Culinary

France and Their French Culinary Traditions

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France is the home of French cuisine, and they set an amazingly high culinary standard to which all other native cuisines must live up to. The French have been the leaders and are recognized as the innovators in the culinary arts scene since the beginning of time, and most of the famous chefs in history are French. The well known and famous chefs that are not French, nevertheless, are trained in the art of cooking with the classical French style. Some of the finest cuisine in the world comes from France, and created by some of the finest master chefs in the world. The cooking knowledge and skills required to prepare a good culinary meal is something that the French people take excessive pride in when they present meals. Cooking is an essential part of the French culture, and it adds to one’s usefulness and talents if they are capable of preparing a good culinary meal.

France has many culinary regions and each one has a specific characteristic of its own food and area. Generally French food requires the use of many different types of sauces and gravies. The northwestern region of France produce recipes for cuisine that tends to require ingredients like apples, milk, butter and cream, and the meals tend to be extremely rich and sometimes rather heavy. Reminiscent of the German style of food, the southeastern area of France, the French cuisine is heavy in lard and meat products such as sauerkraut and pork sausage.

The more widely accepted type of French food is southern French cuisine and this style of food is generally served in traditional French restaurants. The cooking is a lot lighter in fat and substance in the southeastern area of France. In the southeast area of France, chefs and their culinary creations tend to lean more toward the side of a light olive oil more than any other types of oil, and they rely heavily on herbs and tomatoes, as well as tomato-based products.

Developed in the late 1970s, Cuisine Nouvelle is a more contemporary form of traditional French cuisine. Served in French restaurants today, this style of food is the most common type of French cuisine. General characteristics of the Cuisine Nouvelle style is decorative plate presentations with shorter cooking times, smaller food portions, and more festive. Many French restaurants cuisines can be classified as Cuisine Nouvelle, although, the more traditional French restaurant cuisine would be classified as Cuisine du Terroir rather than the French cooking style Cuisine Nouvelle. With the references to regional differences between the north and south, Cuisine du Terroir is an attempt to return to the more indigenous styles of French cooking, and also different areas such as Catalonia, Loire Valley and Rousillon. Their specific specialty of French cuisine makes these areas of France famous. As time goes on, the differences between white wines from the Loire Valley and wines from another area of France has slowly diminished, and the Cuisine du Terroir approach to French cooking focuses on establishing special characteristics between regions such as this.

In France, the French incorporate wine into nearly every culinary meal, and it is a big part of the French culture. The French drink wine simply as a refreshment or part of the recipe for the culinary meal itself. It is a part of traditional French culture to have at least one glass of wine on a daily basis, even today.

What You Should Know About Culinary Arts Schools

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It takes dedication to become a chef. Many people entertain the idea of becoming a chef and owning their own restaurant but few actually make this dream come true. Even fewer individuals make their restaurant a success. You may know how to chop an onion or saut some vegetables but that isn’t enough. Before you go looking into culinary arts schools, you are going to need a lot more information in order to make such an important decision.

The best culinary school can only teach its culinary students so much. There has to be a will and drive to succeed. Being a chef means checking your ego at the door, at least while you are learning. There is no such thing as a weekend off and the hours can be late. You will have to clean, cook and prepare food long before your first customer sits down to order a meal. You can expect to work holidays and work more than a forty hour week.

Culinary arts schools vary across the country and the world but if you are determined to go ahead and know what is in store for you, then you cannot go wrong with the Le Cordon Bleu Culinary School offered at many campuses across the world. They have what it takes in order to teach you how to become the award winning executive chef that you want to be. The program can be found in many different states and you will not regret gaining admittance.

The programs at Le Cordon Bleu are divided into three different course programs. The Culinary Arts program, Patisserie and Baking, and Hospitality and Restaurant Management. If you can afford the time and money to attend all three programs, then you will be ahead of many culinary students in the industry who elect to just attend one program.

It is a great way to learn all facets of the industry. You will be well rounded in different cooking and baking techniques, as well as learning the skills needed to run your own restaurant.

Culinary arts schools are not cheap nor are they quick. It takes time to become an chef. You will want to choose a program that is accredited and has a high success ratio from former students.

Small factors such as these can make the difference between being a mediocre chef and being someone who commands respect from the culinary community. With hard work and determination you can get your culinary degree and perhaps be the next big television cooking star or be in command of your own five star restaurant. Good luck and try to enjoy what you are cooking!

