Chef Tim is pleased to present the 5th Serious Foodie Pastry class for 2008.  Expand your pastry repertoire with a focus on Tarts, Quick Breads & Choux Paste.

The menu will include:

• Gateaux Basque
• Sicilian Tart
• Rhubarb Tart (yes, it’s rhubarb season!)
• Buttermilk Scones with Rhubarb Preserves
• St. Honore Cake

Those recipes will give you experience with the following techniques:

• semolina custard
• short crust dough
• pate sucre (sweet dough)
• chemical leaveners
• mixing methods
• choux paste & profiterole
• creme patissiere (pastry cream)
• caramel sugar 

Time: May 24 & 25, 2008.  From 9:00am – 3:00pm

Cost: $320 + GST

Register: Call 604.876.7653.  Payment is due with registration, and can be made by phone with a Visa or MasterCard.

Please Bring: Chef’s knife, pastry/bench scraper, 2 tea towels, a piping bag & tips (if you have them), a container transport your goodies!

Note: Menu subject to change at chef’s discretion.

The “reality” of becoming a professional cook is the same old story no different than “when I was your age, I had to walk 3 miles to school, in the snow, uphill both ways.”   I hear it all the time, it’s well documented in culinary “reality” biographies and TV, pontificated by chefs and instructors alike. 

No doubt there is a reality culinary students must understand and compromise with when committing to this career:  it’s hard work, it takes patience and persistence, time, and incredible focus, even personal sacrifice to do one’s work very well.  But times have changed.  Those entering this field are no longer 14-16 years old – wide-eyed, malleable and dependent kids.  Can’t call the majority of them “kids” anymore as most going into this field, especially in North America, are in their 20′s, well-traveled, informed (and connected), bright (many with post-secondary education), independent (thus with their own living expenses), and willing change-agents (to borrow from Bill Clinton).  So that old story that if you want to make it in this industry you’ll have to make total sacrifices, work crazy hours, and receive little pay because that’s the way it was, has been, and will always be -  that doesn’t jive anymore.

What is needed, soon, is a paradigm shift.  I’m of this Barack Obama wave:  we can do better.  What is needed, soon, is fair pay, fair treatment, organized and structured training within the industry to keep employees, and responsible media.  In other words, the industry leaders need to assess the “old reality”, stop the denial, and create a new one – one that is fair to all, moves forward, and invites bright young people to commit positive energy for the better future of the hospitality industry that feeds so many people every day.  The public’s responsibility is to demand quality changes:  don’t forget, it’s people, not an industry, that cook your food and feeds you any time you decide not to feed yourself, and quality, cost, and health all go hand in hand.

Tony Minichiello, Culinary Instructor

There are still a few spots left in next week’s class.  Come & learn to fillet like a pro!  Call 604.876.7653 to register!

Attention Foodies!  Join us for these 1-day Advanced Culinary classes, featuring more detailed protein work. Classes will be periodically throughout the year.

This second class will feature Trout & Salmon!  Learn to butcher the whole fish & execute delicious dishes such as:

Seared salmon with beurre blanc
Tea smoked trout
Coulibiac
Trout apple meuniere
Gravlax

Classes will include expert instruction, printed recipes & hands-on cooking. And, of course you get to enjoy eating the dishes you learn with a glass of wine.

time:  Thursday, March 20, 2008.  6:15 – 9:45pm.

to register: please call 604.876.7653

cost: $98 + GST (due at registration)

please bring: chef’s knife, paring knife, boning knife, apron, 2 hand/tea towels

Menus subject to change based upon availability of ingredients & chef’s discretion.

There are still a couple of spots left for the class this weekend . . . Call 604.876.7653 to register! 

Chef Tim is proud to announce the next in his monthly Serious Foodie Pastry series. March’s class will feature Cakes & Mousses… just in time for Easter!

