astringent.
  
  

Internship: Day 3, 10/10/05

First day coming in at 9am, and it was nice. It was just me and D and the lunch crew; dinner crew doesn’t come in until around noon. I made more Bouillabaisse, then pulled pork and formed it into little patties for the confit of suckling pig appetizer.

Towards the end of the day I made up some marinades:

• Star Anise Steak Marinade
Star anise, peppercorns, oil, rice wine vinegar, Mirin, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and crushed red pepper.

• Pork Marinade
Garlic, rosemary, thyme, black pepper, and olive oil.

• Roasted Garlic Sturgeon Marinade
Canola oil, roasted garlic, Herbes d’Provence, chili flakes, salt, black pepper, bay leaves, sweet wine vinegar, orange juice, and orange zest.

One note of interest: instead of roasting garlic in the oven, they confit it by placing it in olive oil on top of the stove and keeping it at a low simmer until tender.

Foodie Word of the Day

Confit [kohn-FEE; kon-FEE] This specialty of Gascony, France, is derived from an ancient method of preserving meat (usually goose, duck or pork) whereby it is salted and slowly cooked in its own fat. The cooked meat is then packed into a crock or pot and covered with its cooking fat, which acts as a seal and preservative. Confit can be refrigerated up to 6 months. Confit d’oie and confit de canard are preserved goose and preserved duck, respectively.

Definition compliments of the New Food Lover’s Companion.

Internship: Day 2, 10/05/05

So I came in on Day 2, and D, Sous Chef #1 and the one who arranged my internship, wasn’t in yet. I asked J, Sous Chef #2, what I should do and he gave me some huge slabs of frozen fatback to trim and cut into 1 lb. pieces. I was having a terrible time, and both K2 and S took pity on my struggles and helped me figure out the easiest and quickest way to trim the frozen fat. They also pointed out how dull my knife was. I’d had it sharpened a few weeks ago, but K2 recommended that I have it sharpened at least twice a week, and she also corrected my honing technique (my angle was a little wide), which seemed to help a little. D informed me later that there’s a stone I can use at Quake, and he’ll show me how to use it. I also have a stone at home—I brought my knife kit home with me so that I can sharpen up all my knives. I’ll double-check with him that I’m doing it correctly when I go back in on Monday.

D had come in during the fatback ordeal, and when I’d finished he let me know that he’d like me to make Bouillabaisse again, with a couple of changes. It would be for a special event rather than the main menu, so everything needed to be cut smaller. Also, I used the fennel tops as well as the bulbs, and lemon juice as well as orange juice in the fumet mirepoix. One of my biggest problems is lack of speed, and since I’d followed this recipe once already, I was hoping to do it in less time. However, while everything seemed to go more smoothly this time, I’m not sure that I was much faster.

Once I was done with the soup, D had me clean about four bags of mussels to be steamed the next day. This was during service, and I was in the prep kitchen while most everyone else was upstairs on the line. They had the Sox game on and it seemed to annoy everyone, including the Chef, that I never knew what the score was when they came in and asked. I really hate sports, and they all seemed bewildered by that. Once the mussels were done, I was finished and free to go. D and I discussed my schedule—I didn’t make my expected 20 hours this week, so I’m going to start coming in at 9am next Monday so that I can help with early prep work. That works out well, although I hate getting up early. I’m also going to be working the dinner line at some point, which should be sufficiently harrowing.

One of the things I’m going to have to work out is how to eat enough while I’m there. It seems like it should be easy, working in a restaurant and all, but I’m trying to take advantage of the fact that I don’t have any cooking classes this quarter and reign in my diet. The staff on the lunch line is generally willing to make you some food if you ask, but it’s usually something like fries with Béarnaise sauce. Really good, but not what I should be eating on a regular basis. This week I brought organic peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on whole grain bread (homemade!) with me, but I think the problem is that I’ve been waiting too long to eat. I’m usually woozy and exhausted by 6pm (start time 12pm), so I’m thinking I need to snack around 4pm to keep my energy up. Whatever—I’ll work it out. One of my goals as I learn to cook is to keep my diet healthy, even though I will be making and tasting a lot of rich food. I know it can be done—Chef Felsenthal, my teacher for all my cooking classes so far except Baking and Pastry, has an excellent diet. For me, it makes a big difference in how I feel and how much energy I have. Everything in moderation and I’m cool!