Enrich your knowledge further about culinary arts schools from Mike Selvon portal. We appreciate your feedback at our cooking school blog where a free gift awaits you.

Chef’s Culinary Garden at Beechwood Inn

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The Chef’s Culinary Garden at Beechwood Inn, Clayton, GA

The Northeast Georgia Mountains are home to some of Georgia’s leading fresh food producers. Vegetables, fruit, flowers, cheese, wine, nuts, grain, poultry, eggs, fish, pork and cattle are all seasonally available throughout the area. An abundance of fresh water, combined with soil rich in nutrients and a temperate climate offer a recipe for great fresh seasonal foods. Rabun County is particularly known for its cabbage crop. Maybe it’s the soil, but the cabbage grown here just tastes better. As spring moves towards summer we can hardly wait for our first ears of Osage Silver Queen Corn.

With all this local abundance we fret each spring as to what things we should plant in our culinary garden next to the Inn. We’ve been to restaurants where just moments before you are seated for dinner you observe the chef clad in her white coat tip toe into the gardens to snip fresh herbs and edible flowers. You just know you are in for a treat. We want to offer the type of experience where the diner sees and tastes things on their plate they know came out of the garden minutes before. The chef’s culinary garden should provide wonderful products but also needs to be close to the kitchen’s back door so it is as handy as walking into the pantry. And we want the garden to enhance and add to the variety, color and unique flavors for our guests’ dining experience.

Through the years we have honed our culinary garden to our style of cooking. Here is what we have planned for this year. We will plant a hedge of Genovese basil, as well as about 8 other varieties and colors. Other necessities include bay, dill, English thyme, tarragon, mints, lavender, oregano, rosemary, sage, parsley, savory and fennel; a rainbow of toy box tomatoes, lemon verbena, bee balm, heirloom tomatoes, edible flowers to bloom in succession. We also have an established asparagus patch, raspberries, blueberries, two varieties of crabapples, wild cherries (for drying), peaches, plums and a forest of Chanterelles. We can also count on Leckie Stack supplying us with some seasonal fruits from the Stack farm including Asian pears, persimmons and grapes. And Jenny Sanders will share with us wild ingredients in season such as ramps, elderflowers and berries, fiddleheads and a variety of mushrooms.

We would plant an acre of basil if we could. To many gardeners, basil is the king of herbs. Basil can play many roles while basking in the sun. Basil is essential in our kitchen, but it is also highly ornamental in our gardens and on our tables. We add branches to bouquets of flowers. Hot summer days become bearable if I can pluck fresh basil and use it in pestos, herbal vinegars, vegetable dishes and, most heavenly of all, nestle the leaves between slices of fresh bread along with a large slice of a ripe heirloom tomato and some creamy homemade mayo. Members of the mint family, basils are native to India, Africa and Asia but have a long, rich history of legend and use worldwide. Basil is best used fresh. Small leafed varieties can be grown in a pot on a sunny windowsill during the winter. To preserve summer’s flavor for winter make plenty of pesto and freeze it. We make sure that each year our garden has several Thai Basil plants. It is characterized by a strong licorice fragrance and flavor. Thai basil has many applications in the Beechwood kitchen due to its flavor appeal. It is the highlight of many Asian cuisines, including Thai, Vietnamese and Indian fare. The inn’s specialty is Thai Basil Rolls with Satay Peanut Sauce.

Another staple that we plant each spring is lemon verbena (Aloysia triphylla). It is native to South America and grows well in North Georgia, but it does not survive our winters outdoors. The Spanish brought it to Europe where it was used in perfume. It has been a favorite for garden rooms in North America since its introduction in the 1800’s. It has a clean, sharp lemon scent that makes it the Queen of lemon-scented herbs. In Gone with the Wind, lemon verbena is mentioned as Scarlet O’Hara’s mother’s favorite plant. One whiff of the smell, and I predict you will not want to live without this luscious smelling herb.

The inn’s specialty is lemon verbena ice cream but we use the leaves in a number of recipes. It makes an excellent tea, especially when blended with mint. It can also be used to brighten the taste of fish, poultry, veggie marinades, stuffing, salad dressing, sorbets, pana cotta, jellies, and vinegar. As the leaves are tough, remove them before serving. Finely crumbled dried leaves can be added to the batters of carrot, banana, or zucchini bread. Try adding some to cooked rice just before serving.

