Sunday, June 20, 2010

better late than never.

i know i suck. but hey, i'm back!

after much bemoaning (ANDY) i have finally found some time to update this little thing.

i guess i should start off by mentioning that i finished my externship at castagna, which means that i'm completely done with school! what does that mean? it means that i am officially a graduate from culinary school. woot!

what now? well, i got hired! i've been working the hot line; crushing crabs, poaching halibut and grilling a 36 hour lamb neck to start. much of the cooking combines modern molecular gastronomy with classic cooking techniques which exposes me on a daily basis to new methods that i had never been exposed to before.  definitely not easy and very challenging but i am learning a ton from the best and most talented chefs in the nation (literally).  the chef was awarded best new chef for food and wine magazine this year (current issue!) so people from all over have been coming into eat and experience the food.  (oh, the pressure for perfection!)

this also means that my time at biwa will be ending. i'm very sad to leave but the experience i received there was invaluable to my first steps into this career. if they hadn't given me a chance, who knows where i would be right now. (thanks gabe and will!)

since it's impossible to take pictures of the food i cook at castagna (umm, i'm cooking!), i was able to find a few photos of some of the dishes i have been cooking via extramsg.com.

dungeness crab with amaranth and meyer lemon foam:


poached cod with fried chickpeas, garbanzo bean mousse and seaweed brown butter vinaigrette:
grilled lamb neck (after a 36 hour sous vide), morels and nettle puree:


so, this is what i've been doing for the last 10 weeks...

the menu and plate-ups tend to change quite frequently so i'll try and scrounge up some photos for you and keep you updated on the happs over at castagna.

oh, and thanks for reading this even though i have been away for a while! (keep pestering me, andy!)