Meat Fabrication

Ah, it's almost over. Time flies! Tomorrow is my last day in the meat fabrication kitchen at NECI. I've learned a lot, and have forgotten a lot that I was supposed to have learned during lecture. My brain doesn't absorb information like it used to. (insert old age jokes here)

When I have a few minutes this weekend, I'll write down some useful tidbits of information to share with you on this blog. Something less obvious than, "you need a sharp knife." :-)

Certified

Yep. You all knew I was certifiable, but now it's official. ;-) I took a ServSafe exam on November 29th. It's a national certification for food handlers to show that you know proper sanitation practices, safe food handling, etc. I passed! Yay!

'Tis The Season

Wishing you and yours a very merry Christmas!

A little break

I had a 3 day break as a new class is coming in and I'll be starting my second quarter here today, Wednesday. Yesterday, I had to attend a training session for residential advisors (RA). I'm going to be the RA here at my dorm. That mostly means I unlock doors when someone locks themselves, but I also represent NECI and make sure that their rules are enforced and that the apartment remains a safe and quiet place for students to live and study.

Today I'm starting Meat Fabrication class. YES!

PM Cafeteria

This was probably my favorite class. We returned to the cafeteria at Vermont College to prepare dinner. There is a new Chef instructor there who is fantastic. Each night, she told us what the protein was and either the theme or the main dish that would be made from it, then asked us what we wanted to do for the rest of the meal (starch, veg, vegetarian option, bread, special salad, special desert, etc.) Having the opportunity to participate in the menu was so inspiring to all of us. The last night of class, it was up to us to decide the entire menu. :-)

Inventory Management

I spent two weeks at NECI's Central Purchasing location to learn about ordering, receiving, and inventory management. This is an important part of running a food business because you don't want to order so much that you have stuff sitting on shelves...it costs money to store things.

We also learned about sustainable agriculture and did a report on a local producer. I visited Doe's Leap, a local farm that makes yummy organic goat milk cheeses. They also raise organic pork, chicken, and cows. It is a small company now with about 25 goats run by a very nice young couple. They were kind enough to take time out of their Saturday afternoon to show me around the farm and take me through their cheese house. I purchased some of their cheeses at the local coop and had a tasting along with my presentation.