The lingua franca of the kitchen

From deglacer to the dish pit, from crowning a tomato to court bouillon, from fariner to forcemeat, the world of culinary arts has its own language. It's a language one must learn quickly, a mix of French terms and long-used English terms that standardize the discussion in the kitchen.

The lingua franca of the kitchen is no more or less arcane than that in many other professions, trades and crafts: It is mostly functional though sometimes awkward, mostly logical though sometimes archaic and mostly takes time to catch onto though not in culinary school.

At the California Culinary Academy, the catching-onto is aided by frequent quizzes in which we students must write definitions of the mostly French terminology and by daily use of the language in class and our cooking exercises.

For example, one does not simply cut a carrot. Rather, one can julienne a carrot; battonet a carrot; large, medium or small dice a carrot; brunoise a carrot; oblique cut a carrot; bias cut a carrot.

As the Chef might put it: "Battonet carrots for sauté to go with the pommes duchesse and the chicken ballotine grandmere and a pan sauce."

That is: Cook carrot sticks by simmering in water and completing in melted butter in a frying pan to go with potato purée piped into elegant shapes and baked golden brown and a roll of boneless chicken stuffed with a mousse of chicken and flavorful additions, seared and roasted, served with a sauce made from the pan drippings and other flavor enhancers.

Getting a handle on the lingua franca of the culinary arts brings an energy and an inviting peek at the broad and deep base of knowledge it takes to work in a restaurant kitchen.

Basic culinary arts skills? We're ready to be tested

Chef Tony Marano's Culinary Foundation I class is ready for the practical exams on the fundamental skills. Wednesday will be knife skills, and Thursday mayonnaise and gazpacho, both to be made without the aid of blender or food processor.

Today was all practice, and everyone was energized and on the right track.

Photo shows the results of the 10 knife cuts I practiced today. Clockwise from upper left: tournée of potato; tomato concasse; minced parsley; minced garlic; chiffonade of spinach; cisseler of onion; brunois of carrot; julienne of carrot; batonnet of potato; small dice of potato. In the center is the curve-bladed paring knife that I use for tournée, at right the regular paring knife. Most of the cuts are done with a 9-inch chef's knife (not shown).

T.G.I.F.? Not this week

"So, are you feeling good about Friday?"

Chef Tony Marano of the California Culinary Academy asked me that as he watched me parboil a tomato for concasse as part of my preparation for his upcoming knife-skills practical exam.

Minutes earlier the man critiqued my tray -- skin in the onion ciseler, unevenly cut potatoes battonet, carrots julienne still cut larger than the specifications (1/8 of an inch gets smaller and smaller as we get older, no?).

After that, how could he ask the question? Here's how: It was meant purely as encouragement from an educator who loves his profession and wants to see his students come to that affection, too. And I do, Chef, I do. I just wish there were one, maybe two extra days in the week for practice before Friday.

(Photo: the soon-to-be victims and the weapons of my kitchen mayhem.)

Pumpkins and apples and squash, oh my!

Autumn is bringing welcome additions to the Fillmore Farmers' Market in San Francisco.

Pumpkins and other winter squash should begin appearing in abundance. Pumpkins, by the way, are for much more than Halloween and jack 'o lanterns. As the season gets going, I plan to use them for soups, side dishes and roasted pepitas. Stay tuned for some recipes.

Several vendors had apples last week, and more are expected as the harvest gets going.

And the squash -- acorn, butternut and other varieties -- ought to start piling up. Squash are great to have around, because they can keep for weeks, if the skin isn't pierced, and they supply delicious and sweet tastes for soups, garnishes and in combination with other ingredients. My acorn squash and quinoa recipe will appear here in the near future.

Meantime, though, at Saturday's market, I will be on the lookout for big white potatoes and carrots. Why? Because my culinary school practical exam on 10 cuts and shapes -- including julienne, tourné, battonet and paysanne -- will be in a week. Practicing -- and the yummy results including cream of carrot soup and, perhaps, potato leek soup -- will be a top priority for the next week.

(Photo credit: ehow.com)

Appreciating the artistry that is classical cooking

A painter takes care of his brushes, a soprano her voice, a photographer his camera.

And, a chef his knife.

Chef Tony Marano revealed, perhaps unwittingly, the artistry in his chosen profession and in himself today in class at the California Culinary Academy. Chef Tony lectured on knife quality, and as he did, he showed that a knife is more than a kitchen tool. He showed it to be an extension of the chef.

Much of his lecture was about what makes a good knife -- type of steel and its hardness, quality of the tang, the balance between blade and handle.

Yet, he returned near lecture's end to the principle use for a good knife: to help in the preparation of good food.

Those who appreciate good paintings don't think much about the brushes, and those listening to a soprano don't much consider what she has done to protect her voice.

Just as we who eat good food well prepared in restaurants don't wonder at the brand of knife the chef used or what the knife's steel hardness was. Yet without the knife, the meal could not have been created as it came to us for our appreciation and nourishment, if it could have been created at all.

The recognition of the knife as an extension of the artistic chef was implicit in Chef Tony's lecture today. And it made the practical lesson that followed -- to julienne and brunoise carrots -- all the more meaningful and important.