International Food Receipes

Josh Stone asked:


The prep chef is the lowest chef on the totem pole, doing all the grunt work before the Artiste de Culinaire strolls in and makes the cooking magic happen. A person could probably make a good career out of offering door-to-door slicing and dicing for every John or Jane cooking dinner at home in their neighborhood. What home cook hasn’t realized at the crucial moment that nothing is worse than realizing you need to drain and chop the sun-dried tomatoes sitting in the unopened bottle on the counter or uncork a bottle of Pinot Grigio for a pan sauce while you are supposed to be stirring constantly.

Every time Emeril reaches under the counter and magically pulls out a bowl of minced onions or seasoned bread crumbs, a prep chef had a hand in it. Prep chefs never get their own TV show. There’s no fun in watching somebody peel, chop, mince, mix, measure, slice, dice, and blend, then store the results in a Tupperware in the fridge. Of course it looks easy for Rachael Ray to whip a meal together in ten minutes. When she needs three quarters of a cup of grated Parmesan, a little bowl of it instantly appears at her fingertips, leaving out the serf behind the scenes who grated the Parmesan and measured it.

Duties

Meats and poultry: Have to be properly thawed, butchered, trimmed, and cut to whatever the recipe calls for. Marinating is also something a prep chef has to think about.

Fish and seafood: Must be scaled and deboned. Shrimp and other shellfish have to be peeled. Other slicing and marinating as the recipe calls for.

Veggies and fruits: May have to be washed, peeled, sliced, diced, grated, deseeded, chopped, or shredded. A salad is 100% prep work. Garnishes are often all prep work as well.

Doughs and mixes are always prepped. Blenders, juicers, and mixers are part of a prep chef’s life as well. Anything that has to be done before the ingredients actually get added to the pot or pan, the prep chef lines it all up. The French phrase is “mise en place” and that’s just what you’ll practice as a prep chef.

Prep work also involves equipment. A pastry pan might need greasing or an oven might need preheating. The home cook doesn’t think about this, but even stove pans should be preheated to a specific temperature before the action starts.

Tools of the trade

As much as possible you want to automate everything. There are blenders, mixers, juicers, slicing machines, graters, presses, and choppers.

For measuring there are cups, spoons, and scales. Hopefully you have enough of these, because reusing the same measuring device means you have to wash it and dry it after every use. Don’t forget temperature and time are also something you measure, and so there are thermometers and timers!

Knives of every description and category, plus peelers, whips, spatulas, graters, crushers, skimmers, strainers, brushes, ballers, scrapers, tongs, cutting boards, shears, and bowls, bowls, bowls.

The Skills

The biggest asset is speed. A line of prep chefs resembles a factory assembly line or a NASCAR racing track pit crew. There’s teamwork, coordination, and planning. Prep chef is a high-energy job, and thinking three steps ahead of the schedule is absolutely required.

One can get by with the basic culinary school background. One area which a prep chef absolutely must be expert at is safe food handling. A prep chef has to be a certified Safe Food Handler and usually be trained in (HACCP) Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point as well.

High energy is always needed. With enough experience, a prep chef will always find work. Usually a prep chef is just one stop in a chef’s career, and many places rotate prep work. A novice or apprentice chef working their way through school will usually find themselves doing a lot of prep work.

“The Iron Chef”

The famous TV show “Iron Chef” is instructive in the ways of the prep chef. This show is a competitive cooking event. The show’s resident chefs may be picked by a challenger chef for a head-to-head competition to prepare three dishes featuring a key ingredient. The key ingredient is only announced at the beginning of the show after the challengers are “on their marks”, and each chef, teamed with two assistant chefs, must race to complete the task in time for the panel of judges to taste their creations and declare a winner. All in sixty minutes!

This format of the show allows one to see prep work in action. While a fully stocked larder of just about every kind of food is on hand to complete dishes with, almost none of the prep work is done and each chef must take into account the preparation time for their meals before deciding what to make.

