Week 1 Day 2 - Pathogens, Bacteria, and Toxins, oh my

There is so much to learn about food safety. It is surprising that there are not more food-borne illness outbreaks across the country. In one week we have to learn about food-borne illnesses, food safety, temperature controls, food services personnel personal hygiene, the FDA food codes, local and state regulations, and on and on and on .... We spent a lot of today going through the "ServSafe" for Managers certification material in preparation for a big test on Friday.

The hard thing is that we all just want to get into the kitchen! We are itching to start working with food. Chef Greg tried to alleviate the pressure by giving us a brief tour of the kitchens. He also said that a 747 airplane uses half of its fuel for a trip in the takeoff; we also have to put do a lot before we start cooking food. The metaphor was not comforting and we were not really appeased.

We did spend some important time getting to know one another. The sixteen of us couldn't be much more different. There are so many varied stories and backgrounds represented in our little class. There are those who have worked in the industry and those who haven's seen the inside of a professional kitchen. There is a single parent, one who lost his girlfriend to a sudden death only a few weeks ago, a young guy who got laid off from teaching after only a couple years, a girl who spent many years growing up in Dubai, a massage therapist, as well as an assortment of fresh out of high school "kids". We are kinda like the cast of the TV show Survivor! Only we are hoping that each of us stay and make it through to the end, rather than trying to vote each other off.

We did a fun little exercise to help get us to know one another. We used a series of questions to interview another and then share what we have learned with the group. We have a great group of students. It will fun getting to know each others stories.
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Ten Commandments of a Chef - Daniel Boulud
• keeps knives sharp
• work with the best people
• keep your station clean and tidy, be organized
• shop wisely; use everything
• season with precision
• master the heat
• learn the world of food, try everything and anything
• know the classics (techniques and ingredients) and the basics
• accept criticism
• keep a journal of your recipes, successes, failures, and what you have learned

(c) Charles Neil Riley - 2012