Booting Up For Fall
CAS recently hosted another successful edition of its annual Culinary Boot Camp. The program equips food preparation workers with the abilities to transition into higher-skilled positions. Dining Services chefs served as instructors for the 18 employees who signed up this year.
The four-day intensive training program at The Bistro Off Broadway focused on a range of critical culinary skills.
On the first day, representatives from Rational -- maker of the combi ovens CAS uses -- demonstrated the capabilities of the high-speed cooking equipment.
After a morning of classes about safety, culinary math, equipment review and kitchen fundamentals, participants got some hands-on experience in the kitchen. They practiced knife skills, equipment use and food preparation for the first two days. On the third day, they learned about food plating and presentation before returning to the kitchen for training on how to prepare soups, salads, dressings, vegetables, starches, sauces, tofu- and vegetable-based proteins, beef, pork, seafood and poultry.
On the final day, participants put their learning into practice, first with a written exam and then in a market basket challenge, splitting into four groups to prepare meals using the provided ingredients. Instructors acted as judges for each group, evaluating the dishes for taste, ingredients, presentation and more.