Thursday, July 7, 2011

Chef of the Day-Part 2

This is the continuation for the "Chef of the Day" presentation. This time, i'm featuring the next four students and the last four on my next post.

First is Ana from El Salvador. She's currently working as a Kitchen Manager in a restaurant. In my opinion, she is the most talented and experienced of all. I say this because i've seen her creations and she possesses the right attitude towards work. She made most of her classmates' desserts because she is quite artistic. Her presentation is one of my favorites.

Top: Ana's menu and table setting; Below: Ana's presentation




Appetizers: Mini Crabcakes with Guacamole; Grilled Radicchio with Grapefruit salad

Main course: Surf and Turf with Bok Choy

For dessert, she made and frosted her own cake.


Next student is Gigi who is from West Africa. She prepared dishes from her country.

Gigi's menu.


Tomato Salad and Coleslaw for First course.

She also made Fufu with Shrimp and a type of Greens only available at specialty stores.

If i'm not mistaken, these are Lamb Kebobs with salsa.

Seared Bass with Cabbage.

For dessert, she had classic Strawberry Tart.

Next is Qian who is from Beijing, China. She presented traditional dishes from her city. She was not able to attend the graduation because she had to move back to her country. But she was able to complete all the requirements needed to graduate. So, she's considered a graduate, too.




Tofu dishes with pickled veggies on top.


Sauteed Snow Peas and Rice Salad on Cucumbers

Braised Pork.

For desserts, she prepared these gelatin hearts, puff pastry napoleons and a Roll (not pictures)


Last but not the least is Jennifer. She's from DC and presently working for an Assisted Living establishment in Chevy Chase. She presented Southern cuisine.

Her table setting aranged by none other than Jose.




For her first course, she prepared Corn bread and Braised Greens on the right for salad.

Main course, Prosciutto wrapped Pork Tenderloin with Mushroom Ragout & Cheese Grits

Lemon stacked Cake with Blueberry coulis for sweets.

Chef of the Day Dishes

I'm baaaaack!!! Yup, it's been a while, like everyone's excuse, "I've been terribly busy", yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever. But i'm not gonna promise that i'll be blogging regularly, it all depends on my mood. I'm currently on my summer break from school and been house sitting for almost 2 weeks now because of the renovation going on. So why not start blogging again? And i've got sooo much, trying to make up for the time I was dormant.

This time, i'll be featuring our 12 Culinary Arts students in the morning class who just finished their "Chef of the Day" stuff. It's part of their finals to present their own dishes where they create their own menu, delegate their classmates and present the dishes to guests and enjoy the food in the end. Each student becomes "The Chef of the Day" and they come up with 4-5 or more courses. There were some who really "wowed" me, really made an impression. But overall, they all did well. My boss asked me to take pictures of their presentation, which I really enjoyed because I was able to practice my Food Photography. So here they are. Enjoy!

First is Hector's presentation. Hector is originally from Colombia. So, for his first course, he served Red and Golden Beets Napoleon.


Grilled Salmon with Pico de Gallo and Couscous for main entree.


For dessert, he served Rice Pudding.


Next is Jenri's presentation which is an Italian cuisine. Jenri is currently working at an Italian restaurant in Old Town, Alexandria in VA as a Sous Chef. He is one with the most experience in the kitchen. So this thing was pretty easy for him. He really nailed it.


First course: Tomato-Basil Bruschetta; Pesto Gnocchi.


Main entrees: Roasted Quail served with Risotto and Truffled Mushroom sauce.


Pan seared Halibut with Swiss Chard and Coulis.




Dessert: Rich and Dark Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Mousse frosting.


The third presentation is by Elena which is an Australian cuisine. She's currently working at the Australian embassy and probably found inspiration from her colleagues. She had asked her boss to come for her presentation.



First course: Butternut Squash soup; Coconut Shrimp.


Entree: Grilled Australian Lamb Chops.



For desserts, she didn't really stick to the Aussie theme because she served Pavlova with fruits while the other one is like custard.



Next is Adriana. Adriana is a native of Mexico. She works as a personal chef right now. Her menu didn't really have a theme.



First course: Chile Relleno; Italian Arancini with Tomato sauce


Poached Fish with Lemon Butter sauce


Mini Cakes with White Chocolate Glaze


Table setting courtesy of Jose


Adriana during her presentation.

I'll be featuring the next four students on my next post. Stay tuned! :)