Discovered Chef Culinary Competition

Discovered Chef Culinary Competition

Nella Cucina was hosting a Discovered Chef Culinary Competition in Toronto for a chance to compete in the CFRA Show in March, whoever won that wins a trip to Northern Spain and works under a Michelin Star Chef. YAY!

Four chefs competed in black box challenges. These were Dave, Dan, George and I. We had to create each course and the judges decided who was "bladed" as they would say, in other terms it meant eliminated.

Out of all the competitions I've done, I can say this one by far is the hardest one I've done. Out of all the ones I have done. Hands down.

Great experience, would definitely do it again. Competitions like these are the ones that teach you, learn from and expose you as a chef. It really tests your creative mind and pushes you to your limit.

Amazing.. can't wait to see the finals in March 4-6th at the Metro convention centre in Toronto.

-Jessica

La Matin Bakery!

One of my favourite Chocolatiers and professors at the Chocolate Academy is Jean Pierre Challet.

He recently opened up a retail bakery called, "La Matin" which means the morning in French.

I had meaning to go check it out and on my way to another competition I walked passed his bakery and couldn't resist but went in and was greeted with such friendliness and bought a croissant and a complimentary broiche. YUM!

The croissant had an amazing flakiness, soft but suttle crunch to it as you bit into heaven. Now, I try not to eat too many of them because of the loads of fat in it but every now and then you should indulge in one.

In conclusion, croissants are one of the best French pastries I've had..

-Jessica

In progress wedding cake..

This is a seven tiered wedding cake I'm working on and have yet to finish. The stenciling in itself is time consuming but worth it if your patient.

In the result of it, I'm added gumpaste red roses in between each tier, the height will increase by many inches. and thin black ribbon will finish each tier.

Long wire curled up with complete this wedding cake..

More pictures to come...

Jessica

Skills Canada 2011 - Baking

Skills Canada 2011- Baking

This past year I was chosen by the Ministry of Universities and Colleges to compete in the Skills Canada Baking competition.

I accepted immediately. Why wouldn't I? :D

For the competition we had 5 hours to create,

• 10'' mousse cake


• puff pastries


• moulded bonbons


• dipped bonbons


• chocolate box


• pate choux


• pate sucree

I made a passionfruit mousse layered with vanilla sponge topped with fresh fruit and clear glaze finished with chocolate lattice.

Puff pastry napolean with raspberry jam and custard topped with a fresh raspberry. Mango and orange cream bonbon. Toasted pecan truffle, swans and classic lemon tart.

Skills competition is always a lot of pressure when competiting and preparing for it. I've done more than three competitions in the past year and have to say it isn't easy. I look forward in competiting more into the skills canada competitions when heading back to school.

-Jessica

Meeting Mark McEwan

Meeting Mark McEwan...

Though I was a little younger when I met him, meeting celebrity chefs is in a way such a great payoff.. As an apprentice or an aspiring chef you work late most days and long hours. You get home and turn on the tv and watch shows like "hell's kitchen, the heat and ace of cakes" and life is so much better.

You see other chefs that struggled the same way you did and look where they are now, successful.. that's somewhere you eventually want to be.

It's almost breathtaking for me to meet local chefs like these. It gives you that reminded feeling of it will take you somewhere if you work hard and are very passionate about it.

Meeting McEwan, he drew me a picture of his upcoming risotto dish in his restaurant "one". I still to this day cannot understand his chicken scratch but look forward to one day understanding it all..

-Jessica

Meeting Sursur Lee. XD

Meeting Susur Lee....

I met this celebrity chef at a International Food and Wine Show in Toronto in 2010. I couldn't have been more thrilled. Being an aspiring chef, I look up to many chefs especially local ones. When I had the opportunity to meet Susur, I was so weak in the knees I was speechless. Having watched televisions shows of him owning restaurants to teaching upcoming chefs how to marinate rack of lambs, I was hooked.

I got so much great advice from him and will never forget this moment in my career.

YAY!

-Jessica

Six Tiered Wedding Cake

This is a wedding cake I created back in 2010. It's just an updated photo from the photographer. He shot an amazing photo of my masterpiece.

The filling was white chocolate buttercream and a swirl brownie covered in marshmallow fondant and decorated with orange gumpaste flowers.

Duration: 3 weeks

Labour: over 9 hours a day

Payoff: Their happiness..

Looking at this cake, I feel a sense of accomplishment. It feels amazing to make people happy with the talent that you have. It's an undescribable feeling.

-Jessica

Three tier Wedding Cake

This wedding cake was for a client that wanted a plain vanilla sponge with french buttercream. She wanted black flowers and aritificial flowers. This is the end result.

Not too shabby.. she requested silver dividers and red ribbons. After a week of finishing this cake, it looks great!

-Jessica

Plated Desserts...

So here is: Mexican Vanilla Creme Brulee and Bakcd Bananas with white chocolate mascarpone.

