Westminster Kingsway College – Cookery School (Days Five & Six)
Posted on Wednesday, 25th March 2009
There is an adage that all good things must come to an end. In our case, we will no longer be allowed to take the food that we cook home from cookery school. Truth be told, Westminster Kingsway College has always had a rule of forbidding students from taking the food, and this was communicated to us on day one. So the fact that we have been taking home our food ever since the course started was because our lovable teddy bear of a teacher (Chef), in his usual generous spirit, turned a blind eye.
But someone (not from my class) snitched, and the powers that be came down on Chef. Therefore doggy bags are to be no more. The food is to be sent to the cafeteria for sale so that the college can recoup some of their costs. This is understandable given how little our cooking course costs in comparison to the courses at other notable cookery schools such as Leiths School of Food and Wine and Le Cordon Bleu London. But you could imagine the collective chorus of groans that echoed across the room when we were told; and the disappointment that formed on our faces when at the end of the day, after plating and tasting the output of our work, we then had to relinquish ownership of the dishes: plaice florentine, grilled sardines with herb butter and deep fried sprats (a small oily fish) with paprika and cayenne pepper.
Plaice florentine
I know I was a little naughty and that I missed blogging about last week’s class. Somehow, time just passed me by. We also covered fish last week: salmon fish cakes, supreme of pollock with a herb crust, pan fried mackerel fillets and a supreme of salmon with a herb beurre blanc. I am glad to say that my filleting skills have definitely improved, but next week we will move onto meat; and I am also glad to say that I won’t be missing that fishy smell that just stays on my hands for hours after the class is over.
Westminster Kingsway College:
Web: http://www.westking.ac.uk
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March 26th, 2009 at 2:16 am
What a shame not to be able to take the things you made home anymore ! It is hard after you’ve put so much time and effort into it, to have your creations eaten by someone else. However, I’m sure the recipeients are quite happy with it and comment on the skill it took to proudice it 🙂
I cut a fresh lemon in half and rub my hands thoroughly in the wet pulp of each half for a good 60 seconds altogether. That usually gets rid of any lingering fish odor.
March 26th, 2009 at 7:22 am
Be extra naughty and just nick some 🙂
March 26th, 2009 at 11:18 am
That is a crying shame! I would be VERY annoyed with the snitch.
March 26th, 2009 at 8:35 pm
That’s such a shame, I would be very tempted to try and sneak some out with me!
March 28th, 2009 at 7:09 am
I guess plaice florentine isn’t easy to stuff in a purse or pocket, but hey, it may be worth a try. If you get caught, just give a look of total shock and disbelief, then point at someone else and accuse them of planting it there. In any case, it sounds like your class made those students well fed and happy. And yeah, what’s up with the snitching?
March 29th, 2009 at 4:02 pm
I’m concidering thames vallery or kingsway this sept for the culinary arts degree, thanks for the heads up on the classes there ‘chef’ sounds fun lol I hardly brought any food home from my last stint at culinary school as I ate it all, I was forever being told of for eating… lol
March 29th, 2009 at 4:26 pm
Hi Fairy Alchemist, Yes I think I have to try and eat as much as I can now, at school! It was good being able to bring food home bfore. It made for several good meals.
I wish you luck with your course. Do let me know what you decide. 🙂