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Italian Cuisine Professional Chef Training Course 2016 Fall – Lesson #15 “Special Dishes for Special Occasion”

All of today’s dishes took a long time to cook with many steps involved. Students put lots of their passion and love into the bolognese sauce as they simmered it. Making lasagna pasta takes time and efforts. Students worked on it as they discussed with others whether to add more salt, oil and so on. Prof. Francesco praised their lasagna, “It’s baked perfectly!” It’s not too difficult to tell students here are totally in love with cooking. Although pigeon cuisine has some peculiar tastes, all students enjoyed its tasting afterward. 2016.10.26 Ota

Italian Cuisine Professional Chef Training Course 2016 Fall – Lesson #14 “Vegetarian Dishes”

Today, the class learned vegetarian cooking. There are quite a few numbers of vegetarian restaurants in Italy nowadays. It is extremely important for chefs to prepare any dish understanding the customer’s preferences and allergens. Some students were struggling with shaping pasta dough into a unique shape. Students who were very good at this work helped others by giving them tips on shaping. It was the last day of the class for 1-month Chef Training students. We are sure they got a priceless experience here in Italy. We wish them all the best in their future back in their home countries. 2016.10.24 Ota

Italian Cuisine Professional Chef Training Course 2016 Fall – Lesson #13 “Pizza Lesson & Practice at a Well-known Restaurant”

Today, half of the class took a Pizza Lesson, and the other half visited a well-known restaurant to see its preparation work. “Pizza Lesson” There are 2 kinds of Italian pizza in general; Roman style and Napoli style. This pizzeria students visited today serves Napoli pizza with chewy crust. It was the first experience for the most of the students to make pizza from a scratch and bake it in the pizza oven. Each student got to eat a real Napoli pizza he/she made. Students learned where in the oven to put pizza in, how long to rest the dough, what the best baking temperature is, and so on. “Practice […]

Italian Cuisine Professional Chef Training Course 2016 Fall – Lesson #12 “Wine Seminar”

Today, students took a wine seminar at a wine shop, where various bottles of wines were lining up on the shelves. By taking this seminar, one can learn and understand how to describe the smell of wine, about grapes grown in different regions, and many more. Quite a few customers ask questions about which wine to choose for the dish of their choice, so it definitely helps to have basic knowledge of wines as a chef. It also makes one look stylish if he/she can taste a glass of wine in a smart manner at a restaurant. There is no surprise that students with sommelier experience take Chef Training course. […]

Italian Cuisine Professional Chef Training Course 2016 Fall – Lesson #11 “Mediterranean Cuisine and Seafood 2”

Today the class had the 2nd Mediterranean Cuisine and Seafood lesson. Students hustled on many preparation works all at once. Decoration using a food ring made the dish look really delicious and impressive. For some students, it became a good experience to use unfamiliar vegetables such as artichokes. Although students got full after eating every dish from the starter to the main, desserts always make students extremely happy. Lemon peel smelled so good which was grated and sprinkled over the dish right before eating. In Italy, people always enjoy desserts after the meal. The tasting time is not only for fun. Professor asks students questions like which dish was the […]

Italian Cuisine Professional Chef Training Course 2016 Fall – Lesson #10 “Slaughterhouse Visit”

Today the class visited a slaughterhouse near Florence. Here are some comments from one of the students: “Although it is one of the smaller slaughterhouses around Florence, this slaughterhouse processes highly-ranked cattle grown in ranches nearby. Today, we were lucky we got to see wild boar meat after 3 days of aging in a refrigerator. We learned a lot about how fresh meats are managed before reaching to the consumers in Italy, where the fresh meat sanitation rules and regulations are the strictest in Europe. It was such a valuable visit to recognize that any over-the-counter meat must be taken in with the appreciation to having lives of living creatures.” […]

Italian Cuisine Professional Chef Training Course 2016 Fall – Lesson #9 “Party Dishes”

Today’s cooking practice was “Party Dishes”. Students made party dishes that are easy to prepare and easy to eat in just one bite. Cooking with knowledge of the history behind each dish can definitely add different viewpoints and ideas to the way one cooks. Students got to learn a lot about the history of buffet during this cooking practice. The professor also taught students how to prepare a party space that is more enjoyable, how to display food on a large platter, and so on. The idea of fruit skin bowl was really cool and beautiful. It didn’t take much time to create a wonderful party space with decoration of […]

Italian Cuisine Professional Chef Training Course 2016 Fall – Lesson #8 “Agritourism (Olive & Wine Farm Visit)”

Today, the class visited an agritourism in Rufina, Chianti. Although the weather is gradually getting cold these days, it was such a clear beautiful day with a great countryside view. One of the students told us his impression on this visit: “The view of Tuscan winery was so gorgeous. We were very lucky that we were able to see grapes for Vincent (dessert wine representing Tuscany). I enjoyed tasting wines and Vincent. It was a great opportunity to get ourselves refreshed in busy days of training and studying.” The staff at the farm told us that this year was a great vintage. Students enjoyed the wonderful view of the olive […]

talian Cuisine Professional Chef Training Course 2016 Fall – Lesson #7 “Food Wholesaler Visit”

Today, students visited a food wholesaler. They had to gather very early in a chilly morning for this visit. This wholesaler is located in the middle of Italy, which means fresh vegetables from all over Italy get delivered here. Soaking up plenty of sunshine, Italian vegetables grow deep in color and firm in texture. Students learned many reasons behind how professional chefs decide which vegetables to purchase, how wholesalers rank vegetables, why chefs come all the way to food wholesalers, why some individual farmers come directly here to sell, and so on. One of the students commented, “It was such a valuable experience to see what the food wholesaler was […]

Italian Cuisine Professional Chef Training Course 2016 Fall – Lesson #6 “Mediterranean Cuisine and Seafood 1”

Surrounded by the ocean, Italy is known for its delicious Mediterranean cuisine using seafood. Seafood soup adds a hearty flavor to the pasta sauce. Mussels are already salty, so one must be careful not to make the sauce too salty. Students found out that it was a bit too salty with the first tasting, so they adjusted it with the professor’s advices. Prof. Francesco told his students, “It is a chef’s responsibility to taste the food before serving.” Everyone, including students without cooking experiences, has been learning to take responsibility as a chef through every lesson. 2016.10.11 Ota