Dishing It Out

It was hot in the big tent, home of the Try-a-Trade event at World Skills. The music was booming and the lights were flashing; it wasan action-packed environment designed to encourage young people to try their hand at 17 interactive skill challenges.

There was something for everybody: the traditional trades of bricklaying, auto body painting and welding, as well as the service-oriented trades of culinary arts and hairstyling.

The lineups were long at the Culinary Arts booth, where students waited up to an hour a half to participate in vegetable and fruit carving sessions. Approximately 400 students a day created their very own Banana Dolphin. They were rewarded with a sense of achievement, a free chef’s toque and apron. The biggest challenge was safety. All participants were provided with a step-by-step demonstration to ensuring they sustained a minimum of cuts and nicks. Fifteen cases of bananas later, there were only 3 minor cuts .

So what is it that attracts people to the culinary arts? What I observe is a common passion – a love of creativity and engagement. The kitchen is a living theatre: dramatic, intense, action packed, culminating in a grand finale. Culinary arts is not only about cooking; it’s a performing art based on concepts and cultural influences.

It’s not a one-man show; it takes a well orchestrated script and a good director (often referred to as chef). And, yes, you can even be the star. The media have done much to enhance the image of aspiring culinarians. Some of it is good, some of it bad, some of it is simply shockschlock. Foul-mouthed, short-tempered are chefs are not indicative of professional standards. It’s like TV wrestling: outrageous theatre designed to entertain the lowest common denominator.

North , East, South, West. Culinary arts is a transferable skill. It’s a people thing that needs good people to deliver the goods with enthusiasm and pride. The joy of cooking is a state of mind, an attitude, a philosophy, a way of life. Not for the faint of heart, it’s a demanding but rewarding career. Opportunities abound in trendy restaurants, hotels, resorts, eco tourism & entrepreneurship

My suggestion? If you want to go bananas too, check out the excellent culinary programs available. Two-year Diploma programs at recognized schools are good choice. Find one that is hands-on, student centred and internationally recognized. Do the research, make a decision, and remain committed to lifelong learning and an exciting career.

About the World Skills Competition

The biennial WorldSkills International competition provides a unique means of exchange and comparison of world-class competency standards in the industrial trades and service sectors of the global economy. WorldSkills brings together member countries from across the world to pit the skills of their young people against the best the world has to offer. Competitors as they battle it out against the clock and those difficulties that are commonly experienced in the workplace. To learn more, visit www.worldskills.org.

Thousands of delegates and 848 competitors from over 51 countries participated in 48 skills categories at WorldSkills 2009, held in Calgary, Alberta, from September 1 through 7, 2009. Learn more at www.worldskills2009.com.

The next WorldSkills competition takes place in London, United Kingdom, from October 4 through 9, 2011.Find out more at www.worldskillslondon2011.com.

“Apple pie without cheese is like a kiss without a squeeze“ states an old adage.

Talk about a passion for food or what! But think of it: what would life be without cheese? Boring burgers, pizza without pizzazz, flavourless fondue, mediocre macaroni… and that’s just a start.

My early introduction to cheese was somewhat mundane. There was the gooey goop whizzed up and put in a glass jar: you spread it on white bread or got real fancy and dressed up a ritzy cracker. Add a stuffed olive and voila – a Canadian “horse divorce”. Mmmm… who can forget the velveteen texture of processed cheese? The only thing worse than spinach stuck in your teeth was a gob of this epicurean delight. No matter which way you sliced it, the cheese we melted on our burgers surely came from discontented cows.

But we’ve come a long way. Aside from excellent Canadian cheddars, the wheel got rolling in Québec, where we established our national identity with excellent monk-made Oka Cheese. This was followed by award-winning Blue Ermite, Le Cendrillon and Sir Laurier de Athabasca fromages.

Local Alberta producers Natricia and Leona Grana struggled unsuccessfully to find markets for their excellent artisanal cheeses. Sylvan Star persevered and has now gained international recognition for excellent goudas, including its award-winning Grizzly. Across the province, small, independent producers are establishing niche markets for flavourful artisanal cheeses. You’ll find their products in farmers’ markets and specialty stores. Encourage their efforts and buy local.

Good news! NAIT has received the support of Alberta Dairy in establishing an applied research program in artisanal cheese production. Instructor Allan Roote is excited to lead this project. To upgrade his skills, he attended artisanal cheese courses at the University of Vermont. A 200-litre cheese vat helped kick start his research.

