Cookery at Otago Polytechnic

Inox Sterling

2007-03-07T09:56:00.000+13:00

Great demonstration from Derek Senior of Inox Sterling Knives. Hopefully you will all have learned something about maintaining and sharpening your knives. I'll print off a map and post it on the noticeboard outside T209 if your not sure were it is.
the attachment to this post goes to an article about the sharpening system Inox Sterling use. Lots of picture, which always pleases me, and a short amount of text.
Inox Sterling article

Beyond Salmon: Fish Buying FAQ

2007-02-28T14:11:00.000+13:00

Beyond Salmon: Fish Buying FAQ

This is a link to another blog about fish. The link takes you to a page on "buying and storing fish". have a look at the other posting. Lots of good information.

Crispy skin salmon

2007-02-25T20:39:00.000+13:00

For those of you who failed your salmon dish during the assessment, here is a video of Gordon Ramsay cooking salmon.
Learn from his technique about what to look for as the salmon cooks and how to ensure that it is cooked.

Feedback on fish assessments

2007-02-20T16:30:00.000+13:00

As this is your first assessment of the year, I thought it would be appropriate to say "don't panic".

It is a fairly complex assessment and we do expect you to achieve a high standard to pass the assessment.

Here are some general comments on what want wrong:

Cod stir fry:
Too much flour on fish which makes the sauce gluepy.
Liquid too reduced before adding the butter, so not emulsification can occur.
Continued to cook over a high heat after adding butter, which caused the sauce to split.
Not weighing or measuring the ingredient correctly.
Plate too hot, cause the sauce to split.

Cod Viennoise:
Scales not completely removed from fillet.
Incorrect skinning technique.
tomato not skinned before making fondue.
Seasoning all layer of dish, even the fish before assembling.
No liquid used to poach fish
sauce too thick either by over reduction or too much mustard used.

Seared Salmon:
Frying pan has to be hot before adding salmon, which cause flesh to stick to pan and then the skin to stick when it is turned over.
Salmon under cooked, because of not enough time in the pan or not remembering that the skin slows down the heat penetration.
Remember to season pasta and spinach.

And finally make sure everything is hot when you put it on the plate.

Congratulations to the four people who pass.

Soup - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2007-02-19T15:43:00.000+13:00

Soup - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Try this wiki about soups. It has a lot of information relevant to underpinning knowledge questions.

Here's one of the most famous chefs in the world making a very common Dunedin soup.
The garnishes he uses lift, what is a very simple soup, to the next level.

Filleting a round fish

2007-02-15T18:43:00.000+13:00

Great t-shirt and good use of balcony furniture in this video. It does show the basic technique of filleting a round fish. Happy spearfishing everyone!

Filleting fish

2007-02-14T15:37:00.000+13:00

The second video is filleting a flat fish called a Plaice, which is similar to flounder or sole. The chef will remove 4 fillets, note that the top fillets are larger than the bottom ones.

Culinary Institute of America at Epicurious.com

2007-02-14T11:15:00.000+13:00

Culinary Institute of America at Epicurious.com

The Culinary Institute of America is one of the most famous culinary schools in the world. It produces hundreds of degree and diploma qualified chefs per term.

Epicurious produce food magazine but they also have an excellent website, just add .com.

together they have produced a series of videos and blogs about four student studying at CIA. Maybe interesting or just more crappy American reality programming?

Knife Maintenance and Sharpening

2007-02-14T10:48:00.000+13:00

Alton Brown, from Iron Chef America, talking about how to sharpen a knife. The video has a lot of good information. If you want a very in depth article on knife sharpening click on the orange line below the youtube screen.
Having a sharp knife is incredibly important. Ii remember when I first started in the industry, it took me over two years to learn how to get and keep an edge on my knives, so keep practicing your technique.

This video shows the correct stoning technique for maintaining a good edge on your knives and how to safely use a steel.

This is how I choose to sharpen my knives!!

YouTube - Cutting onions and other eatable items in an easier way...

2007-02-14T09:58:00.000+13:00

this video shows how to cut an onion into brunoise, but I would have the onion the other way round so that the root end holds it together.
Cucumber cut is a good idea but you still have the seed part which is very watery. I'm not so sure about the sausage, it looks very plastic!

YouTube - Cutting onions and other eatable items in an easier way...

2007-02-13T15:47:00.000+13:00

The video shows chiffonade and julienne

Vegetable cut info

2007-02-13T14:27:00.000+13:00

nz vegetables all you need to know

this website will provide you with useful information about all the basic vegetables cuts. If you explore this site further, it does have a great deal of information about New Zealand vegetables.

Fish lesson photos

2007-02-13T14:15:00.000+13:00

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These are some of the dishes you will be producing this week and some dishes from previous years.

Useful information for young chefs

2007-02-13T11:36:00.000+13:00

This is a website that has a lot of information about the hospitality industry.

On the page I've highlighted look at the information on young/new chefs.

http://www.profitablehospitality.com/public/department37.cfm

Have a look through the site, some of which requires a membership fee. Please give back any comments to me or to the original site producer.

The beginning of a new year

2007-02-13T10:50:00.000+13:00

Welcome to a new year at Otago Polytechnic. The blog will provide you with additional information for the level 3 & 4 cookery courses. I will add photos of dishes from practical lessons and any additional information I think is relevant to your theory lesson plus any general hospitality news and info.

Please leave any comments you like about any of the articles and please give any suggestions for website etc that you find interesting.

Tony