Chicken's Emotional Breakdown

This was probably the most important week we’ve had so far. A big part of the practical
exam is fabricating a whole chicken. The week started with Chef Jack demoing the breakdown.
We each got 4 whole chickens to break down. After the first one, it was pretty easy. Chef Jack
gave us a reminder to not forget to separate the leg from the thigh. For the practical exam we are
required to breakdown the chicken into the eight pieces: Two breasts, two wings, two thighs and
two legs. My first thought was if you do not separate the leg from the thigh you do not have an
eight count but I guess students in the past needed that reminder.

Another part of the practical exam will be marinating one chicken breast and then grilling
it and breading the other chicken breast and pan-frying it. I have been picking up tips throughout
the semester. Someone told me to refrigerate the breaded chicken or the breading will not stick to
the breast as well. Grilling the marinated chicken breast is one of things I am most nervous about
because I have the least amount of experience on the grill. I asked Chef Jack if I could reserve
two chicken breasts for the following day to get more practice on the grill. I came in with a
honey-citrus marinade in mind. Chef Jack gave me a few tips. I want to stay away from Asian
marinades that are salty or sweet because that draws moisture out of the chicken breast. The
purpose of a marinade is to enhance the flavor of the chicken, not cover it up. He also mentioned
that you want to pound out the chicken breast for even cooking. I listened to what he said but
wanted to try my marinade anyway. I learned very quickly that Chef Jack was right. The outside
of the chicken breast was burnt while the inside was still slightly under-cooked. I won’t make that
mistake on the practical exam. As for the marinade, the flavor was not what I was hoping for so I
will try something else next time. My current thought is to use more herbs and oil. Maybe
tarragon, garlic, white wine and olive oil.

On Thursday, I was the Chef-of-the-day. I had a lot of fun with this job. I had heard
weeks and weeks of people complaining that the dishes were such a problem. Some people were
not doing their dishes while others were stuck in the dish room for over an hour washing dishes.
This stops NOW! Before we got started, I made an announcement. “We are about half way
through the semester. During the practical, we are required to wash dishes as we cook. If we
don’t, we will lose all of our sanitation points. So today we are making a change. You will wash
as you cook. Anyone caught dropping off dishes, WILL MOP CHEF JACK’S KITCHEN
FLOOR!” And what do ya know?!?! With only a few reminders, everyone kept up on the dishes
and no one was stuck in the dish room. Hopefully this is a permanent change going forward.

I am not one who seeks the spotlight all the time but to have my hard work shown as an
example was quite an honor this week. He was talking about dedication to developing our skills
as a chef. In front of everyone, he referenced my dedication to mastering knife cuts. “If I saw her
juliennes from week 2 compared to what she did last week I would have thought they were from
two different chefs!” I have enjoyed seeing the change in my skills over the weeks so far and
getting feedback from others. Dr. B. wants to charge me rent for being in Chef Jack’s kitchen so
much. I told him the check is in the mail.

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