Our Menu: 

• Chocolate Trio Mousse Cake
• Mango Strawberry Entremet (layer cake)
• Basque Gateaux (sponge w/semolina mousse)
• Poppyseed Cake
• Raspberry Cream Cheese Mousse Roulade

 Individual techniques we will be learning:

• Vanilla Sponge
• Genoise
• Chocolate Dacquoise
• Japonaise
• Trio chocolate Mousse
• Mango and Stawberry Mousse
• Semolina Custard Mousse
• Cream Cheese Mousse

Time: March 15 & 16, 2008.  From 9:00am – 3:00pm

Cost: $320 + GST

Register: Call 604.876.7653. Payment is due with registration, and can be made by phone with a Visa or MasterCard.

The May Monday night SF Culinary Basics class is now full, and since more of you want in we’ve decided to offer the same class running on Tuesdays starting May 6.

This class will sell out, so register early by calling us at 604.876.7653.

Learn proper knife handling skills, stocks & sauces, moist & dry heat cooking methods and more. All of our classes are hands-on, and you will prepare a 3-course meal each night. 

For a more detailed description of this delicious, enlightening & empowering course, please visit this webpage: http://www.nwcav.com/ncav_othercourses_seriousfoodie.html.

Times: Classes will run for 8 consecutive Tuesday evenings starting May 6, from 6:15-approx. 9:30pm.  There will be no classes on weeks with a stat holiday.

Cost: $695 + GST

Please Bring: chef’s knife, paring knife, pastry/bench scraper, 2 tea/hand towels, closed-toe flat-heeled shoes, and an elastic to tie back long hair.

Happy cooking!

Tony, Owner-Chef Instructor

You get attached to students as if they are your “own”. First they hang on to your every word, getting clogs just like you, sharpening stones just like you…soon they test you, changing a few ingredients here and there, before you know it, like “teens” they don’t want to hear from you too much and you have to let go (graduation day)…a few weeks/months pass, then they come back to say hi, see what’s for dinner (in our case lunch) tell us about their lives and sometimes you are a fly on the wall and see how much they’ve “grown up”.
That is what happened to me last night at the Chef’s table society fund raiser dinner at the Opus Hotel in Yaletown Vancouver. 7 of the better known Vancouver chefs joined 60 guests for dinner, the food , a 7 course dinner was prepared by their sous chefs, assisted by culinary students like Willie, John, Jorge and Slavita from the Academy.
One of these sous chef was our very own Hugh from Aurora Bistro. Hugh graduated from the Academy 2 1/2 years ago and after a few observations at the bistro was hired by chef/owner Jeff Van Geest. Since then we have seen Hugh off and on. Last night I was that fly on the wall, observing him , noticing how much confidence he has gained, maturity and how organised he was. With aplomb he “directed” the platting of “his” dish a coq au vin on hand-made egg parpadelle noodles, yes it was good and well seasonned, but I knew it would be. Hugh knows how to cook good food. What I was impresssed with was his focus and composure to prep/execute and orchestrate one of the 7 courses for a crowd of “who’s who in Vancouver” paying $250.00 for the dinner.
So like a proud parent, I shook his hand, told him it was a job well done and that I was proud of him and without lingering too much in front of his peers (not wanting to embarass him), I left into the night.
PS for more students stories visit out Blog under Food and Industry talk.
Chef Christophe

A lot of long hours & effort from the Academy’s Pastry Chef  Instructor Tim Muehlbauer & the current Professional Pastry & Bread students were rewarded last weekend at the 2008 Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival.

A popular feature event at the festival is the “Vintners brunch” held at the Vancouver Convention Center. Approximately 20 hotels, restaurants, catering outlets & schools catered to 500 guests. The guests are free to “roam” around the room & try food from as many booths as their stomach can handle.  Each of the 20 participating businesses are given a wine to pair with either a savoury or sweet item appropriate for a brunch. 

Production of 500 portions of this dessert started on Friday & completed on Saturday.
This enriching experience was topped by being awarded the “best food & wine pairing” honour out of the 20 competitors – a great feather to place in anybody’s cap, especially for these soon to graduate Professional Pastry & Bread students.
Congratulations to all!

