2009-2010 Culinary Competition Team Named

Nine students tried out for the Peirpont Culinary Academy Competition Team on Friday. Five new students to the program and four current students through their toques in the ring to vie for five spots.

The members of 2009-2010 Culinary Team are Joseph White, Kellie Smith, Maria Provencher, Rebecca Krofcheck, and Joe Woods. The students competed in a three phase competition. Each was required to demonstrated proficient knife skills, fabricate a chicken, and to prepare an entree plate for two using chicken.

Congratulations to all of the competitors, and especially to our new team.

Pictures from the competition:

Pierpont Presents at Tomato Tasting Festival

The Pierpont Culinary Academy helped organize and participated in the second annual Tomato Tasting Festival this past weekend. The Festival is sponsored by the Marion Co. Master Gardeners and WVU Extension. Chef Floyd and Pierpont have helped organize the event and have provided judges for the past two years.

President Blair Montgomery was among the group of honorary judges for the event this year. Chef Floyd prepared a cooking demonstration that feature three tomato recipes, and new students in the Culinary Academy helped with the day's logistics and preparation.

New students: Rebecca Krofcheck, Miranda Johnson, Joseph Bezjak, Cameron Dean, Maria Provencher, and Matt Crawford all helped with the event.

One of the favorite recipes of the event was:

Poached Salmon with Tomato-Leek Water

Ingredients Yield: (4) 6oz. Servings
(4) 6oz. Salmon Fillets, bones and skin removed
8 Med-lg Tomatoes, cored
8oz. Leeks, tops and roots removed, med. dice*
4oz. Yellow Onion, julienne
8oz. Asparagus, cut into 5”-6” spears
10 leaves + 4 sprigs of Basil
Juice one lemon
Olive oil
S&P to taste
Cheesecloth
Butchers string

*Fennel makes a fantastic substitute for the leeks

Methods
1. Rough chop the tomatoes. Add to a food processor or blender until pureed. In a non-reactive sauce pot, bring the puree to a simmer (do not boil). Remove from heat, allow to slightly cool.
2. Position cheesecloth over a strainer or china cap over a bain marie or a large bowl. Collect the tomato mixture in the cheesecloth and tie with string, allowing the liquid strain through to the bain marie. The idea is to capture as much of the liquid as possible the pulp and skin are to remain behind in the cheesecloth, so tying the string and cheesecloth up in your refrigerator and allow to drip all night might be the ideal way to accomplish this. However, for quicker results you can gently squeeze the cheesecloth until the liquid is removed. This method may cause more tomato puree to escape.
3. In a braising pot, sweat the leeks and onions with the olive oil until translucent. Add the basil and tomato water. Heat the mixture to 175°-185°.
4. Add the salmon fillets. Poach approximately 5 minutes. Remove from the water. Season with salt, pepper, and lemon.
5. Steam the asparagus until just tender. Should still be bright green.
6. In a pasta bowl, ladle a scoop of the tomato water. Fan 5 asparagus pieces in the bottom of the bowl. Gently place the fish on top. Garnish with a fresh basil sprig.

Pierpont Cooks at the Farmer's Market

The Pierpont Culinary Academy helped Fairmont celebrate National Farmers' Market week by presenting a demo at the market. Chef Floyd demonstrated and shared three recipes to showcase how customers of the market could use their fresh vegetables once they got them home.

Market goers sampled some of the items which included: Watermelon & Tomato Salad; Grilled Vegetable Enchiladas; and Grilled Salmon with Cucumber-Melon Salad and Tomato-Ginger Basmati.

Pierpont has been working with Main Street Fairmont to help promote the market. The cooking demo was to help bring attention and showcase the bi-weekly downtown event.

Watch WBOY's coverage of Tuesday's Market:

Grilling University

Eighteen students participated in the Grilling University Community Ed class at the Bridgeport Conference Center. Students relaxed on the outdoor patio as they learned new grilling techniques, sampled tasty food, and enjoyed some specialty beverages.

The class was treated to a menu of Peach & Mango Sangria, Grilled Pork Porterhouse w/Mixed Grill or Mushrooms and Onions, Grilled Leg of Lamb w/ Baby Beet, Blue Cheese, and Grilled Asparagus Salad, and Grilled Watermelon and Berries w/ Zabaglione Sauce.

The evening concluded with a question and answer session.

Special Thanks to: The Bridgeport Conference Center, the Pierpont Center for Continuing Education, Ron Weist and Janice Ervin.

Pierpont Culinary Academy to Play Key Role in Downtown Brand

Main Street Fairmont commissioned Arnett-Muldrow, city planning and marketing consultants, from Greenville, SC to help re-brand Fairmont. Arnett-Muldrow recommended a four district approach (Downtown, Southside, Eastside, and Riverside) to feature the distinct areas represented in MSF's boundaries.

The Pierpont Culinary Academy's future student bistro was presented as a driving force in the Downtown district. Arnett-Muldrow has laid a solid foundation for Maple Creative and Mythology, two consulting firms hired by Pierpont to brand and market the bistro and Cafe District, to build upon.

Follow Fairmont's redesign with these television stories:
WBOY TV:
http://www.wboy.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=58927
WDTV TV:
http://www.wdtv.com/news/local/44924117.html

Pierpont Pastry Students Visit Washington DC

Pastry Chef Kristen Cirolia led a group of students on a field to our nation's capital recently to experience pastries on a large scale at Ridgewell's Catering. The group toured the food service operation, and dawned some aprons to pitch in with some extra hands as well.

The trip was designed to give the students an urban experience both from an operational perspective as well as a sense food service and restaurant options in a larger city. The group enjoyed dinner at McCormick and Schmicks.

Pierpont Culinary Gives Back to the Union Mission

Students in Pierpont Culinary Academy Quantity Foods class prepared and served a meal at Fairmont's local homeless shelter: the Union Mission. The Tuesday and Thursday FOSM 2204 Quantity Foods Lab classes put their semester's practice to work recently by preparing a meal for 75 people at the Union Mission.

Tuesday's lab prepared a BBQ theme. Residents and visitors to the shelter enjoyed BBQ ribs, pulled BBQ, coleslaw, cornbread, green beans, and honey-apple cake. Thursday's lab prepared: meatloaf, garlic mashed potatoes, snap peas, and double-chocolate cookies.

Pierpont Culinary ends every semester with this community service learning project. Students are given an opportunity to reflect on their experiences at the end of the class, and usually it is one of the highlights of the semester.

Hear more about the project with this WBOY exclusive: