Tenth Week At Pathways

October 23, 2013 -
One of the most exciting events I encountered this week was being able to watch Chef Luis create a recipe. He made Shrimp Salmon Chowder and my assignment was to write a recipe based on what I observed. Throughout the process, I took notes on how he made the chowder. It was a challenge, but I managed to get it finished on time. The recipe serves about 100+.

Instead of working in the Next Key kitchen, I got to start working in the New Beginnings kitchen and learned what the duties were in there. I learned how to make the lunch box requests for those who requested a box lunch and also to prepare the salads for the lunch at New Beginnings Center. After I made the lunch boxes, I also helped serve lunch from 12:30 - 1:00. Usually lunch starts at noon and lasts an hour. For that week I was a server, but took turns with one of my classmates.

On Thursday, there was an event at the Health & Wellness Center in San Rafael and I was a caterer during that time. I helped serve platters of food like crab cakes with orange chipotle sauce, BBQ pulled pork sliders and more. Every time there's a chance to work, I usually always take it because I gain more experience and I have the opportunity to overcome the shyness that I get when I'm around a lot of people.

The next day, it was my first time grilling pork loin on a grill. There were about 35 - 40 for each batch. There were 3 rows of 13 and the first row held the ones that were cooked the longest; it's a sequential order. After grilling the pork loin, I learned how to make crème brulee and use the fire torch. The fire torch is to make the sugar melt into caramel and it's similar to flan, but very different methods and different ingredients are used in the dessert. This week was great! I always learn new things everyday and I use it when the right time comes around.