Tension, taste and technique

Chefs do a blind taste-test of the soup course. 

 All is quiet in the kitchen again at Liaison College Hamilton Chef School, and the air is heavy with concentration. Our Cook Basic A.M. class is in the midst of their final practical exam, creating a meal from soup through to dessert. Their timing is critical- chefs expect each course to be served at the exact time specified (no sooner, no later), and at the correct temperature (hot dishes served hot, cold ones still chilled).

Each course is blind taste-tested: students are assigned a number, delivering their food to the empty classroom before the chefs enter to sample from each dish.

James pipes decoration onto his dessert plate. 

Cole delivers his chocolate mousse to the test tables.

While the students work through their soup, main course, sauces and dessert, the chefs make careful notes on seasoning, taste, texture, temperature, and technique.

The dessert course offers an opportunity to explore garnish, presentation styles and sugar work. It also marks a drop in the intensity that permeates the campus on exam days.

Even when the last plate has been delivered to the tasting tables, students still wait on edge until their evaluation is complete. One by one they are called to discuss their meals with the chefs, emerging with relief or concern written across their face.

Chef Bill and Chef Dan finish their test notes before liaising with students. 

Join us at our next Chef’s Table!

Answers the following questions correctly, and we will enter your name in a draw for a pair of tickets for a gourmet, eight-course meal at Liaison College Hamilton.

 

These dinners are a private affair, and are not open to the general public. Our chefs share the table (and their stories and insight) with eight to ten carefully chosen guests. You could be amongst them.

 Our Advanced students plan the menu to highlight the cooking and presentation skills they have learned, then prepare and serve the courses one by one, from amuse bouche through entrée to luscious dessert.

How to enter:

1. Contest deadline is August 19, 2013
2. You will find the answer to each of the quiz questions somewhere on our website www.liaisonhamilton.ca.
3. Email your correct answers to us at katrina@liaisonhamilton.ca, along with your name and a phone number where we can reach you during business hours.
4. We will draw the winning entry on August 20.

(Sorry, students and graduates of Liaison College are not eligible. You must be 19 years of age or older to enter.)

Get to know us at Liaison College Hamilton. Answer these questions correctly for a chance to win a pair of tickets to our next Chef’s Table.

1. What is the name of our program that helps students with resumes and career planning? 

2. How many hours is our longest program?

3. Our Cook Basic students study eight major topics. Name three of these.

4. What kind of catering do we do?

5. Name one hotel at which Chef Bill Sharpe has worked.