How to Buy Seafood - Advice from a professional chef

  
Grouper
St. Petersburg Times photo

Recently I received an email from Diane who wanted to know why the grouper she bought in bulk didn’t look like grouper she purchased in the past. In fact, she questioned whether or not it was really grouper at all. Here’s what she said,

“I have been a grouper lover for years and up until recently I have enjoyed it frequently.  I purchased it through a food company that provides meat, poultry and fish in bulk.  In my last two orders I have received a fish that they are calling grouper, but it doesn’t look or taste like grouper.

 I am used to a nice white very light fish.  This fish is off white with brown coloration through it and it is a very thick fish.  It doesn’t flake like grouper; it forks off in larger pieces.  The company is insisting that it is grouper, just a different kind. 

They said that there was a problem with the grouper from Florida so they are getting it somewhere else.  I told them that all grouper is a translucent white thin fillet until cooked.  Is it possible that I am getting grouper?  I have no idea where to turn with this issue….” -  Diane

Buying Seafood

So here was a situation where Diane was buying fish site unseen, very similar to when a chef buys fish from his supplier without seeing it. He has to trust his fish purveyor will bring him what he wants and the fish people know he will return it if it does not meet his specifications. We have the advantage of going to the market, seeing the fish and if feeling bold, asking the fishmonger to let us smell it for freshness.

Most of us wouldn’t dream of smelling fish before purchasing but it is a good practice to get into. Nothing is more frustrating than buying some fesh fish at the market only to bring it home, give it a smell and realize it is not as fresh as you thought it was. By asking the fish person to smell it, they realize you know what you are doing and will give you a little more consideration next time you come in to buy fish.

What Does A Professional Think?

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Non-stick pans for Baking – Yes or No?

I received this email from Meg, a student at the Benjamin School who wanted to know which non-stick pans work best and what I used for baking cookies and brownies?

Since I don’t really do much baking yet, I referred this question to Certified Master Baker, Leslie Bilderback. I say “yet” because I’m in the process of building a wood-burning oven and looking forward to learning how to bake bread in it. And pizza of course! More on that soon.

Here’s what Chef Bilderback had to say,

“When I bake, I use parchment paper on cookie sheets (what we call sheet pans), cake pans, and loaf pans.   My cookware is primarily aluminum, which is the best heat conductor in my opinion. 

For cookie sheets, I just lay the paper down on the pan and that’s it.  For cake and loaf pans with high sides, I spray the pan with pan spray (like “Pam”), lay the paper in (cut to size) then spray the paper too.  The paper keeps the food from sticking and the spray ensures that the paper will release.

For smaller molds like muffin pans and decorative, weirdly shaped pans, I use only Pam spray.   Some chefs like flour too, but I do not like flour on the outside of my cakes.

Silicone Mats

I have silicone rubber mats that I use only for delicate candy and wafer cookie work.  I never use them for everyday baking.  The companies advertise them as a non-stick surface for making cookies, but each time they’re used they deteriorate a little more.  Those mats aren’t cheap, so I reserve them for when I really need them.  Besides parchment paper clean up is easier (throw it away!)
 
Parchment paper also prolongs the life of your pans.  The grease from the food does not get on the pan, so it does not need scrubbing, and so it lasts longer.  Many supermarkets carry parchment in rolls, but I like to by it at the Smart and Final where they have it in huge boxes.  For around $20 bucks I can get enough parchment to last me 3-4 years!  (And I bake a lot!)
 
I do not like non-stick coating on pans.  The minute you scrub them, or use a metal utensil on them, they get scratched, and no longer serve the non-stick function.  The only non-sticks I have are sauté pans for eggs and I am super careful with them, using only plastic utensils.
 
I have a couple silicone pans that are flexible and fun, but I have found that they do not brown as well, and if they get filled with dense batter they do not keep their shape.  I have to set that pan inside another one for stability.  These, too, are touted as non-stick, but once you take a scrubby to it, it sticks.

Can you start culinary school in your 40’s?

Timing is essential when cooking but it’s also great when you are responding to visitors call out for some help. Yesterday, I received an email from Chris asking for some advise & encouragement he could give his wife, Patty, before she starts culinary arts school at The Orlando Culinary Academy this October.

Patty is nervous because she is starting school at 45 years young and concerned about her age and if she has the necessary skills. A couple of hours after I received Chris’s email, I received an email from Chef Jenni Field, a graduate of The Orlando Culinary Academy who started school at age 40. Perfect timing!

I asked Chef Jenni for some help and she sent me a thoughtful, informative response to send to Chris & Patty. By the way, Chef Jenni has just built her own web site for home bakers called www.pastrychefonline.com. It’s in the early stages but worth a look.

Here’s the email I received from Chris :

Hi, my name is Chris and I writing you from Orlando Fla. My wife Patty will start classes at the Cordon Blue Academy here in town. She is 45 years old and she is “frightened” about her age and very concerned if she will understand the course…like afraid of the high skills needed.  I am helping a lot by encouraging her. I think she is a very smart person and she absolutely loves food and cooking in the kitchen…but classes start October first and I really need somebody to help me here. She is an extremely responsible person and extremely concerned. Any help?  Is it a real rocket science class?

Here is Chef Jenni’s response:

Chris, can I just say that it is lovely of you to seek some help and guidance for your wife.  I attended The Orlando Culinary Academy  myself as a 40-year-old “freshman.”  Like your wife, I, too was extremely nervous.  “I’ve baked for years, but will I be lost in the professional arena?  Can I keep up with the young guns?  Will it just plain be too hard?  Will I feel old and dumb?”  I stayed up many a night with my supportive husband patting my back.  If this sounds at all familiar to you, I think I might be able to help.

Tell Patty to take heart.  If she is passionate about cooking (I’m not sure if she will be taking the Culinary or Patisserie and Baking Program), it will shine through.  The chefs at OCA are, for the most part, very supportive and will certainly go the extra mile for the motivated student. 

Just like at any school, the people attending come into the program with a broad spectrum of experience and expertise.  I met Executive Chefs, Sous Chefs, line cooks, bakers and many, many people with no culinary background at all.  It was my experience, entering as a passionate amateur with 20 years of reading/experimenting under my belt, that my self-taught skills placed me towards the head of the pack from the beginning. 

Once in school, I was able to build on my existing skills, and I came away with a well-rounded background in Patisserie and Baking. 

I found that the older students were generally more serious about their studies, since most of us had already had a career and were serious about making a change “later in life.”  And most of us were paying out of our own pockets!  I also found that, (again, this is a generalization) because we had more life experience, as well as cooking experience, that it was easier to build a good working relationship with the chef instructors.

I hope that this has helped to quell some of your wife’s fears and apprehensions.  You might also look on the home page of my website, Pastry Chef Online, in the “So you think you wanna go pro?” section for more insight into working in the restaurant industry and attending culinary school.  Best of luck at OCA!

Sincerely,
Chef Jenni Field

By the way, we are hoping Chef Jenni will participate in my Novice to Pro interviews and she said she would be available to answer some of your baking & pastry questions at my Ask A Chef page.