Boston Day 3

Today was both a rewarding and trying day. The Culinary Team has been operating the past few days with little sleep, and with high tension and anxiety. At the same time, undoubtably the competition has been the fulfilment of literally 6 months of preparation and practice.

The day began at 7am with the Skills portion of the competition. Each team has 80 minutes to complete four skills (de-boning a chicken, fabricating a fish, classical vegetable cuts, and pastry). The four team members draw to see which skill they will randomly select. Joe White drew the first spot, and de-boned the chicken. Ted Hastings followed and cleaned the Dover Sole fish. While the first two spots are usually the fastest parts, they demand much attention from the judges, and both guys were very precise.

Perhaps, one of the longest and most exact parts is the vegetable cuts section, and Amanda Emerson pulled this lot. Amanda julienned butternut squash, diced onion, concassed two tomatoes (blanched, peeled, small diced the petals, and coarsely chopped the center), and tourned eight potatoes. Kellie Smith anchored the team with Pastry Skill (roll pastry for blind-bake, peel and segment an orange, and prepare a quart of pastry cream). Sarabeth Cox kept the group organized and managed from the floor as our alternate. The ladies each turned in some of the their best performances.

The Culinary Team competed against seven other schools from the entire Northeast Region which included: New England Culinary (Vermont), Conneticut, New Jersey, Johnson & Wales (Rhode Island), Hocking Community College (Ohio), Pennsylvania Culinary Inst., and New York. For the final leg theTeam competed in the Four Course Hot Food Competition.
Each team had 75 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to plate a four course meal for four. The dishes included: the classical course- Paupiettes de Sole a la Trouvillaise (stuffed, poached Dover sole, shrimp, mussels, and Sauce aux Crevettes (shrimp sauce)); Fried Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese Salad with toasted pumpkin seeds and autumn-apple vinaigrette; Boneless Saddle of Rabbit in Caul with Vegetable Ribbons, whipped Celeriac and Potato Puree, and Truffle Sauce; Nutty Buckwheat Cake with White Chocolate- Mascarpone Mousse, cherry ice cream, Cherry sauce and Honey Tuile.

The team was well poised and performed at a very high level. The judges, led by culinary legends Roland Shaffer, Certified Master Chef (CMC) and Gunther Heiland, Certified Master Pastry Chef (CMPC), and joined by Tom Recinella, Certified Executive Chef (CEC) and former National Champion Student Team Coach, gave a fair critique. Their remarks touched on a number of positive features of the Team’s food, but also exposed some areas for improvement. Pierpont was certainly among the top tier of competitors, but the official results won’t be revealed until the Vice President’s Grand Gala Monday night. Keep your finger’s crossed…

Boston Day 2

Saturday began very early. The Culinary Team began work on their cold platter around 5:30am, and the Knowledge Bowl Team got together around 7am to prepare for the day's competition.

Fortunately, both of the teams' efforts paid off. The Knowledge Bowl Team finished third in ACF Northeast Region. Baltimore International Culinary won first place and Pennsylvania Culinary Institute finished second. Our team lost their first match of the day, but rallied to carry themselves to the semifinals of the Jeapordy-style event. Ultimately, just a few questions and points separated the team from the finals, but it was a very impressive effort on Pierpont's part.
While the brain team was competing, the Culinary Team was busy slicing, glazing, cleaning, and organizing for the cold platter competition. Platters are to be presented as cold food served cold. This is the food that literally looks too good to eat. Pierpont spent extra time insuring that their product was as clean and perfect as possible. This extra effort pushed the limits of time, but paid off with the judges. Two Master Chefs and one CEC judged the competition, and they could not have been more complimentary of the our team.

Even though the food for the platters are for display only and not eaten, the judge's first comment to the team was, "I just want to pick up the food and eat it." This was a very good sign, but it is still very early in the two-day culinary competition.

The team's enjoyed dinner at a local favorite--No Name Restaurant. Many experienced their first lobster and other seafood favorites.

