A professional kitchen can look like blurring chaos to an outsider, but as far as the culinary students at Flathead Valley Community College are concerned, their kitchen works like a well-oiled, great-smelling machine.
Last Thursday afternoon, the third-semester interns bustled into the expansive, 3,224-square-foot kitchen in the FVCC Arts and Technology building, finishing their final prep work for last Friday’s sold-out Chef’s Table dinner.
The menu was scheduled to include such mouth-watering delicacies as a seared-tuna tostada with black bean-mango sauce for starters, followed by pot-roasted guinea hen and twice-cooked potatoes with garlic mousseline and a warm arugula and olive salad with glazed walnuts for the main course.
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Chef Howard Karp, right, helps one of his students, Michelle Hicks, get started on the labor intensive process of deboning pork for what will be bratwurst bites to be served during the Flathead Valley Community College Chef’s Table. |
For dessert: A homemade rocky road ice cream sandwich, along with three choices of cookies.
Knives flashed and mixers whirred as the students got down to the business of prepping. While most restaurants keep cooking’s hustle and bustle contained behind walls, the Chef’s Table guests will enjoy the show as they eat their dinner right in the middle of the stainless steel kitchen.
This, according to FVCC chef instructor Howard Karp, is part of learning how to be a professional chef. Accountability and quality are easily observed on flat-screens above each of the students’ stations. Karp emcees the dinner, introducing each course and explaining its intricacies to the patrons.
The Chef’s Table program started out three semesters ago as a way to give the students a chance at a quality internship, Karp said. The course requires 150 hours of culinary experience from its students, as well as 15 hours of serving.
The recession was taking its toll on the number of positions available around the valley, so Karp decided to start an in-house way of taking on elite food and menus.
“We try to make it where they have a certain freedom,” Karp said as he observed the busy students.
The interns are divided up into three groups that rotate appetizer, main course and dessert duties every four weeks. This allows for synergy, Karp said, and forces teamwork in stressful situations.
As a member of the dessert team for the March 5 dinner, Jo Ann Murilla worked with her teammates to prepare the brownies that would end up as a layer in the rocky road ice cream sandwiches. They also produced three types of cookies and chocolate-covered strawberries, as well as the dinner’s bread.
“I’ve been around the valley for a while,” Murilla said. “I’ve never seen food like we’ve been producing.”
Each part of the meal is made from scratch, Murilla said, from the bread used for breadcrumbs to the tasty sauces that accent the meal.
“Chef (Karp) doesn’t let us get away with anything,” Murilla said. “But he lets us be creative.”
A big part of the final product is the design, many students said. Plating and presentation gives some room for artistic interpretation, even if they must strictly stick to the recipe.
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Andrea beachner begins forming toppers for the ice cream sandwiches that will be served with the Chef’s Table dinner at Flathead Valley Community College. |
While Murilla got back to the business of desserts, Michelle Hicks, a member of the appetizer crew, stood at a different station cutting up asparagus for her asparagus and prosciutto rolls. She was also getting ready to prepare the meat for the bratwurst bites, which turned out to be more complicated than once anticipated.
Hicks said the course has given her an appreciation for the colorful aesthetics of food preparation, a new creative outlet complemented by her passion for painting.
Over at the main course prep site, Darrell Lindenmuth methodically cut and stacked guinea hens as red bell peppers slowly roasted on a nearby range. Working on a main course relieves the pressure of creative expression, Lindenmuth said, because Karp picks the meals. Desserts and appetizers are determined by the students and OK’d by the chef.
Karp’s sous-chef, Jenna Rody, bounced from station to station giving the interns input and support. As a senior in the program, Rody is training to work on the business side of the kitchen, which includes ordering ingredients and keeping things running smoothly for the head chef.
“I love cooking and I wouldn’t mind cooking, but I’m more into the business side,” Rody said, looking up from helping the dessert crew with their streusel topping.
As the students focused on their individual efforts, Karp wandered through the kitchen with his hands behind his back, asking questions and offering tips. Watching his students’ progress from the first dinner at the beginning of the semester to the end is like watching tentative children mature into capable adults, he said.
“At the end of 14 weeks, they’re pretty nifty,” Karp said with a smile.
Chef’s Table takes place every Friday until May 7. Tickets are available online at www.fvcc.edu or by calling 756-3963. Prices vary depending on the meal.