Culinary School - Basic - Part I

The first phase of the French Culinary Institute Cuisine track is, or was when I attended, called Basic.

When attending the FCI I lived on 32nd street between 2nd and 3rd avenues. It was a great neighborhood. Full of young professionals and med students who worked at the nearby NYU medical center. Good bars and locals restaurants made up 2nd and 3rd avenues between 28th and 36th, my neighborhood. So, every morning I walked the few blocks up to Park and 33rd to board the 6 (local) train. The ride to my stop in SOHO at Spring St. took about twenty minutes, then three blocks and into school. Sometimes I'd jump on the 4 or 5 train (express) at 33rd and if my timing was perfect I could cross the platform at the 14th street station and get through the closing doors on the 6 local just in time and cut my transit time in half. For non-New Yorkers or anyone who has never lived in the city, that move doesn't mean anything to you. But, it's a skill that pro strap hangers execute every day all over the city. As a matter of fact, last winter when I was in NYC my instincts took over and I used the local and express trains / platform cross maneuver with ease...I still have it.

Basic is a bit nerve racking at first. The goal is to start everyone from the beginning, literally how to turn on stoves and ovens, boil water, etc. Nothing was assumed. Each person in class is paired off with another class mate and the daily routine began. Every morning, we would set our stations and wait for Chef Denis. He would lecture then demonstrate and we would work. This went on all day. Every technique and piece of equipment was explained and demonstrated before we did anything.

A station was a cutting board, knives and small equipment like spoons and peelers etc. We learned real quick the proper way to work is left to right. Raw ingredients on the left-work on the board- finished prep placed in a bowl or other container on the right and scraps placed in a container that was placed directly at 12 o'clock. God help you if you put anything on the prep table. All products pre or post prep had to be kept in some sort of container. To this day I still work like this anytime I cook. From day one cleanliness and organization was stressed beyond belief. The hierarchy of professional kitchens, especially ones run by Europeans is very strict. A cook's reputation is made by working fast, clean and precise. FCI trained us in this philosophy from day one.

A few terms that a beginning cook at FCI quickly learned was "mis en place," "in the weeds" and "shoemaker." Mis en place is translated as "everything in place." Sounds fairly benign but it's not. The meaning con notates having all your prep done in a timely manner (prior to meal service). Cooks over the years have invoked poetic license that would make E. E. Cummings proud with the use of the term mis en place. "Do yo have your place ready" (are your prepped for service?), "F%*&! my mis is blown from last night!" (I used all my prep last night during service, I am so screwed right now), "I'm placed pretty good" (my station is fully prepped and ready for anything), "Your mis is S#&*!" (your station is a mess and your prep is sloppy). Yes there is quite a bit of gutter mouth in the kitchen, but usually in a interesting way. Straight up cursing really isn't a good image for a professional cook and cursing in front of the Chef is considered disrespectful. "In the Weeds" means a cook is totally behind schedule in getting ready for service, as in: "I over cooked all my haricot verts, now I'm in the weeds. Shoemaker: one of my favorites. I first heard this from a second phase Chef- Instructor that cooked at the venerable Russian Tea House during it's heyday in the 1980's. A shoemaker is simply a bad cook. If ever referred to as shoemaker, it would be recommended that a career change was in order, like being a waiter.

"The Life" had begun.