Inox Sterling

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.