Muscat and manure talk at the dinner table?

by Katrina Simmons

Barn conditions, computerized feed-on-demand systems, and the science of turning manure into energy are not your average mealtime conversation, but the GO Cooking class on March 20 was no ordinary dinner. Liaison Hamilton brought along a unique crew to serve up lessons on veal that were both unexpected and delicious.

Chef Dan Notley’s demonstration on creating warm brussel sprout salad, rosti potato and zabaglione with fresh berries was delivered with precision and good humour, but it was the saltimbocca –veal layered with prosciutto and sage – that stole the show.

Among Liaison’s entourage was Ross Blaine from Delft Blue, the Cambridge-based supplier for the evening’s entrée. While Corey and Zak (two future chefs from the College) settled in the guests with a poached pear and gorgonzola salad, Ross filled in the finer details of Delft Blue’s high-tech, innovative farm and its efforts to raise the bar on how veal is produced.

Saltimbocca with rosti potato, warm brussel
sprout salad and shaved Parmesan

Chef’s anecdotes made light of spontaneous kitchen wars over conflicting German, Swiss and Austrian rosti recipes, while sommelier Rob MacGregor’s wine choices leaned heavily in the direction of Italy. Corey, Zak and Chef worked quickly to plate the meal while Murline Mallette (our executive director at Liaison Hamilton) relayed stories of community partnerships and graduates discovering their dreams.

Despite many hands already on deck, Ross pitched in to serve and clear tables. While making himself very accessible for instant feedback on the food he was helping to bring to these plates, he also expanded the definition of ‘farm to fork’.

Liaison Hamilton will be at the Food and Drink Fest this weekend!

 Come out to the Food & Drink Fest in Hamilton March 23-25 and nosh on tasty tidbits from this region’s best restaurants, bakeries, wineries and craft breweries. We will be part of the show, serving up our beautiful desserts as we have each year since 2006.

Visit our staff and students while you are there, find out what Liaison College has to offer, and try our pavlova. Like heaven on a cloud, the little meringue nests will be served with a ginger-mango fruit compote. Even if you’ve worked your way through every lip-smacking sample at the show, you can still find room for these light-as-air treats.

Impressive meals from Basic Culinary Boot Camp

by Katrina Simmons

Chef instructor Bill Sharpe trades good-natured banter with the students as they don their aprons and start chopping. The atmosphere is decidedly upbeat as Culinary Boot Camp (Basic) ramps up for its ninth class, offering kitchen basics and the opportunity to learn the joy of cooking.

Don working on
mushroom ragout

Debbie pushes mushrooms around in the pan as their earthy smell fills the air around the stove she shares with Don. They add wine to deglaze the pans, then a splash of cream to make their mushroom  ragoût irresistible. The average age here is a young forty-something, and the class is strictly recreational. Most are winding down at the end of their work day; a contrast to the diploma students who left this kitchen an hour earlier, building up steam toward graduation and a budding career. 

Yogi and Jacob create their potato rösti.

With four more classes left in their thirteen week stretch, the Culinary Boot Camp creates an impressive meal: grilled veal chops over a bed of mushroom  ragoût, served with potato rösti, warm brussel sprout salad and freshly baked bread. It’s enough to make a woman weak in the knees. Hmm…. where can I sign up my husband?

The next Basic Culinary Boot Camp will run again in September.  Our new Advanced Culinary Boot Camp will run two nights/ week through April and May. Check our website or call Liaison College for details. 

                                     

Liaison's Chef Dan Notley at GO Cooking, Hamilton

by Katrina Simmons

On Tuesday, March 20, Liaison's chef instructor Dan Notley will transform humble veal into Saltimbocca for a late winter meal that will make a locavore believer out of any die-hard skeptic.

The veal, sourced from Delft Blue in Cambridge, will be layered with whole sage and proscuitto, rendering its normally mild flavour bold enough to partner with a warm brussel sprout salad – another dish to suspend your disbelief that anything delicious can come from local larders this time of year.

The little brassicas, emerging unscathed from winter storage, are deconstructed, blanched in sugar water and combined with caramelized onion, nutmeg, balsamic vinegar and parmesan cheese for a surprising show of colour in these days when we’re longing for the first spring greens.

Chef Dan will round out the meal with equally creative incarnations of pears and potatoes, both still available from farms around Hamilton and Niagara. 