Early ventures include introducing basic cheese methodology to NAIT’s Culinary Arts students. Aspiring students learn how to make fresh feta and mozzarella cheeses. Advanced research includes mastering the art of aging gouda and firm cheeses. Future plans include the delivery of an extensive artisanal cheese-making course. As we return to the fundamentals of cooking and get back to basics, artisanal cheese-making is a fascinating exploration.

NAIT’s Continuing Education programs offer a plethora of programs for the foodie. Programs range from novice to professional. For more information, check out our calendar at www.nait.ca/epicurious.

Moose meat, turnips and porridge were the trilogy of a Peace River Country diet. Raised in the then-remote community of Pouce Coupe, we could choose only from the goods at hand – there was no shortage of game meats, turnips or porridge – all healthy, organic ingredients that sustained the appetites of our rambunctious family of five boys. But I yearned for more – more flavours, colors, textures and variety.

Hanging on to my mother’s apron strings, I gravitated to the kitchen and was soon exploring epicurean delights, including pineapple upside-down cake, peanut butter cookies and bread pudding. Soon I progressed to omelettes and cinnamon rolls. My teen years found me enrolled in high school food studies courses; I was lousy at academics and rebelled at the gender specifics of Industrial Arts and Mechanics. I was a hungry hombre with an appetite for adventure.

After graduating from high school, I got a job with a catering company and was exposed to every low-level grunt job in the kitchen – mopping floors, peeling potatoes and scrubbing pots. I was humiliated, degraded and ridiculed, but I somehow managed to endure. I enrolled in cooking school at Northern Lights College, where I met with old-school chef instructors with rigorous standards of kitchen organization and cleanliness.

I graduated in 1969 with limited job prospects: the local hotel, A & W, or a job in a camp. My chef instructor advised me to go to Europe. He might as well have said Mars: I had never been more than 20 miles from home. I took a job in a railway camp. The head cook was an old Navy man, and soon I learned the basics, short ribs, pork chops, mashed potatoes and homemade pies – good solid grub. Good grub = good bucks. The seasonality of the job provided me the opportunity to travel to Europe , Asia and the Americas.

But I needed more: I made the decision to go to Vancouver, where I heard they had asparagus that didn’t come in a can. Advanced culinary training at Vancouver Community College positioned me for entry to a variety of trendy west coast restaurants. With an expanded repertoire of recipes and knowledge, I returned north and assumed my first chef position at a colourful northern eatery, The Alaska Cafe, a deluxe evolutionary experience. I was free to cook all the recipes I brought back from the Big Smoke. Hometown boy does well. The boom was on, and soon they built a new hotel. I was recruited as sous-chef and soon attained the position of executive chef. I struggled to build a brigade of qualified cooks; fortunately, I had my Red Seal and implemented an apprenticeship training program.

Recruiting students from Northern Lights College, I mentored 4 apprentice cooks to Red Seal status. All were anxious to assume the role of chef. Mission accomplished, I packed my knives and moved on. After some intermittent chef/consulting gigs, it was clearly time to expand my horizons. NAIT was delivering a pilot Cook Training Project at the Jasper Park Lodge; I applied for the position and got it. The project involved reintegrating adult learners to the work culture. The winter of 1986–87 was a long, cold one, but, when spring arrived, the graduates were well prepared to embark on hospitality careers.

Moving from the mountains to the city, I found a new challenge at NAIT: teaching a captive audience in the Edmonton Institute, a maximum security penitentary. I survived the challenge and began teaching full time at NAIT. I became actively involved with students as an advisor, coach, coordinator and mentor. For over 20 years, my position at NAIT has been enriched through working with students and top-notch instructors. NAIT opened the doors to opportunity.

My words of encouragement to students? Dream big, remain committed and never lose your passion for cooking. Hard work and perseverance are the keys to success.

When popular musicians are interviewed, an invariable question is “Who were your influences?” Both the Beatles and the Rolling Stones named Delta Blues legends like Howling Wolf and Muddy Waters as their early influences. One of Elton John’s namesakes was the legendary Long John Baldry.

Positive influences can inspire and philosophically change attitudes and perceptions – especially when the road is hard.

Success in the Hospitality business can be an arduous and challenging journey. Long hours, low pay and sometimes-stressful environments have taken their toll on many aspiring culinarians.

Not all my memories of climbing the career ladder are positive, but a few kind words and good direction along the way helped me endure and succeed.

Wise words

My first mentor was Swiss Chef Karl. Chef Karl’s sage advice was “If you want to be successful in North America, learn how to make a good cup of coffee and a good hamburger.”

