Wednesday May 11th, 2011
I had a pretty long day today. Nate wanted me to come in earlier so I did. I got to the kitchen around 7:55 instead of 8:55. The extra hour to get ready really does make a difference. Anyway, I started of the day by learning how to make a roux (pronounced: rue) for the gumbo that will be served during lunch. This is a thickener that produces similar results to that of corn starch. Instead though, a roux is made from some sort of oil (any oil is fine- we used bacon oil) and flour. Nate said we will be making a brown roux. You just combine the two things together and then cook it over high heat. When I first started the cooking process, the roux was really thick- like a thick gravy and it was a light beige color. After 20 minutes or so, the roux started to darken in color and lighten in thickness. In the end, the color of the roux was sort of a napkin-in-the-dinning-hall-brown color and the thickness of the roux was not quite liquid, but much lighter than what it started off as. Between then and lunch, I peeled apples, cut sausages for the gumbo, made the gumbo itself, blackened the catfish (for lunch) and made the Sloppy Joe's as well (for lunch).
All in all, it was a pretty busy morning. By the time lunch time rolled around though, I got a taste of what Wednesday lunch is like for the kitchen crew every week. It got even busier! Students were entering the dinning hall at different stages of lunch, so I had to keep a watch out for what food was getting low. It seemed like a lot of people like the mac & cheese with bacon :). I had to frequently change that dish as well as the Sloppy Joe's. People know I'm working in the kitchen for Senior Project, so as I stand outside at the end of the hot-food line, people will ask me what I made and will generally try it. (They always say that it's good, so I'm doubtful if it's really good or if they're just saying it because I told them I made it since you expect some criticism along the way) Other than that the rest of service went pretty smoothly.
After lunch, I replaced Nancy and worked alongside Deb cleaning the different parts of the main dinning area. I cleaned the toaster/bread area as well as the panini and the deli (sandwich) bar. It wasn't that much work, but I knew I was lucky as those areas can get quite messy since they are popular spots for the students during meal times. After I was done with that, I spent another hour and a bit peeling almost a box of sweet potatoes! Lucky for me I could use a peeler, so it wasn't so bad as my first encounter with potatoes during Senior Project.
Tomorrow being Earth Day, I will get to have some fun with organic food that Art specifically ordered just for the occasion. Dinner will be a great treat for the whole school as well! I won't say what it is- SPOILERS AREN'T INCLUDED HERE!! However, this will mean that I will be working from 8am until 6:30pm. When I tell any faculty or staff about my long day tomorrow, they just say with a smile on their face, "Welcome to the adult world.".... and then pat me on the back. Oh well, tomorrow maybe long but I know the effort will be worth it. Plus... anything beats peeling a bag of 50lbs of potatoes.
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