The class, taking shape at 44 Frid Street in Hamilton, is already sold out. To inquire about cancellations or upcoming classes at GO Cooking, contact Karen Aquino at kaquino@thespec.com, or call her at 

905-526-3457.

The art of chaud-froid

Students bent over their work
for two days to learn the art of chaud-froid.

by Katrina Simmons
When was the last time you headed to the kitchen with an Exacto knife and a pair of tweezers? Under the tutelage of Chef Dan Notley, students recently bent their backs to a lesson on chaud-froid. They practiced this painstaking process over the course of two days, first poaching the chicken then cooling it before applying a coating of béchamel sauce. They cooled the art-in-progress again to exactly the right temperature before applying an aspic glaze. 

Between the béchamel and glaze coats, they blanched colorful vegetables before shaving them into paper-thin wafers. Shaping the pieces carefully with a blade, they transferred each to the chicken, the white sauce acting as a canvas to inspire their creativity. Flowers, fish-like scales, abstract design – imagination and the medley of veggies available were their only limitations. Oh yes, and the flexibility and strength of their backs.

Student chefs at Dads for Dads

by Katrina Simmons

Mike, Peter, Jennifer and Nicole (Liaison's administrator)
wait for the piper to lead the competitors in to the hall.

Deborah assisted home chef Sam Sarraf
with his Hawaiian meatballs.

Shari checks out Brian Gogo's
seafood chowder.

Students from Liaison Hamilton were on hand on Saturday, March 3 to help with the first annual Bay Area Dads for Dads, a culinary fundraiser for Bereaved Families of Ontario. It was a light-hearted competition, but the students’ role was a serious one. They were elbow to elbow with 38 amateur cooks at Liuna Station, ensuring that high food safety standards were met, and the home chefs had everything they needed to make the event run smoothly.

Bill serving up his bean soup
for judges and competitors.

Dominic (in back) is ready to
help competitors.

Taking care of the competing cooks and the judges (Liaison's Murline Mallette among them), Bill  (a student from Advanced Cook Level II) brought along a batch of his awesome bean soup with maple bacon. Beatrice (also from the Advanced class) baked focaccia bread for them as well, fragrant with caramelized onion, rosemary and thyme.

Check out some of the photos from the evening (more to come). Our students are the ones with the caps hats (the tall chef toques were reserved for competitors).

From humble pie to haute cuisine

Suresh with his divine goulash.

by Katrina Simmons
 The aroma of melting butter surrounds Suresh as he sautes a medley of peppers for the goulash, while Jennifer lines her biscuits up like soldiers on the pan. The meal that the Cook Basic I class is making today is the perfect comfort food for winter, even if the temperature outside on this mid-March day is a balmy 15C.

The chance to hang out in the kitchen while Chef Bill guides the students through the steps elevates this Hungarian staple, in my mind, from humble pie to haute cuisine. Tomatoes, potatoes, peppers and pork, topped with a dollop of sour cream and chased with a light-as-air biscuit: simply divine.

Testing, Testing....

Sweet cherry and pear sorbet with cassis

 by Katrina Simmons

Another Chef’s Table last Thursday evening: the morning Advanced class set the menu this time, and tried to still their nerves as the evening progressed from amuse-bouche through dessert. They were no longer practicing on family and friends: The diners were special guests, invited to critique each course.

 I watched this evening unfold   behind the scenes. One student arrived early in the day to bake fresh bread. Another was searching for ice just a few hours before dinner (no time to freeze any, and none to be found). The buzz in the kitchen rose to near-tangible levels as the guests arrived, hung their coats, and watched through the window at the progress on the stoves.

Whether his students were flush with confidence or sliding into uncertainty, Chef Dan remained stoic. The evening was an exam - a test of how far his students have come - so he watched, waited, and fought any urge to assist. Seated in the kitchen he assessed each dish – taste, colour, plating, temperature – along with the co-ordination of the team, from their prep work to their timing, organization skills and team work.

Chef Dan marks each course

Rain, shine or broken limbs;
nothing will stop this future chef.

As the pots piled up, eight students worked together assembling, plating, garnishing and serving. At the end of the evening, they were also the clean up crew. They had little time to eat, but a lot of time to reflect before Chef Dan’s feedback. That will come on Wednesday, while they continue their classes and wait until mid-week to exhale.

Goat cheese mousse in
Montasio cheese nest