How very true this statement was – good coffee and gourmet hamburgers are embraced by the dining public.

Years ago, another wise chef advised me to “never throw in your apron.” Chef Veronica had a suggestion for what to do if I was ever that angry. “First cool off. Count to 10 forward and then backwards. Then take off your apron, fold it into a neat square and ask to speak to the Chef.”

During my career, I neatly folded my apron countless times, but I never threw it in. And I didn’t have to speak to the Chef either – composure saved the day!

Today as I embrace the principles of “pay it forward,” I try to be thoughtful and encouraging to culinarians pursuing their dreams. Mentoring is not only an act of kindness, it’s an age-old philosophy of gifting knowledge and retaining traditional values.

Have you received some good culinary advice you’d like to share? Leave a comment!

So what does it take to be a good cook? A mastery of cookery basics, an educated palate, product knowledge, creativity and innovation all come to mind. A combination of old-school classical cookery and modern cooking’s emerging technologies create a new measure of success.

Efficiency, environment and economy are all incorporated into modern cuisine. In a rapidly changing world, being able to produce food quickly and efficiently while retaining quality has become a science.

The School of Hospitality and Culinary Arts recognizes the importance of introducing students to the latest technologies, which is why the equipment at the Hokanson Centre for Culinary Arts includes:

Sous-vide - This literally means “under vacuum.” Food is vacuum-sealed in a pouch and slowly cooked in a water bath at low temperatures. As a result, foods become tender without losing their original colour, nutrients and texture. A thermal circulator maintains temperature and cooking time cycles, and circulates heat distribution.

Anti-Griddle - Instead of creating heat, this griddle produces sub-zero temperatures, allowing you to almost instaneously freeze food products. The Anti-Griddle works well for creating frozen desserts, sauces and mousses.

Thermal blender - It does everything a heavy-duty food blender does and more – it even cooks at temperatures between 4-40 C (40-105 F). This makes it ideal for preparing heat-sensitive soups and sauces like beurre blanc and hollandaise.

Rational Ovens – Also known as combi-ovens, these state-of-the-art programmable ovens do it all:

• moist heat
• dry heat
• combination heat
• vario-steam
• finishing (holding) cycle

The oven is pre-programmed to perfectly cook a variety of food products, but chefs can also create their own programs to meet specific needs. And it includes a built-in cleaning cycle.

Smoking Gun – Chefs love their toys – this hand-held smoke gun is used to infuse smoke flavour, particularly to foods prepared sous-vide.

There was magic in the air when an enthusiastic group of curious foragers gathered at NAIT to participate in Alberta Wild Mushrooms: From Field to Plate, a new course offered through NAIT’s Continuing Education.

The course started with an interesting and humorous presentation on the identification of edible (and not-so-edible) wild mushrooms led by Martin Osis, President of the Alberta Mycological Society. Students were introduced to a cross-indexed key to be used in conjunction with a locally published field guide, Mushrooms of Western Canada.

Mushrooms like warm and rainy weather. Noting the parched conditions in the surrounding area, Martin suggested the group head an hour and a half west, towards Cynthia, where the mushrooms were plentiful.

Savvy members of the group secretly marked the location on their cell phone GPSs, then fanned out in the forest in search of the delectable denizens.

A few minutes into the foray, I spotted my first ‘shroom. The group gathered round to share my discovery, a large overgrown Russula. My first lesson in harvesting was learned: “collect only firm fresh mushrooms for the table.” We left my worm-eaten specimen hanging on a tree branch for squirrel food.

My next discovery was the prized coral mushroom, much revered for its delicate and delicious flavour. There was nothing delectable about my next find though – a beautiful large white mushroom. Although it looked yummy to me, I was informed by our leader that it was the “grandmother of all poisonous mushrooms,” a deadly White Clitocybe. Thankfully, I didn’t have to churn to learn!

After an hour or so of messing in the moss, the group had gathered a copious quantity of wild mushrooms. Russulas topped the list, but the baskets also included green lobster mushrooms, shaggy parasols, redtops, milk caps, oysters, and a smattering of not-so-edible varieties.

After sorting through our harvest, the group returned to NAIT’s culinary kitchens to clean, cook and sample our bounty. Students were introduced to some classical mushroom recipes, including Mushroom Duxelles and Fresh Chanterelles and Leeks Linguine.

What a day and what an experience – a true walk on the wild side. Identifying and collecting wild mushrooms provides a fascinating learning journey. Mycology provides an opportunity to connect with nature and increase epicurean knowledge. Besides – it’s free food!

See pictures of our mushroom foray