Chef Christophe
Owner, Chef Instructor

My class & I were given the task of pairing a dessert with the Mission Hills, Reserve, Riesling Ice Wine.  As a group we tasted the wine & identified the flavour profile.  Honeysuckle, lemon/citrus, green apple, elderberry, syrupy are some of the connections we made.  The main rule of pairing a dessert & wine is that the wine must be sweeter than the dessert. With that in mind, we came up with some great ideas & decided upon this dessert:

Fireweed Honey Mousse, Almond Dacquoise, Nougatine Biscuit Sponge, with a Lemon-Thyme Sable, & crème anglaise.

Not only are the flavours important to consider but also the textures of the different components, the techniques & eye appeal all come together to give an overall flavour of the dessert.

It takes years to develop a great palette & this was a great lesson to start teaching & understanding the difference between the “palette” compared to the skills & techniques needed to make a dessert.  There are many things to consider when creating food.  A trained palate can coordinate; orchestrate all the other skills & techniques needed to be creative & come up with new ideas.

Not only was this a good lesson in developing our palates but a lesson in preparing volume, as we made 600+ pieces.  Every piece must be consistent/perfect.  Attention to detail is a must.  Preparing the dessert, transferring the dessert from the school to the hotel, portioning & plate presentation are all critical elements.

On the day of the event, as a class we set up the booth.  Greeted the customers & had the opportunity to sample wine/food pairings from the other participants.

It was a great experience for all  & I look forward to participating again next year with the 2009 class.

Congratulations team & thanks for all of your hard work!
Chef Tim

At NWCAV we like to keep in touch with our graduates, and to follow & support them in their careers. We put out the call to our alumni for their input on this post, and here’s a diverse sampling from the multitude of responses we received.

ADAM

I graduated from Northwest in April 2005 after completing both the Professional Culinary and Professional Pastry and Baking courses.  After graduation, I was afforded the opportunity to complete a practicum placement in the pastry kitchen at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Vancouver.  From the Pan Pacific I moved to spend a year at Terra Breads, learning the art of artisan bread production.  With a desire to get back in the kitchen, I now find myself working as Pastry Chef at the Watermark Restaurant on Kits Beach.  Since starting at the Watermark, I have competed in, and won, the 2007 Belcolade Chocolate Competition; designed my first dessert menu; and learned how to more effectively manage the pastry department in a restaurant kitchen. 

Feeling confident and inspired by my chocolate competition victory, I am working towards opening a chocolate shop in the near future. In the meantime I leave February 17, and I’ll be spending 4 days in Barcelona, followed by a week in Belgium working at Belcolade in their chocolate centre, then I’m off to Valrhona to do a course in ‘gourmet pastries’ being taught by Christophe Adam from Fauchon, and I’ll finish up in Paris, getting back just in time for Easter, a new menu, and another summer on the beach at the Watermark (http://www.watermarkrestaurant.ca/).

I will stop by the school sometime before I leave. Hope all is well with everyone a the Academy, and I’ll see you soon.
-Adam

TARYN

Hello all,

My name is Taryn  Wa. I graduated from both the Professional Culinary & Professional Pastry & Bread Making programs in 2005.  Since then I have worked in a couple fine dining establishments to hone my skills. I also had the chance to work as a Sous chef for the Fusion Fare show on channel M.  “I currently run my own catering company ‘The Savoury Chef’ ( www.savourychef.com). We target multi-course dinner parties and cocktail parties. We supply light-savouries to ‘The Urban Tea Merchant’ located in Park Royal on a weekly basis. I have also started selling a product for the retail market titled ‘Seasonal Confiture Collection’, which is a great accompaniment to cheese and meat platters.  One of my most significant career highlights to date has been to orchestrate 8-10 course meals where the client has left the entire menu up to me, with no budget!

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