Roasted Peking Duck with Black Forbidden Rice

Roasted Peking Duck with Black Forbidden Rice

This is a dish I would eat again. This is from another one of the black box competition practices. I made roasted peking duck with puffed black forbidden rice, sauteed asparagus and finished with orange hoisin glaze.

A tip with duck, rendering the fat is always a result into amazing bites!

-Jessica

Roasted Banana and dark chocolate torte.

Roasted Banana and dark chocolate torte.

When you have left over bananas and you don't want to make banana bread again, roast some bananas and make a torte! Hey! why not?

Sometimes the odd ideas turn into great ones! I know this one sure did.

Take that leap into food..

-Jessica

Sinful Peanut butter Mousse Chocolate Brownies

On a Tuesday, I was feeling a little grumpy.. so when I feel like that, I bake!

Here's what I came up with.

Rich chocolate brownies with hazelnut white chocolate ganache, whipped peanut butter mousse, roasted hazelnut and lovely chocolate decorations. They ended up pretty good I'd say. One of them ended up with a finger down the front of it from who I shall not name, you know who you are! :P

Lesson of the day: When you feel like cake, just BAKE! -incredibly cheesy but it rhymed.

-Jessica

Black Box .. dun dun dun........

In the Culinary world, a "BLACK BOX" is a container or neatly crafted box with mystery ingredients in it. I first discovered this in my first year of college at Conestoga College.

My delightful French Chef gave a black box exam. Immediately I thought it was just a plain old black box that we had to plate our dish in, to my dismay it wasn't. I was quite sadden by this.

I remember it was very normal ingredients.. protein, starch, veg, eggs, some sort of dessert portion of it.

In this black box in the picture, I received sirloin steak, egg roll wrappers, red pepper, tomatoes and purple potatoes.

What I came up with was Grilled sirloin steak, garlic roasted purple potatoes, fire roasted tomatoes, braised leeks finished with a tangy red pepper chutney and accompanied with a wild mushroom and shrimp egg roll. It was very good when we all sat down and tried it.

Confidence is key when competiting in these competitions and skills is also important. However if you don't believe in yourself to cook.. when are you ever going to take that leap?

-Jessica

Hazelnut Dacquoise for Fundraiser

Back when I was working at a local restaurant, I created this cake for a fundraiser to build homes in Thailand.

It was intially a Hazelnut Daquoise, filled with french buttercream and with a chocolate glaze.

Sinfully delicious..

-Jessica

Drunken Amaretto Chocolate Pate

Delicious Amaretto Chocolate Pate with fresh strawberries and chantilly cream.

Finished with a chocolate design and writing.

Great for dinner dates, dessert is always the best thing you want to feast your eyes on after a meal.

Recipe: Dark Chocolate Amaretto Chocolate Pate

2 litres of whipping cream 35%

3 cups of barry callebaut dark chocolate (natural vanilla)

4 shots of amaretto (sh.. one is for your effort! :D

Bring cream to a slight simmer almost to a boil, add to chocolate. Let stand for 1-2 minutes and whisk together until smooth. Add the 3 shots of Amaretto and one for yourself. Pour into desired mould and cover with plastic. Set in fridge for 1-2 hours and quenelle when ready!

-Absolutely Delicious!!

-Jessica

More Chocolate Competition Photos!

On the left: Completed showpiece done in a few hours. Not too bad if I say so.. :D

On the right:

Hazlenut Nougatine with rich chocolate brownie and toasted coconut ice cream finished with a chocolate rope and toasted almond truffle with a whole hazelnut.

Finishing the pieces and glueing the final parts together.

Assistant that Humber generously gave me. Thank You!! =D

-Jessica

The 2nd annual Barry Callebaut competition At Humber College, April 2011. Constructing a Chocolate showpiece from scratch because my previous showpiece broke back in Niagara.

"Think I'm crazy, right?" Perhaps I am, but I somehow enjoy the thrill of these competitions and I know in the end, they will make me stronger and help my career.

I must thank everyone at Barry Callebaut and Cacao Berry, especially Lianne Hubbard, Lotte Andersson and Derrick Tu Tan Pho for the support for the past year's competition and this 2011 chocolate competition. Without their support and encouragement, I wouldn't have been able to pull myself together and go to the competition accomplishing what I did. I am forever grateful.

-Jessica

>>The dish on the right is mine from last year, 2010. Spiced Chocolate Mousse in a cone with caramel praline.. (can't remember exactly)

=D

Carving a white chocolate hand for my showpiece...

I was sorting through my photos and found this photo from April 2010, my first chocolate competition hosted by the Chocolate Academy and Barry Callebaut. Seeing this picture reminded me of the nerves I had and lack of knowledge I had going into this competition. From this past year to the present, I've learned so much from chocolate to cooking again. I've been competiting recently and I felt that passion of culinary spark back up... I know it's for the best.

-Jessica <3