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Also this issue: It's Only Money |
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July 5-11, 2002
food
“We need 25 rabbits and 50 consommé,” bellows Restaurant School chef Gerald Scanlon, sounding more like a football coach than the leader of young apprentice chefs. “And haircuts, next week,” he orders. After Saturday morning’s practice, there would be only five more rehearsals before showtime.
On July 19, two culinary teams -- the apprentice team and the youth team -- from the Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College will compete against four other regional teams at the American Culinary Federation's one-week national convention in Las Vegas. The team that wins will join the National Youth Team, which will be among those representing the United States at the International Culinary Olympics in Germany in 2004.
Past teams from the Restaurant School have proven themselves in competition. Over the past five years, they've won the Pennsylvania state championship and the Northeast regionals, and they've collected eight gold medals, four silvers and one bronze.
In Vegas, judges will critique contestants based on the fundamentals of cooking apprenticeship; "knife skills" and "hot food" are the two phases of competition. In the first, students must slice 10 classic cuts of meat to specific weights. In phase two, contestants will prepare a four-course meal for four people on four burners in 75 minutes.
The students are planning to serve pan-seared scallops with bouillabaisse emulsion; double mushroom consommé infused with lemon grass and ginger; roasted rabbit consommé; smoked duck and apple salad with baby greens; a succulent saddle of rabbit stuffed with roasted peppers, spinach and sausage; and adobo-dusted rack of lamb. To finish off, the teams will present a sampler-style platter of desserts, including a lemon Bavarian with Chambord-marinated raspberries, and a dollop of crème fraîche dipping sauce for a chocolate beignet.
Besides working regular shifts at restaurants, hotels or country clubs in the Philadelphia area, these students have put in an extra 12 to 20 hours per week for practice since last October.
Youth team captain Scott Joe Campbell, who didn't sleep a wink before last Saturday morning's practice, says the teams wouldn't be as strong without their leader, chef Scanlon, who in March was named as chef of the year by the Delaware Valley Chefs Association. "He looks out for us," Campbell says.
But he's also demanding.
"He has very nice tonsils," adds Chad Durkin, rolling his eyes and pointing to his ear. "But we have a good sense of humor."
The Restaurant School’s teams will present a dinner fundraiser, July 11, $75, at the Restaurant School, 4207 Walnut St. For tickets call 215-222-4200, ext. 3012. Got a tip for Off the Menu? Contact Frank Lewis at 215-735-8444 x 204 or flewis@citypaper.net.
