1. Technical Secret Skills of a Chef
2. Chef's Cooking Lesson Party ( head down the page)
3. About Chef Bari ( head further down the page)
Technical Secret Skills of a Chef
Each profession provides Technical Skilled Experiences within their field of expertise. But actually knowing how to do this skill is another thing altogether.
How are you going to know how the trade skill or secret without being shown in the first place.
For example how do you expect to know how to prepare Dover Sole, clean Squid or how to cook Octopus, unless you were trained?
Throughout a Chef's Career, they are constantly learning new skills handed down by long years of training under an experience Executive Chef.
Each Chef will have their own unique skilled craft, from ice sculpturing, performing in
world culinary art shows or just simply come from a part of the world that has that speciality cooking
skill.
Depending on their career, some Chef's will become artistic bakers perfecting their refined art or
perfecting that chocolate souffle and some will become powerhouse chefs like Gordon Ramsey.
Other's will publish their own cookbook, like Canadian Recipes of the Great White North.
While other Chefs will go onto showcasing their skills on TV, like Canadian showcase celebrity chefs Chef Michael Smith and a friend who use to work with me Chef Corbin.
But most Chefs aren't recognized socially. There are a lot of great Chefs out there. Take time to Support Your Chef and Restaurant.
With all the skills and experience a chef may have, respectable chefs are those that never forget their
roots. No matter where they proceed on the ladder of success they will always acknowledge their
counterpart chefs that they met when they were just "greenhorns". Trust me when I say " You never forget your Chef Colleagues" and always treat them as a close friend. The hospitality industry is a very close net of workers. Somewhere someway you bump into them during your culinary careers over and over again.
Can Inside Secrets be shown on YouTube?
Sure.
But it looks easier than mastering the skill itself. Before I took front stage in a world culinary salon in Edmonton, I trained for three years as an apprentice. At Culinary Salons preparing your plate presentation is not the same type of cooking process as you would for a gourmet meal.
Along the way you master valuable secrets that can't be taught in school.
Although learning a trade secret is harder to obtain, due to the fact that some arrogant chefs will not share their skills and take it to their grave (sort of speak). You must first retain TRUST with the Chef who takes you under their wing, and then just maybe, he or she will share their trade secret.
And after that - Practice makes Prefect.
Chef's Trade Skills:
Every profession has some sort of trade skill that can only be known if you were trained or shown.
Some examples of chef's trade skills,secrets or cooking skills are:
Preparing techniques for fish:
- Deboning and filleting fish, like salmon
- Skining and deboning Dover Sole
- Preparing Chaud froid with a milky smooth texture
- Plate Presentation
- Using special template forms to make irregular shapes, like triangles or half moons
- Marking food items with special tools for presentation
- Making stars formations with root vegetables
- Deboning quail, turkey or chicken
- Preparing Chicken Gallontine
- Dressing a Salmon
- Making a gallontine or pate'
- Cutting techniques for exotic fruits
- Preparing Souffle
- Making a eight layer cake without it falling over
- Knowing the temperament of chocolate
- Preparing exotic shapes with swirls
- Understanding and knowing the technique of cooking sugar for example: caramel
- Potatoes - Chateau/ Parisenne / Duchess / Scallop / blanching
Five Base Mother Sauces:
Sauces are made by five base sauces called Mother Sauces. From these Mother Sauces you can make what is called Derivative Sauces meaning second sauce.
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| Caesar Salad |
The Five Base Mother Sauces are:
- Bechamel - milk based sauce
- Espanole - brown sauce & Demi sauce (refined rich brown sauce that has been reduced by half)
- Veloute - white sauce made with chicken, fish or veal stock
- Tomato - of course tomato base sauce
- Emulsified Egg - based egg sauce to produce hollandaise, mayonnaise and Bearnaise.
With this base sauce add certain ingredients to make:
- Mornay Sauce - is with base bechamel sauce and shredded Gruyere & fresh Parmesan cheese
Espanole Sauce (Brown Sauce):
With this base brown sauce you add certain ingredients to make:
- Bordelaise - which is an reduction of red wine and marrow.
