I had a number of jobs throughout the day and I worked mainly with 2 guys named Justin whose Kiwi, and Nico. They were both crack ups and kept me entertained the whole time. Also met Taylor Lautner’s lookalike who was the grill chef named James. (Below: Justin, Nico, James)
My first job was to slice this sweet vinegary-jelly type creation into about 1cm squares to accompany a pork-belly dish (I’m pretty sure)
The next thing I made was my favourite; the base for the cuttlefish risotto. On the menu: "Risotto ‘Nero’ $23 - Cuttlefish, squid ink, streaky bacon, heirloom tomato, coriander seedlings". Justin had blended chilli, coriander root and garlic to form a paste which I stirred over the heat with some oil and red onion. Next, I added the rice and stirred it for a few minutes to allow it to ‘sweat’ which meant it would become sticky like a risotto. I then ladled boiling water in a few ladles at a time and stirred the risotto until the water was absorbed. This formed the base of the risotto and tomorrow they are going to use a stock (which I saw them make today) to heat it up with and add the cuttlefish and other ingredients.
(Vacuum sealer)
(lamb being un-cured)
My next job which took quite a while was to brunoise a LOT of ginger to be made into candied ginger. Justin taught me how to handle my knife so I gain maximum control which was to hold the blade with my thumb and curled forefinger as well as a slicing technique. I got a lot faster as time went by. Before I left they had already begun prepping the candied ginger by firstly softening it in water on the stovetop and then refreshing it in ice. They then put it back on the stove in water and sugar and left it there for a while but I’d gone home before they finished it.
The next thing I made was my favourite; the base for the cuttlefish risotto. On the menu: "Risotto ‘Nero’ $23 - Cuttlefish, squid ink, streaky bacon, heirloom tomato, coriander seedlings". Justin had blended chilli, coriander root and garlic to form a paste which I stirred over the heat with some oil and red onion. Next, I added the rice and stirred it for a few minutes to allow it to ‘sweat’ which meant it would become sticky like a risotto. I then ladled boiling water in a few ladles at a time and stirred the risotto until the water was absorbed. This formed the base of the risotto and tomorrow they are going to use a stock (which I saw them make today) to heat it up with and add the cuttlefish and other ingredients.My last job before lunch was to segment some mandarins and Justin gave me a quick demo. He also made me try some smoked eel. It was actually really nice surprisingly!
I then had a break for lunch at around 3pm and Justin cooked me up some of this black sausage with artichoke custard as well as a delicious side salad and some fries. It was AMAZING yum yum!
After lunch, I helped to shred lamb for the rest of the day which Justin had told me that he saved. They had previously cured the lamb for too long which meant it had become too salty to use. So to save it, they put all of the lamb into a big stockpot and covered it in water, potatoes and herbs and allowed it to sit on the stove for a good few hours. After, I had to tong out the lamb and allow it to cool before shredding it (before lunch). They got me to try some and it was the most delicious lamb I had ever tasted – it was literally falling off the bone. What they will now do to the shredded lamb is firstly vacuum seal it and then it will be pressed into a flat tin so that when it is cut it can be served as a small square as an entree. On the menu this is: “Braised lamb breast $26 - Goat’s milk vacherin, torched cucumber, olives, peas, roasted potato consommé” I’m pretty sure. Below is the machine for vacuum sealing.
(Vacuum sealer)
(lamb being un-cured)Overall I had a really great day and I enjoyed basically all of my tasks although the ginger and the lamb became repetitive after a while but that was okay :) i really liked cooking the risotto! It was such a good experience to be apart of such a fun team that worked really well together. Can't wait for the busy day tomorrow :)