View photos from today's competition:
http://picasaweb.google.com/chefbrianfloyd/CulinaryKnowledgeBowlTeamBostonDay2#

Culinary&Knowledge Bowl Teams-Boston Day 1

After a grueling 14hr trip in very cold and sometimes snowy conditions, the Team arrived in Boston Thursday evening around 7:30pm. Friday began with a trip on Boston’s mass transit system (the T) to Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market. The marketplace featured souvenirs, historic facts and treasures, and local specialties. The morning finished with lunch at America’s oldest restaurant: the Union Oyster House (est. 1826).

In the afternoon, the Knowledge Bowl took their qualifying exam, and faired well (they qualified as the 4th seed). The Culinary Team set up their mise en place for tomorrow’s cold platter competition and Sunday’s hot food competition.

The day culminated with a student forum sponsored by Chartwell’s foodservice provider. The one-hour presentation covered: résumé writing, interview techniques, and employment opportunities in the industry, and was followed by a reception were the students could network with some of the industries’ leading chefs.

Check out photos from today at: http://picasaweb.google.com/chefbrianfloyd/CulinaryTeamBostonDay1#

A special thank you to our sponsors:

US Foodsevice http://www.usfoodservice.com/

American Culinary Federation WV http://www.wvculinary.org/

New Chef Fashion http://www.newchef.com/

Pierpont Culinary on the Radio

Chef Floyd was recently interviewed by John Burford on WTCS am1490. The pair covered topics such as the Culinary Arts growth and program accreditations. Additionally, they talked about the future opportunities related to a student operated bistro being located in downtown Fairmont, and the creation of the downtown Fairmont Cafe Dististrict.

Click hear to download or listen to an MP3 of the broadcast:

http://www.box.net/shared/fgt2mijpqo

Pierpont CTC Cast Iron Cookoff

Chef Caleb Taylor and Sous Chef Joe Woods led the Pierpont Community & Technical College 2009 Cast Iron Cookoff at the Charleston Town Centre Marriott. The chefs' team was rounded out with eight non-professionals (including local journalist with Clarksburg Exponent Julie Perine and southern WV Fox TV personality Kennie Bass). Other team members included: Lisa Tanner, Melody Tanner, Ron Newcome, Elaina Bailey, Jill Murphy, and Kerri Niner. The group had one hour to prepare a four course meal.

Each of the dishes had to have at least one item prepared in cast iron and featured several local WV products. The four course menu included: Salad Course: Poached Egg and Frisee Salad with Truffle Vinaigrette, Appetizer: Trout with Shaved Almonds, Green Beans, and Thyme Preserved Oranges, Entree: Red Wine Braised Chicken with Button Mushrooms and Potatoes, Swiss Chard, Dessert: Waffles & Cream with Apples.

See more photos of the competition:

http://picasaweb.google.com/chefbrianfloyd/PierpontCTCCastIronCookoff2009#

MetroNews Radio:

http://www.wvmetronews.com/mediaplayer.cfm?storyid=28537

The Greenbrier's Master Chef Timmins works with Culinary Team

Pierpont's Culinary Team practiced with Master Chef Peter Timmins recently at The Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs. The team braved poor weather and treacherous roads to practice in The Greenbrier's Hemisphere kitchen. They worked on their four course menu in preparation for the ACF North East Regional to be held in Boston, MA February 5-10, 2009.

Team Coach Jay Mahoney, CEC said, "It was a great day, maybe one of the best of my career. The students learned so much in one day."

Fairmont Plans Cafe District

Chef Brian Floyd met with the Fairmont Urban Renewal Authority on Tuesday about the possibility of establishing a Cafe District for downtown. Pierpont's Culinary Arts program has for some time been looking into opening a student-operated bistro in downtown. The establishment of the Cafe District would help to collectively promote any restaurtants in Fairmont's downtown.

Pierpont has received a grant from the Charles M. & Mary D. Grant Foundation to create, brand, and market the Cafe District. The Culinary program plans to work with the City, the URA, Main Street Fairmont, the Marion County Chamber of Commerce, and the downtown restaurants to begin the work of establishing the new Cafe District.

Read more about the Cafe District here:
http://wboy.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=49591 http://www.timeswv.com/local/local_story_007010445.html