- Peppercorn - brown sauce with shallots and minced green peppercorns
- Famous Robert Sauce - Dijon mustard, white wine, shallots, butter and a touch of cream
- Chasseur Sauce - Sliced mushrooms, shallots, red wine, tomato sauce or concasse', minced fresh garlic and fresh chopped parsley
- Maderia Black Pepper Sauce - fresh ground black pepper, shallots, maderia wine, butter and cream
- Chateaubriand Sauce - Dijon mustard, minced garlic, fresh chopped parsley and cognac
- Perigueux Sauce - maderia wine and chopped truffles
- Lyonnaise Sauce - Saute sweet white onions, butter and a touch of cream
Veloute Sauce:
There are three kinds of Veloute Sauces - Fish Veloute, Chicken Veloute and Veal Veloute - with this base sauce add certain ingredients to make:
- Cream of Mushroom Sauce (chicken or Veal veloute') - fresh sliced mushrooms,shallots,white wine and a touch of cream (33% whole whipping cream)
- Cream of Curry Sauce (chicken or veal veloute') - with fresh curry spices and white wine
- Supreme Sauce ( only with chicken veloute') and rich 33% whipping cream
- Hongroise Sauce - Spanish paprika spice, white wine, shallots and minced garlic
Tomato Sauce:
With this base sauce add certain ingredients to make:
- Bolganaise Sauce - half ground beef & pork meat,minced garlic, finely chopped sweet white onions, red wine
- Diablo Sauce -hint of whole chili pepper, minced jalapeno pepper, red peppers and red wine.
- Cacciatore - tomato base dish with chicken
- Hollandaise Sauce (Canadian Recipes of the Great White North)
- Bearnaise Sauce - add reduction of Tarragon with red wine
- Charon sauce - add tomato sauce to your Bearnaise sauce
- Mayonnaise - add a touch of Dijon mustard, salt, peppers and select spices
- Aioli sauce - also known as garlic cream sauce
- Maltaise sauce - add blood oranges to hollandaise
- Mousseline - add rich 33% whipping cream to hollandaise
- Remoulade sauce or Tartar sauce - even though it is made with chopped gherkins pickles, additions of this sauce can be horseradish, anchovies and capers.
- Caper Sauce - capers, minced fresh garlic
The list of sauces can go on with the modern poutine sauce or the Italian sauces - Neapolitan and
Pizzaiola from Naples, Amatriciana and arrabbiata from Rome, ragù and bolognese sauce from Bologna and of course the famous Pesto sauce made with roasted pine nuts, fresh basil within a rich olive oil.
As you can see from the above there are several skills to learn in the cooking industry. This is just the tip of the iceberg of cooking technical skills.
What is the Secret to Learning Technical Skills from a Chef?
1. Keep in touch with a Chef's website or more often his/hers Facebook Page
2. Ask a Chef questions on how to prepare a particular step, but don't ask him/her to resight the whole dish.
3. If you're looking for Step by Step procedures - head over to Youtube or Vimeo, but if you want a close understanding relationship with a Chef, take the time to follow his Facebook Page - Support him or her.
4. Support a Chef by actually buying his cookbook.
We all realize there are a couple of million cookbooks out there but taking the time to support a Chef that you don't normally see on TV is really making a personal choice. And by all means tell your family and friends. Each cookbook made takes a Chef a couple of years to produce because he doesn't have the luxury of ghostwriters or happen to be on Master Chef with host Chef Ramsey The time and effort in making a Personal Chef's Cookbook is an accomplishment for any Chef on his/her own time.
Please take the time to Support your local Chef. Trust me when I say - Each Local Chef is a hard worker and very committed to their Culinary Skills.
Bottom Line : Love to Cook or Get Out of the Kitchen.
5. Secret Step: If you're looking for a particular step and would like to see it on Youtube -Just ask. It may take a few days, but each Chef would be happy to show you that particular skill. If you want a more personal approach - Ask your local Chef to teach you. Of course there's a fee for a Chef to come to your home to give a Lesson. Make it interesting by calling up your friends to make it a : Chef's Cooking Lesson Party.
Chef's Cooking Lesson Party
Here are the nuts and bolts of a Chef's Cooking Lesson Party. A Chef's Cooking Lesson Party is NOT the same as asking a Chef to prepare a banquet or a five course fine dining meal for your guests.
A Chef's Cooking Lesson Party is another cheaper way of preparing a gourmet meal for your guests by your friends pitching in by making a part of the meal by the overall Lesson. With the Chef's guidance you and your friends prepare the meals for your invited guests that evening. That doesn't mean the Chef just stands there giving instructions. The Chef is preparing as well.
Here's a quick Guideline Example:
You invite 10 guests for Dinner that Evening. Have 4 friends to join in on the Chef's Cooking Lesson Party. That means each of your friends will prepare each stage of the meal with your own Personal Chef. You and your friends get bragging rights to the Gourmet Meal that Evening with your partners and/or friends.
