CMU Tech is brimming with new talent in their Culinary Arts and Baking and Pastry programs.
Alex Burrows joined the Culinary Arts program in August after he learned to love cooking from his grandmother in Montrose, Colorado.
“She has me cooking dinner a lot of times, since she gets off work and she’s exhausted,” said Burrows, as he gracefully assembled a Reuben sandwich in the classroom-style kitchen. The room bustled with about 11 other chefs-in-training making their version of the same dish. Individual stations provided space to spread out and learn the basics of culinary arts.
Burrows hopes to open a curry restaurant in his hometown after he graduates from the two-year program. The technical certificate should provide him and his classmates with all the necessary skills to immediately enter the workforce.
In the meantime, he continues to hone his skills as a team member in the Caf on CMU’s main campus and under the tutelage of his grandmother when he visits home. He said he likes to experiment with new recipes and seasoning combinations to make food taste as good as possible.
“I don’t like eating healthy, cause most of the time it doesn’t taste good, but I came up with a recipe to make burgers from scratch that are actually really healthy for you,” said Burrows.
The diagonally cut Reuben was plated with a Waldorf salad and a long pickle spear. The rye bread was crisp from the flat top that he covered in melted butter.
The Maillard effect gave the sauerkraut and corned beef a rich aroma and released the fat and moisture which paired well with the tangy thousand island dressing Burrows slathered across everything.
The origin of this sandwich is debated. Some believe it came from a Lithuanian grocer named Reuben in Omaha, Nebraska around 1920, while others believe Reuben’s Delicatessen in New York City made it first in 1914. Either way, this classic sandwich has been a deli favorite for over a century now.
The accompanying Waldorf salad gave a refreshing break to the deliciously greasy sandwich. Halved grapes, thinly chopped celery, diced apples and sunflower seeds tossed lightly in mayonnaise combined into a sweet and acidic treat. Named for the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City in the late 1800s, this salad has a refined air to it.
With the Waldorf salad, knife skills are on full display since each spoonful needs the right balance of every flavor. A bite from the Reuben coated my mouth in fat and a bite from the salad cut through it all for a well-balanced meal.
In another just-as-busy room down the hall from the Culinary Arts class, the Baking and Pastry class had just finished a module on confectionery. About a dozen students bobbed and weaved around the room–washing dishes, slicing marshmallows, wiping down their stations and students yelling “hey, chef!” created a near-constant hum of activity in the room.
Alyssa Brazell cut and powdered her Turkish Delight gummy candies in preparation for a candy sale at the end of the semester. Jiggly and pink, they were flavored with rosewater and had a bit of crushed pistachio in the bit-size gummies. This type of candy is almost 500 years old and originated from the Ottoman Empire. When the candy reached the British, it was given the name “Turkish Delight” because of its roots in what is now modern day Turkey.
While Brazell stacked her candies, she said that she really likes the Baking and Pastry program but that it could use some improvements.
“The culinary students have such variety in their curriculum and I just feel like we’re pretty limited here,” Brazell said.
She said she floated the idea of changing one of the courses from an advanced wedding cake class to an international baking course to her instructor Chef Steve Gould. This could include more diverse baking options from all over the world instead of focusing on mostly western-culture-style baking.
Gould said he was receptive to her idea and thought it would complement the coursework well, especially because there is such a focus on sweet foods and not enough on savory foods in the baking world. If they adopt this change, it might take some time, and Brazell graduates in May, which means she might miss it.
When Brazell graduates, she plans to move back to Las Vegas where she has a few opportunities lined up already. She wants to focus on baking cookies and quick, sweet breads under a pastry chef at a casino.
“I’m not a fan of making candy,” Brazell said. “I despise sourdough.”
Much to Brazell’s chagrin, the class made hundreds, if not thousands of pieces of candy–gummies, caramels, peanut brittle, marshmallows, peppermint and more.
Gould is trying to put together a candy sale for the holidays in order to raise a little bit of extra money for the program. Variety boxes will be available for sale at the end of the semester. The details haven’t been solidified yet, but they will be around $15-20 and will be available for purchase during finals week.
