WEEK 5 REVIEW, AND NEW KNIVES!!!

So week 5 has come and gone, and week six is underway. So much stuff still on my plate, and it doesnt seem to be letting up anytime soon. Book reports, pastry exams, catering projects, it's nuts!!!

Last week I was able to make some awesome dishes, the highlight being in the middle of stir-fry week, I got to make Crispy Stir-Fried Squid with Peppers!! amazing dish!! Sage Karson rocked the wok, while i held down the deep fryer!

Also about a week back I got some new knives. I ordered them off of http://www.chefknivestogo.com/, and are amazing!!! I'm now in love with Japanese knives!!!

It's the start of week 6 today, and its deep-frying week! my best friend!! here's the dish I did today!! Chicken Kiev with a Watercress Salad!!

LEETS EATS!!

My new homeslice Aleta Hevenor has a new blog, and shes throwing down! Everyone needs to check her out...
http://www.leetseats.blogspot.com/
Shes just thrown up a recipe for a Peanut Butter Ice Cream Cake..... yeah thats right. She went there!!
She's in her second year of Stratford Chef School, and we have a secret handshake, and thats all you really need to know about her.
SO START FOLLOWING HER!

CRRRRAAAAZZZZYYYY WEEK!

The first week of exams for chefs school has passed, and it feels so good to get it out of the way. The past week was so stressful. Two practical cooking exams, a nutrition test, and a culinary management test that just didn't seem to end.
With that out of the way, I am able to talk about the dinner I had at The Old Prune, last friday night. It was the final dinner menu by chef Benjamin Darnaud, before he returned to France. I had the opportunity earlier on in the week to be in the kitchen while he prepared dinner, and it was amazing to see him work.
The menu for my dinner was as follows:

BC Albacore tuna and Lardo
Cereal Risotto with Oysters, and Mushroom Emulsion
Muskox Tenderloin with Potato Chips and Parsnip
Elderflower
Truffle Ice Cream with Meringue

Dinner was phenominal, and the cereal risotto was like nothing Ive ever ate before. It made me think of risotto in a whole new way.

Here we go!!

Well, I've never wrote a blog before, but figured it would be a good way to get some of my thoughts and experiences at Stratford Chef School out in the open. Facebook is great for sharing photos, but I just feel this is a little more personal.

My first experience at enjoying what Stratford and surrounding area has to offer, was dining at a great restaurant owned and ran by my Practical Cookery Chef, Aaron Linley. He owns Bijou (http://www.bijourestaurant.com/) a great French inspired menu with alot of Asian influences. Unfortunately, I clumsily forgot to take pictures during the dinner. This may have been entirely because of the amazing service and outstanding food, but I cant say enough about how amazing of an experience I had.

I hope to add some videos and photos of what I've been cooking in class, as well as what the other students are doing as well. I guess thats all I have to add for now, and hopefully I can keep this blog updated weekly at the least.

Thanks for reading!!!