1.The cost of bringing a Chef into your home is usually Cost Per Person ranging around $75 - $150 depending on the distance.
2. To make it worth while for your local Chef, The Cooking Lesson Party should include at least 4 people.
3. Making it worth a Chef's time for house calls, should be around $300 - $500. This does not include purchasing of the food. Remember that is divided up into 4 or 5 people.
4. If you have eight to ten friends you can arrange a fun Dinner Party for all and your own Personal Chef helping your guests prepare a great meal for you and your partners.
5. Arrange for the Chef to be in your home for most of the day. Approximately 4- 6 hours, depending on the Lesson and/or Party arranged. Usually it's good to start the day just after noon hour. This way it gives the Chef time to Set-Up, Prepare and Give the Lessons in good time and a grand Gourmet Dinner for your invited guests.
6. After the Main Course of the Gourmet Meal is served, send your Chef home. If he/she did an excellent job and you found entertaining? Don't forget to thank them and even maybe add a "tip" (gratuity).
7. If you are expecting 10 guests for Dinner - have at least 4 friends to come-in on the Chef's Cooking Lesson Party before hand. And most importantly, don't expect your 4 friends to look after 20 guests.
Use this guideline :
4 Friends at Chef's Cooking Lesson Party = 10 Friends invited to the Evening Dinner Party
6 Friends at Chef's Cooking Lesson Party = 12 Friends invited to the Evening Dinner Party
Why Should I do this When I can just invite my friends to your fave Restaurant?
In One Word : Privacy. You get to serve in the privacy of your home. Don't have to worry about strangers looking in.
It's a personal choice to make. Some can't be bothered by doing the event at home.
But then you won't be entertained by your very own Personal Chef either. Or will you have the fun opportunity to Learn Culinary Skills with your close friends.
A Chef's Lesson Cooking or Dinner Party is all about having fun.
Real Costs of An Event:
Wealthy clients will have their favorite Events Planner and/or Chef Catering Company come in and do the whole Dinner function for them at a very expensive cost. On average it now costs around $125 - $350 per person for these kind of events. Sometimes the Client will host a Charity Event where their invited guests either are charged $250 per ticket ( per plate) or a nominal fee with a Silent Auction where a particular guest can buy into an Auction for as much as $3000. I've seen some events cost the client up to $10,000 for a very elaborate wedding. It all depends what you're looking for and what can you afford.
Make it a Fun Event by having your very own Personal Chef give a Cooking Lesson Party at a fraction of the cost.
Canadian Recipes of the Great White North
Chef Bari has worked across British Columbia and Alberta with finer hotels and restaurants. He resides in Edmonton. Check out his Facebook Page : Canadian Recipes of the Great White North
Join Canadian Recipes of the Great White North on Facebook
About Chef Bari :
In Edmonton Chef Bari has worked at the "Top of The Inn", Edmonton Petroleum Club, Northlands with Chef Mark Hughes,Fantasyland Hotel, Derrick's Golf and Country Club under Chef Marcel Paron and has helped in functions at Hotel McDonald. He also worked as Executive Chef with Kelowna Springs in the Okanagan Valley. He has also participated at the Banff Springs Hotel in Banff Alberta.
Chef Bari has worked in the hospitality industry for over 25 years. He has cooked for numerous celebrities (Brook Shields, Kenny Rogers) and sports stars, such as Wayne Gretzky and The L.A. Kings. His fave Sports Star was Ronny Lancaster during his stay in Edmonton as the Coach for the Edmonton Eskimos.
Many years with the CCFCC - with Edmonton and Kelowna Branch of The Canadian Culinary Federation. Served on board as Membership Director for a two year term and has received culinary medallions for his Culinary achievements during Salons.
Chef Bari and Chef Corbin both worked together and friends at The Edmonton Petroleum Club. You can watch Corbin hosting his own TV Show with Foodtv network
Chef Bari has also been host Chef for TV programs such as CFRN Afternoon Show now known as CTV Edmonton and City TV during the early years on the south side of Edmonton (Before it became City TV).
Please support Chef Bari by buying his cookbook : Canadian Recipes of the Great White North and become a fan on his Facebook Page : Canadian Recipes of the Great White North Fan Page
Did you work along side Chef Bari?
If so - Shout it Out. I love to hear from my Culinary colleagues including all the fun Professional Serving Staff. Shout it out here or make your way to my Facebook Page - Say Hi! And of course become a fan of his Facebook Page.
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