Wearing My Heart on My Sleeve

I can't believe I forgot to mention a most magical occurrence that resulted from my time in Tiros. Many people who know me are already aware of my ability to find heart shape objects around me. It all started with good old heart potato three and a half years ago, which has spawned some strange behaviour from family members in the form of trawling potato stalls at fruit and vegetable shops the world over. But matters of the heart do not always announce themselves to you, they appear when you least expect it, and this was one of those times.

It was just your usual Wednesday morning, I was making the most of my time off by washing my chef jackets from the previous two days, and when I rolled up the sleeve of one of these jackets, this is what I saw...

I have to admit, I was tempted to never wash this jacket again, but alas, my desire to conform to kitchen hygiene standards was too overpowering as I stood breathing in the heady aroma of washing detergent in the cool surrounds of the laundry. Thank goodness I had my phone in my pocket to capture the raspberry love. xx

"How about asparagus wee?!" Tiros week and Heston

Along came our week in the TAFE kitchen, Tiros. This meant a mise en place day (Monday) followed by a lunch shift (Tuesday), dinner shifts (Wednesday and Thursday) and a final lunch shift (Friday). On Monday we were each assigned a different dessert item to prepare and manage for the week, along with our partner. In a disturbing twist of fate, I was of course allocated the devil dessert- another vanilla bavarois, to be served with poached pear, praline, and a pistachio biscotti. On Tuesday, it was also decided that team bavarois would make some pistachio frangipane and quince tarts. 

To summarise this week, it was completely exhausting. The combination of mixed shifts and standing for days and nights on end did not a happy camper make, however it was a good little taste of how it could be working in a restaurant. Exciting! 

Now time for some pictures. 

 Mighty fine trays of toast and biscotti.

 A trio of bav.

Romantic afternoon light.

My final order of quince tarts for the week. 

To complete my intense kitchen week, I was treated to a little excursion with my lovely Mum. Off to "Heston Live" at the Adelaide Festival Theatre we went. This included dinner at the little cafe outside, with a Maggie Beer sighting. This was not an occasion for chef stalking though, so onward to the show. I have to admit that before seeing Heston at this event, I had always thought he was a bit arrogant and not someone that I'd necessarily love to have a chat with. I have to say though, that after listening to his stories and advice for 2 hours, I have changed my mind. He's actually a pretty cool guy. It was refreshing to hear his tales of struggling in his first week of opening "The Fat Duck" back in 1995, and interesting listening to his explanations of how his dishes work, and the theory behind them. Classic cases of trickster food. Another turning point in my opinion on Heston was the moment when he started chatting about asparagus wee. All of a sudden, I thought that this man might actually fit in quite well at our place on a Friday night. Heston, you're welcome to celebrate Chip Friday with us anytime! 

Mr. Blumenthal

Bonus restaurant opinion! We were a bit late to the party, but my number one dining partner and I finally made it to "Singapore House." Such a good dinner. The decor was beautiful, and the food was delicious. The orders were as follows- snapper wrapped in banana leaf, salt and pepper tofu, butter chicken and the king prawn red curry. Happy days. Will definitely be heading back here. 

A week of holidays for me now, and then back to regency for some "yeast goods." Next stop on the TAFE-train- Bread Town. See you there folks! xx

"The best day of my life"- Tasting Australia 2012

As a TAFE student, I was lucky enough to be involved in the biennial "Tasting Australia" event. Basically, it's a weekish long event in which a host of amazing chefs visit Adelaide to run different classes and cooking demonstrations. For the first two days, I got to weigh out and prepare the ingredients for a few different classes that would be held at the Regency campus. I have to say, the real highlight of this mise en place week was the day that I juiced 74 passionfruit. What a ridiculous exercise.

My personal reward for completing this torture task was attending the event at Elder Park on Saturday. The festivities started by watching the end of Miguel Maestre's paella demonstration. This provided the perfect opportunity to become accustomed to his accent, as I would be helping out at his class on Tuesday. Next up came some wandering around the Torrens visiting the various food stalls and stalking some chefs. 

Just a bit excited to be touching Matt Moran

Matty P 

Mr Grossi

A group of babes

I remember at the end of this day I was pretty much beside myself with excitement. And I definitely proclaimed to the world, "That was the best day of my life!" Some might say easily entertained, I prefer to say inspired. 

The next Tuesday, I trundled off to the Miele showroom to help out at Miguel's class and prep for Simon Bryant. It turns out that I spent most of the time preparing the ingredients for Simon's dinner session, which included finishing off a confit lamb leg. I have to say, as someone who is not a massive fan of lamb, this one was delish. The whole experience was really good- Simon was very encouraging and patient with our little group, and despite the rain, it was a great day. (And as an added bonus, we got to keep the Miele aprons we were given. Woo! Bonus apron!)

 The crew

Miguel was pretty excited to meet me, obviously. 

The most important lesson I learnt from the Tasting Australia experience was that celebrity chefs have it made! When they rock up to an event, all they have to do is assemble the ingredients that some poor little student has spent hours meticulously preparing for them. New life goal- become so famous that I never have to weigh out various quantities butter again. 

Get pumped for next week- a week in the TAFE restaurant, and a Heston adventure. xx