Wine and Beverage: Day 1, 10/04/05

Wine Word of the Day

Veraison [ver-ray-ZON] The point in the growing season when ripening grapes begin to soften and change color from green to either red or yellow, depending on the variety. In the northern hemisphere, veraison typically occurs anywhere from late June to mid August, depending on the climate.

Definition compliments of the New Wine Lover’s Companion.

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I was concerned about my Wine and Beverage class because I found out on Monday that the fabulous Bob Bansberg, Sommelier at Ambria, was no longer teaching it. I’d heard such good things about him, and was really looking forward to his class. However, the new teacher, John Laloganes, seems like a fine replacement. He’s entertaining, and it looks like he knows his stuff. It sounds like he has a variety of experience: management, wine, and general restaurant. I also found out (through the wonder that is Google, of course) that he used to be a manager at the Green Mill. How cool!

So the first day was pretty much a general introduction to wine—it’s history, a little bit about how it’s made, types, and bottle shapes. We also watched a documentary on the Mafia and Prohibition, which was fun.

We took a “what do you know?” test, which I’ve uploaded as a PDF. Feel free to download it and see how well you do. I only got about five right and didn’t have a clue about most of it, which was pretty normal for our class and pretty much what he expected. I’ll post the answers next week!

Below is a little of the information I gleaned in class. You can view a PDF of my full notes here.

Wine Classifications

Wine: Fermented juice of grapes (unless otherwise specified). You can substitute fruit or vegetables, but 99.9% of all wine is made from grapes.

Table Wine: Wine containing no added alcohol. Alcoholic content of table wine must be between 8-14% alcohol.

Sparkling Wine: Table wine that contains large amounts of dissolved CO2 (carbonation). No added alcohol.

Fortified Wine: Table wine with extra alcohol added. Fortified wine must contain between 17% and 22% alcohol.

- Aperitif: Fortified wine which has no apparent sweetness; drunk before dinner.

- Dessert: Sweet; drunk after dinner.



Old World vs. New World Wines



Old World: France, Italy, Spain Germany

New World: U.S., Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Chile, South Africa

Top Five Wine Producers:
1. Italy (traditionally not necessarily quality wines, but that’s changing)
2. France
3. Spain
4. U.S.
5. Argentina

World Consumption of Wine:
1. France
2. Italy
3. U.S.
(although it’s low per capita – the small percentage that drink wine drink a lot!)
4. Germany
5. Spain

Bottle Shapes

Resources here:

• Wine Doctor
• West Coast Wine

I also used the information (and images) off of both of those sites, combined them with my class notes, and created a PDF here.

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Recommended Wine Resources

• Exploring Wine, 2nd Edition
This was listed as our class textbook. It ended up being optional, but I had already gotten it and probably would have gotten it regardless. I’m making my way through the first chapter, which covers the wine-growing process (which sounds amazingly complicated), and the primary varietals of wine (I’ve just started on the whites). This book is where I got the Wine Word of the Day (although the definition came from my next recommendation.

• The New Wine Lover’s Companion
This book was recommended to me a few times over. It’s basically a dictionary of wine.

• The Wine Goddess
If you’re in the Chicago area, come take a class with Diana—she’s fabulous. She’s the wine buyer and instructor at the Chopping Block, the cooking store where I work (I’m using the real names in this instance, obviously). I assist a lot of the wine classes, and they’re really a lot of fun.

• Winecast
I absolutely love podcasts, and this is a great one about wine. It was featured on Eat Feed, my favorite foodie podcast.

Internship: Day 1, 10/03/05

I’ve been staging at Quake since June, so I don’t know why I was so nervous about starting my internship, but I was. The staff all seemed to be in a good mood when I came in, though, and welcomed me back (I took a break for the week I was out of school). That made me feel more at ease.

It was, actually, an unusual day in the kitchen. One Sous Chef was on vacation, and the other had gone to the hospital that morning with some diabetic complications. K had been called in to take charge of the kitchen, and though I’m sure it was extremely stressful for her, she was amazingly calm.

