Culinary school finals week; let the cramming begin

Week 6 at the California Culinary Academy is the end of the term for students in the culinary arts certificate program. That means final exams.

* Monday will be the written exam in Culinary Foundations I, covering culinary history, kitchen equipment and the kitchen "brigade," sauces and stocks, knife cuts, basic measurements and proportioning recipes, the seven techniques of Les Cuissons Francaise. (We learned a lot of stuff, more than I would have guessed.)

* Tuesday will be a review and study day.

* Wednesday will be the practical exam in Culinary Foundations I for knife skills, demonstrating the 10 basic cuts.

* Thursday will be the written exam in Safety & Sanitation and the practical exam in Culinary Foundations I for sauces and soups. We will be required to make mayonnaise as the sauce and gazpacho as the soup, all in 90 minutes.

* Friday will be the written ServSafe food safety certification exam. Passing the exam means National Restaurant Association certification for five years. Having certification is required by many restaurants for chefs and cooks.

Will "cram" and "practice" today by making cream of mushroom soup, scallops sautéed in butter and oil and a mix of peas, carrots and pearl onions.