The action is an astounding circus of kitchen acrobatics. Unlike showman chefs working in themed restaurants, there is no time for flashy stunts for the sake of entertainment here. All the action here has a purpose, and the action proceeds at a feverish pace. Sometimes the chefs start off doing something with a really mysterious purpose, and the commentators will try to explain what they are doing. The show is always instructive to prep chefs to watch.

If at all possible, you should forgo the American version and catch the native Japanese version. While the dubbing in English has kind of a hilarious 1970’s kung fu effect, the Japanese version is a much more cooking-focused show. While the American version cuts the camera to the commentators or celebrity guests on the show, the Japanese version almost never takes the camera off of the frenzied activity in the kitchen arena as long as the cooking is happening.

Cecile Peterkin asked:


Before you can learn much about how to use personal branding for a competitive edge, it’s important to have an understanding of what personal branding is. Fortunately, it’s possible to take a look at the way many successful people have used personal branding to get a feel for what it is and how it can work for you.

Personal branding is something that has been done by a number of well known people. Some of the most well known among them are:

* Oprah Winfrey. Think what you will about Oprah’s personality, but from the time that she branded her show with her own name and aired a number of her personal struggles in a public way to the time that she launched her magazine, her book club and the talk show careers of Dr. Phil and Rachael Ray, Oprah has remained true to her personal brand.

* Donald Trump. Donald Trump isn’t just a real estate mogul, he’s also a man who worked hard, made his way to the top and then, time and time again, has found ways of staying there. Trump hotels have a certain reputation; so do his investment strategies that are available to almost everyone who watches his infomercials and has an internet connection, and, of course, The Apprentice also has a large audience simply because of all that the man has done to establish his personal brand.

In addition to Oprah and “The Donald”, there are a variety of others who have built their identities and empires on a foundation of personal branding. From Madonna to Bill Gates, from Rachael Ray (who established her brand by promising to teach others to prepare meals in 30 minutes and helping everyone to recognize that cooking is something that everyone can do) to Richard Branson, personal branding has proven to be a successful strategy - one that can also help you to get a competitive edge during your job search.

The reason that personal branding is so valuable is that it demands self-awareness; in order to have a brand, you need to be sure that you are able to know who you are and what you believe in. Likewise, personal branding means knowing what you value and making a commitment to bring it into everything that you do. Most importantly however, personal branding is about having the courage to be yourself - and to let others know who you are - and the confidence to believe that you can have a positive impact.

Personal branding is something that will give you a competitive edge during your job search because it will help you to appear confident and strong; it also is effective because prospective employers will see that you are committed to achieving your best and delivering consistent results. When you take advantage of personal branding and have the strength to market yourself and your values, you will find that you are able to have more than just a job - you’ll find that you are well on your way to creating an exceptional career and reaching your goals.

Copyright 2008, Cecile Peterkin.

Craig Chambers asked:


When it comes to cooking school and a career in cooking, you are developing a lifestyle and life path. Remember the US Navy slogan “it’s more than a job, it’s an adventure? Well that is true for you too. As you set, your course to be the best you can in cooking you are also embarking on one of the greatest adventures of your life. Not only will you learn the skills and techniques you need in cooking school but also you will develop life long friends and valuable resources. The love of cooking is a great starting line but it will not be enough by itself.

Training is important and cooking school can refine your love of cooking into a skill that will possibly earn you a lot of money as well as respect and appreciation for your knowledge and ability. The knowing “how to” aspect of cooking is what separates the good from the best and will allow you to achieve excellence on higher levels. You already have the desire; you just need the “how to”.

My Brother in Law is from England and loves to cook crepes. He is actually very passionate about it and loves to cook them at family gatherings. However, it is also the only thing he knows how to prepare. Although you might consider him an expert on crepes, his knowledge base and practical cooking experience doesn’t extend much further. This is exactly why you should go ahead and take the challenge of going to cooking school like you have been considering. You will be the better for it and your family and friends or customers will reap the benefits along with you. Boy I wish my Brother in law had gone to cooking school so we could have something at reunions besides crepes even though he makes awesome crepes.