A rainbow of toy box tomatoes is essential to our culinary garden each year. They are cherry and grape tomatoes in a variety of wonderful colors and flavors, some heirloom some hybrid. The most important thing to the chef is the palette of colors and unique flavors they offer. Some are sugary and sweet some are puckeringly tart. But oh are they beautiful in tarts, salads, bruschettas and as garnish. Last year we planted about a dozen varieties and I had to resist eating them while I picked them fresh off the vine. We plant them in giant containers and they surround the Beechwood gardens. We will often see guests plucking a sample as they walk by.

Our heirloom tomatoes are good in almost anything but one of our favorite recipes is Black Krim Tomato Marmalade. Our wild cherries and crabapples are very tart, so they are best used in coulis, jams and remoulades. The blueberries and raspberries will find their way fresh to our breakfast table and also baked into muffins, breads and sinfully wonderful desserts.

The gardens also yield a succession of seasonal edible flowers. Today, many restaurant chefs and innovative home cooks garnish their plates with flower blossoms for a touch of elegance. They can be sprinkled on salads or added to your recipe. The secret to success when using edible flowers is to keep the dish simple. Most edible flowers have a very delicate taste, so when using them as a flavor component do not add them to something that already has strong flavors. Today this nearly lost art is enjoying a revival.

Not all flowers are edible, and the edible varieties should be grown without the use of pesticides or other chemicals. Edible flowers should be carefully identified and in some cases there are only parts of the flower that are edible (in some flowers the anthers should be removed). The Beechwood Chefs will often use a flower as the central part of an appetizer or entre. For instance, we use colorful organic daylilies and fill them with a light stuffing of local goat cheese and fresh herbs.

Writing about our culinary garden and thinking of these recipes makes us long for tomato season once again. Planting our culinary garden each spring renews our spirit and brings us joy. We appreciate the efforts brought to bear by local farmers and ranchers, but most of all we thank God for the variety and abundance of fresh products we bring to our table.

by Chef David Darugh http://www.beechwoodinn.ws

Beechwood Inn is Georgia’s Premier Wine Country Inn

Answering Your Culinary Schools Questions

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There is something relaxing about cooking a favorite meal at home. The delicious aromas while the food is cooking and then there is the final product awaiting your taste buds. Have you ever given any thought to taking your love and passion for food and making it into a career?

Many people are finding rewarding careers in the food industry. Culinary schools are experiencing record enrollment thanks in part to television shows such as ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ and ‘Top Chef’.

Each week participants put their cooking skills to the test and it makes others yearn to be in the kitchen doing the same thing. Even if cooking is not your idea of fun there are other aspects of the food industry that are taught in culinary schools.

You may want to work on the business side. Where ever your passion for food lies, a culinary school can help you find the skills you need. In this article we will cover the basics of culinary schools and what you can expect from this fiery career choice.

What do culinary schools teach?

Culinary schools begin with the basics of the kitchen. One of the first lessons you will learn is about kitchen safety such as handling knives and what to do in an emergency such as a fire. You will learn basic food preparation guidelines such as what temperature is acceptable on meats.

You will learn basic accounting, computer skills, inventory management and even some psychology. Culinary schools want you to have a diverse background because the workplace is so diverse. The most important lesson you learn is how to work together as a team. One person cannot run a restaurant or kitchen alone so teamwork is absolutely essential.

Are culinary schools all about learning how to cook?

You may be surprised to learn that culinary schools do teach more than kitchen skills such as knife handling and how to make a souffle. They also teach students how to deal with the public, how to handle finances and how to manage inventory.

There is also instruction on how to communicate effectively as well as manage employees. Culinary schools want to give you a broad background on the food industry. The more information you have the better prepared you will be when you graduate.

Do certain schools specialize in different areas of the culinary world?

There are schools that do specialize in certain cuisines but you would typically find these specialized schools overseas. The culinary schools in the United States tend to teach a broad spectrum since culinary palates are so diverse here. Should you wish to study French cuisine exclusively it would be best to attend a school in France where you can learn from the masters of the trade.

What are some of the jobs that I can expect to work in after I graduate from a culinary school?

There are a wide variety of jobs that can open up for you once you have graduated from a culinary school. You can be a line chef, an assistant baker, a restaurant manager and even be a pantry cook. Do not expect to get out of school and immediately become a master chef.

