"Hurry up with those appetisers, you can't let them get cold!"
"That customer is allergic, he can't drink the pina colada."
"We have unexpected guests at the door, and not enough seating for them!...But our priorities must be to our ticket-paying guests."
Comments flew as a stream of student chefs, servers and trainee managers whisked past us, some smoothly balancing three plates of food in their arms as others whizzed by with drinks orders, not a drop spilt.
It was the final exam night for 13 students pursuing associate degrees at the T&T Hospitality and Tourism Institute (TTHI). And all eyes (and tastebuds) were focused on the students' performance, as teams of kitchen and service staff demonstrated the art and science of cooking and smooth customer service. And just as if it were a real restaurant work situation, the students had to be prepared for the unexpected–whether the stress of back-end preparation, or the unpredictability of customers.
The T&T Guardian went behind the scenes at the event on May 15, to find out about the programme, the skills the students have learned, and the challenges of the final exam cooking event.
Passport to Puerto Cuba!
We saw evidence of some excellent teamwork–critical for success of such an event, where about 100 paying customers had each come to be wined and dined in style with a five-course dinner.
The theme for this night was Passport to Puerto Cuba!–featuring a fusion of cuisine from Puerto Rico and Cuba. Appetisers were a choice of either a morsel of ropa vieja (tender shredded beef), or crab and fish cakes with a roasted corn, chile and mango salsa. Next up were the soups–either traditional black bean or creamy shrimp soup. Fire-roasted pineapple vinaigrette added flavourful notes to the tropical salad of avocado, watercress and pineapple.
And for the main course, there was a choice of pork, chicken or fish. Savoury "lechon asado"–Cuban-style roasted pork–was served over "mofongo"–an Afro-Puerto Rican mashed plantain dish traditionally made with broth, garlic, olive oil, pork cracklings and seasonings (mofongo has roots in west African fufu). This came flavoured with a mojo and red wine shallot sauce.
The second entree option, the chicken, was marinated in citrus, and grilled, served with rice and plump pigeon peas. The fish entree option was pan-seared mahi-mahi (common dolphinfish or dorado, not the mammalian dolphin!), served with tomato-olive sauce over cheesy stuffed green bananas and yam. For those with space still left in their stomachs, dessert was truly decadent: a layered combination of chocolate cake, vanilla flan, coffee mousse and a "dulce de leche" (sweet milk gelee), all with mauby ice cream on top of a Cuban sugar cookie filled with guava. A fitting end to what sounded like a delicious dinner.
Kitchen challenges
The challenge for the students was multifaceted. They first had to research the cuisine of the regions, and then create a menu where the different tastes harmonised. Experiments earlier in the term helped them discard some dishes, and refine others, to come up with the final menu, said Cheryl-Ann Shortt-Charles, who is the Practical Programme Head for the Culinary Department.
Malika Andrews was taking her final exam in Culinary Management that night. Malika is a jovial, businesslike young woman from Point Fortin, who first heard about the TTHI programmes at an open day at the Trinidad Hilton. She soon relocated to Port-of-Spain to be nearer to the TTHI. She has spent the past two and a half years pursuing the associate degree on a part-time basis, at the same time holding down a regular job–not always an easy task.
Her studies involved learning professional cooking techniques, baking, nouvelle cuisine, and business management courses in accounting, as well as learning about kitchen management, facilities layout, and doing some cross-training courses in food and beverage management. "So the range of courses helps us manage a whole business for ourselves," she explained.
She said she especially enjoyed the variety of her meats class. "Before you go to a culinary school, you never know there are so many dishes that exist!...There's a whole range of seafood–scallops, mussels, lobster, crab...We get to try, and do, a lot of different things." And it's a delicious way to learn, because after every class, you get to eat what you cook.
Did she have a favourite dish? She replied:"There are too many! But it's more the techniques that you learn here that are so valuable. Because you could take the simplest of ingredients, and do a lot of things with them." Braising, for instance–the technique of searing meat, then simmering it slowly in liquid (broth, stock, wine or juice) in a covered pot over low heat–is very versatile and can produce many tasty but very different dishes, she said.
At last Friday's dinner exam night, Malika was responsible for coordinating all back-of-the-house culinary operations, including food preparation, kitchen and storeroom areas–it is a lot of responsibility.
"We started prepping from 8 am yesterday, and I was here until 11 pm last night," she shared. She had to purchase the food items beforehand, help plan the menu and ensure that she controlled her costs. And of course, she ensured her kitchen staff of ten cooked to standard, and kept a spotless kitchen.
Meanwhile, in the bar
We also spoke to Nichole Chase, originally from Diego Martin, who, like Malika, was taking her final exam after two and a half years of simultaneous part-time study and working at a job. Nichole is studying for an associate degree in Food and Beverage Management, that means that she had to oversee the efficient operations and profitability of the bar and all beverage-related orders, as well as oversee the front-of-house staff, and even, ultimately, the back-of house staff: all aspects, from business operations to napkin folds.
"I have to manage 15 servers and four bartenders tonight," she said in an interview earlier that afternoon. She seemed calm, organised, and eager to get on with it.
Nichole is a secondary school teacher of Food & Nutrition who embarked on a mid-career change to pursue a profession she loves. Her interest was sparked a few years ago when she took some students for a field trip to the Tobago Hospitality and Tourism Institute (THTI). She was drawn to Food and Beverage Management, and enrolled at the TTHI (run separately from THTI) to give herself some new challenges.
"I learned a lot and met some really good people coming here, so it was a good move... A highlight for me was the bartending. I entered the Iron Chef competition here, and though that, got invited to enter other bartending competitions. The first one, I placed in the top ten, the second one, in the top five, and last month I won the school's Iron Chef contest."
Her winning drinks were a rum-based cocktail she called Recess, and a vodka-based cocktail she named Dark Side of the Moon–served in a hollow ball of ice; the drink was a deep purple, with blueberries, passion fruit puree and grenadine syrup.
Diverse skills
Cheryl-Ann Shortt-Charles helps assess students in the back-of-house operations, and also ensures the students have the tools they need to be capable performers in the industry.
"They cover everything, from baking basics to accounts. This final function in international cuisine is when they take everything that they've learned, and apply it. They have to design a good menu; show plating skills; show managerial skills in getting team members to work together; demonstrate good timing; and of course, taste. We had eight teams in all, doing dishes drawn from 14 countries, including Spain, China, Hawaii and New Orleans.
"It is a lot of hard work. Some students quickly learn it may not be for them–you sometimes have to spend eight hours on your feet," she said. But for those with a passion for food and drink, like Malika and Nichole, it's a personally fulfilling way of life, and totally worth it.