Cooking schools give you the basics that you need to survive in commercial kitchens as well as practical knowledge about hoe to run your own home kitchen. You learn things like nutrition that is so important today with people exercising and being calorie conscience. As you know, cooking schools have their students after graduation being hired by major hotels, resorts and health spas. One of the most important aspects of that job is to be able to put together tasty but nutritious meals that will please the clientele looking for health and long life.

As you prepare for your future cooking school will also give you the foundation of food storage and safe food handling practices that will set the foundation for you to build on. You will also learn and become an expert on all of those fabulous herbs and spices. Knowing when you can substitute dried herbs for fresh ones and how to properly store fresh herbs to keep their flavor will put your sauces and marinades on everyone’s favorites list.

Without a cooking school to guide us, how would we learn about high and low heat techniques, thickeners, pan searing, quick pan frying or cooking at high altitudes? It is the cooking techniques that you need to learn and that you can gain from cooking school. You will also come away with an arsenal of tools, knives, kitchen equipment and neat gadgets to make cooking easier and better.

If you want more than just a job in a kitchen then don’t settle for less. Invest yourself in the things you love and get the training and skills to take your love of cooking to its next level. Set a life path and make it an adventure, be your best and let your talent shine. Reach for your dreams and investigate cooking school.

Rosie Fletcher asked:


As they say, the greatest way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Is it any wonder why most women painstakingly toil and learn the art of cooking? Hence, most people who know how to cook would normally teach the others who do not know. They started having some sessions with every dish being taught every time the supposed to be teacher to his or her supposed to be student. As the time went by, this kind of teaching the others how to cook had been an invigorating activity. And so, gradually cooking schools were built, maybe with those who first taught cooking.

I. Culinary Schools - A Brief Rundown

Since its inception and practice, cooking schools had continuously provided their students, first, with the basics of cooking. Thereafter, they advanced to the next level until their students had the confidence to progress their learning on their own. The first sessions of classes in cooking schools before are not as organized as it is today. Nevertheless, the growth of the cooking schools can be traced back to the very first informal session they had before. Since then, cooking schools gradually develop into a more organized way of teaching somebody how to cook.

II. Choices

The problem is too many cooking schools. As a potential student, of course you will want to attend the very best learning institution that you can.

1. Is it accredited?

In most instances, it always takes a certificate in order to prove one’s worth to an employer. In this case, a good cooking school should be accredited, and not just by so-and-so company but a valid accrediting agency. From its accreditation, you can now tell its length of service in the business. So those who have been in the business for at least 6 years are good enough, right?

2. Do you need a job right away after your training?

If so, then it’s best to choose cooking schools that can give you career advancement right after your training. Good cooking schools require their students to have on-the-job-training within restaurants and hotels. In turn, it will be good exposure for you especially if you want to work for them in the future.

3. Are you particular with the student-teacher ratio?

If so, then choose a cooking school that offers at least a maximum of 15 students per instructor. This is to facilitate ease of teaching and improve better comprehension among the students. A smaller class size is better especially if the session includes mostly of a one-on-one approach.

4. Do you have a tight budget?

Normally, good cooking schools cost a lot more than the typical cooking schools. So, if you are really determined to start your cooking lessons, it’s a must that you have the budget for it. Otherwise, you might just end up with a cheap one but cannot give you the right techniques as far as cooking is concerned.

5. You need a good instructor for a good cooking school, right?

That is, if you really want to know how to cook effectively and professionally. So, it’s best that you check on the background of the instructors in the cooking school that you chose to enrol with. Find some helpful information if they are good enough teach you the art of cooking.

6. Proximity

Can you endure a long ride going to the cooking school? If not, then it’s best that you choose a good cooking school that is located within your locality. This will give you a shorter time for commuting.

7. Is it private or a public?

If you go for public cooking schools, you might save a hefty amount of money because they are cost cheaper than the private ones. But then again, the quality of the school facilities and instruction may suffer because the government may not have allotted a budget for the school.