My first task of the day was a Garlic Aioli. I’ve made mayonnaise a few times, and an aioli once. They’re basically the same thing, the difference being in the addition of garlic, but I hadn’t made either of them in a while. Of course it broke, which had never happened to me before. K showed me how to repair the emulsion by removing the broken aioli, putting a couple more egg yolks into the food processor and then streaming the broken aioli back in, just as you do with the original oil. The emulsion became a little thick about halfway through, so she instructed me to add a little water to thin it back out, and then to continue adding in the rest of the broken aioli. It worked!

A note on the definitions of mayonnaise and aioli from my Garde Manger textbook, Garde Manger: The Art and Craft of the Cold Kitchen, 2nd Edition (because I wasn’t sure myself until I looked it up):

Aïoli (Fr.): Garlic mayonnaise, often based on olive oils.

Mayonnaise: A cold emulsion sauce made of oil, egg yolks, vinegar, mustard, and seasonings.

My second task, creating Bouillabaisse for the night’s service, was much more complicated than anything else I’ve ever done at Quake. I think K gave it to me partially because it kept me occupied for the entire day. I first created the fish fumet (fish broth) by sweating a white mirepoix (onions, carrots, celery, bay leaves, and in this case, orange juice and fennel bulbs), adding in fish bones, then white wine, and covering it with water. I brought it to a low boil, turned off the heat, and let it sit while I prepared the remaining ingredients: more fennel and onions, red potatoes, garlic, canned Italian tomatoes, saffron, Pernod, sriracha, parsley, and thyme. The fennel, onions, potatoes, and garlic were sweated, and then the tomatoes and saffron were added and allowed to cook for about 5 minutes over low heat. The strained fumet went in and was again brought to a low boil. The remaining ingredients were added after we brought the pot down to cool in an ice bath.

The whole Bouillabaisse experience was stressful but exciting. The thing that I hate most about being at this beginning point in my career is that I always feel like I don’t know what I’m doing, and constantly have to ask questions. I vaguely remember that feeling as a designer, but often I was able to get answers on my own because I had internet access and books. In a kitchen I only have the knowledge that’s in my head, and often, even when I think I know the answer I second guess myself and ask to make sure. I feel like I must be driving everyone crazy, but what do you do?

My day ended earlier than expected as they had a stage in that was covering the amuse bouche station, and there wasn’t really much else for me to do. While I was concerned about getting enough hours to fill my internship requirements, I was also somewhat relieved because making bouillabaisse wore me out! There was a lot of running back and forth between the prep kitchen and the pastry kitchen on the third floor (I was using their stove), lugging huge stock pots and trays of ingredients, and just the general stress of doing something for the first time. It was fun, though, and made for an interesting first day.

Intro Post

This blog is intended to document my experience as a culinary student. I started out at the Illinois Institute of Art Chicago about a year ago, and I have about a year to go. It’s a career change—I already had a BA from Columbia College in Chicago, and was a graphic designer for about 10 years. I quit my office job this past May so that I could focus on cooking. I just wasn’t passionate enough about design, and I hated the 9 to 5 office routine. My very supportive boyfriend is covering the majority of the bills so that I can work for cheap and free, gathering as much experience as I can in as short a time as I can. He’s a restaurant manager, and my goal is to be at a high enough skill level that we can open our own place by the time I’m 40—only 7.5 years away!

Currently, I work at a cooking store where I assist the cooking classes and I’m also interning at one of the high end restaurants here in Chicago. I’ve decided not to use actual names, so I’ve dubbed the restaurant Quake. I have to keep a journal of the internship, so I will post a lot of that here, but I also plan to add information from my other classes (Wine and Beverage this quarter) and general information about what I’m doing and learning. I don’t expect much of a readership, really, but I’m hoping to create a resource for other beginning cooks, and it seems like a lot of the information that we learn in culinary school isn’t really passed on to the home cook. This could be one of those things that I really want to have time for but don’t, but we’ll just see how it goes.

Internship: Day 19, 12/07/05

I don’t know if everybody’s just in a good mood because of the upcoming holidays, or if I’m just melding into the swing of things, but everything's going really well. Because it was freezing outside, we only had 10 people on the books, so they sent the grill guy home and we all shifted. M took the grill, T took sauté, and I had garde manger all to myself. It was a little busier than expected, but it all went really smoothly. T still kept jumping in to help but I could have handled it myself—which was nice to know. Also, we served the butternut squash soup I made and the baking and pastry girls raved about it—very cool.