It takes years of hard work in order to obtain the level of experience that you need in order to say you are a master chef. You may study for ten years under another chef before you go out on your own. Eventually you will gain the knowledge and skills you need in order to be considered a master chef. The trick is patience and practice.

Enrich your knowledge further about culinary schools from Mike Selvon portal. We appreciate your feedback at our cooking school blog where a free gift awaits you.

History of Buffets, Infusions Restaurant and The Okanagan College Culinary Arts Buffets

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It was the 18th century, and in France the modern day buffet was developed which soon spread across Europe. Serving a meal to oneself has a long and interesting history, but the original term buffet referred to the sideboard where all the various types of food was served, although, eventually this style of eating was converted to modern day buffets.

The second half of the 19th century, especially in the English speaking world, buffets became extremely popular for meals. Lunch, or an informal luncheon which was originally a very light meal that was consumed between breakfast and dinner, and often replacing dinners. Buffets came in two styles of a meal, and started at the fashionable hour of “One O’Clock”. The “buffet” luncheon, and at which time the dining guests would stand while they eat their meal, or the luncheon served at small tables where the dining guests would be seated.

All buffet food must be eaten with a fork or a spoon, and the knife was strictly forbidden at these “buffet” lunches. The essentials of a -buffet- luncheon are covered by these following dishes. All types of beverages including coffee, tea, punch or chocolate which was poured from urns, or brought from a pantry on trays in filled cups. Hot entres of various types which was served on a platter or from a chafing dish, and preceded by hot bouillon. Cold entres such as salads, lobster, salmon, shrimp, crab, potatoes, chicken, and served with heavy dressings. Hot rolls, and sandwiches that were wafer-cut in size such as tomato and lettuce, ham, and many others. Plus desserts such as small cakes and pastries.

Buffets are very popular with people today, because, it offers plenty of food variety at a reasonable price. People with large appetites can feed themselves without waiting for their food to be served. Especially families with children, this is often a very important point when dining out. Buffets are definitely a nice dining alternative to conventional restaurants, because people can get the foods they want in the quantities they like. People can create their own dishes with more meat, less vegetables and fewer side dishes, plus creating salads with appealing ingredients that they enjoy. Buffets offer people the opportunity to try new types of food that they would not order off a menu in a restaurant.

Infusions Restaurant at the Okanagan College hosts several buffets every year, and the last “buffet” was held a week after their Okanagan Wine Festival Gourmet Dinner which attracted a sellout crowd of over 80 dining guests. Guests were treated to a “Five Course” gourmet dinner with special Okanagan Valley wines to accompany each course.

The Okanagan College Culinary Arts Buffet was prepared with the special talents of the new, up and coming future chefs of your favorite restaurants, cruise ships, hotels, ski and golf resorts, all directed and instructed by World Class Chefs. The buffet included fresh meats, poultry, seafood of all types, and of course Okanagan Valley fresh vegetables and fruits.

Infusions and the Okanagan College Culinary Arts Bakery had a spectacular dessert buffet for this special night with freshly made gourmet desserts, and with a delicious assortment of as many freshly made Pastries, Cakes, and Chocolate Confections as a person could possibly eat after the meal.

The Culinary Arts buffet offered a HUGH selection of seafood and seafood platters that were served at the buffet from Sushi Rolls, Dim Sum, Salmon, Coulibiac of Halibut to Shark and Lobster. Dishes containing Gratin of Potatoes & Yams, many types of Pasta with Grilled and Glazed Vegetables, and of course the Roast Beef and Beef Tenderloin, and ALL for $15.00!

For tourists, visitors or people in the Kelowna area and the Okanagan Valley who missed this “Spectacular Feast”, there will be another buffet held in early December at Okanagan College’s Infusions Restaurant.

Infusions Restaurant is run by future culinary chefs in the Culinary Arts program at Okanagan College with instruction from World Class Chefs, and the restaurant offers their dining guests a chance to experience fine gourmet dining at very reasonable prices. James Murray is a successful writer and online Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) expert providing valuable tips and advice for those interested in seo and sem strategies. His numerous articles found on the Internet, provide useful and factual seo and sem information and insight. Some of his websites are : http://www.seo-worldwide.net , http://www.atclickbank.com , http://www.website-submissions-worldwide.com