# Chef Test



## cape chef (Jul 31, 2000)

Hey folks,

This coming Monday I have a chef test.

It's designed pretty much like the ACf CEC exam.
I need to prepare 4 courses in an allotted amount of time, as well as prepare the main component of the actually dinner service for that evening.

I have been emailed my list of ingredients that will be available to me, but I will not find out about the proteins until I arrive for the test.

I feel very confident and I'm very excited about this gig.
I wanted to share with you my list & ask for any thoughts on a dessert.

I'll have 4 hours total with 25 minutes to develop & hand in my menu.
Any thought/ideas are appreciated.

Sorry about the way the document copied,





STAPLE ITEMS AVAILABLE

Dry Spices Brown Sugar Cantaloupe
Salt XXX Sugar Strawberries
Sea Salt / Kosher Butter Lemons
Olive oil Margarine Limes
Sesame Oil Heavy Cream Cucumbers
White Truffle Oil Half & half Red Peppers
Pumpkin Seed Oil Whole Milk Green Peppers
Canola Oil Sour Cream Tofu
Fig Vinegar Curry Paste Mushrooms
Balsamic Vinegar Nori Sheets Yellow Squash
White Vinegar Malt Vinegar Zucchini
Culinart – Demi Glace Coconut Milk Garlic
Sliced Almonds Soy Sauce Shallots
Pecans Fish Sauce Peanut butter
Uncle Bens Rice Celery
Arborio Rice Carrots
Variety of Dry Pastas Onions
Barley Red Onions
Panko Broccoli
Bread Crumbs Cauliflower
Ketchup Scallions
Mayo Assortment of Fresh Herbs
Mustard Yukon Potatoes
BBQ Sauce Spinach
Hot Sauce Mesclun Greens
Worcestershire Sauce Tomatoes
Flour AP Pineapple
Sugar- Reg. Honeydew Melon
Mystery Basket

To Produce a 4 course tasting Menu 25 minutes after receiving ingredients and submit the menu to the Proctoring Chef
From start time a 4 Hour window to produce the 4 courses
After the 4 hours have expired a 5 minute window to plate the course and present to diners
You will be responsible for maintaining your work area cleaned and broken down after food production is completed.
In-house utility staff will handle cleaning pans etc.
You will be graded on presentation, taste, skill set, sanitation, and organization


Candidate Name_______________________________

Position seeking________________________________

Location ______________________________________

Proctoring Chef _________________________________



















Candidate Name _____________________________________

Position seeking______________________

Location_____________________________

Scoring is based from 1-10 on each course with space for notes

1st Course - Score ________________

Notes:____________________________________________ _____



2nd Course - Score _______________

Notes __________________________________________________ _____



3rd Course - Score __________

Notes_____________________________________________ _____



4th Course - Score ___________




TOTAL SCORE ________________


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## cheftoddmohr (Apr 17, 2009)

You have a lot of savories on that ingredient list, and few sweets for dessert.

Immediately, I'd think about making a sweet tart crust (pate' sucree) with the flour, sugar, egg, and then filling it with poached fruit or chutney, and top with cinnamon whipped cream.

Or, with butter, flour, egg and milk, you can make pate choux paste, and create beignets or profiteroles. They're quick and easy.

The same butter, flour, egg, milk can also yield genoise, French butter sponge. This can be made into a jelly roll cake, or used as sheets to stack a Napoleon of sponge cake and fruit.

I don't see any chocolate on your list, that would bum me out.


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## livinitup0 (Feb 2, 2009)

Id do some coconut and fig puree-filled eclairs dipped in a white pastry cream and topped with candied almonds. 

GL with the test!


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## hotchpotch (Oct 16, 2009)

A lot of this comes down to your experience and what you feel comfortable with. When I have done competitions or tests like these I tend to focus most of my time on my expertise which is the first three courses and try to wow them with those. My desserts then are usually along the simpler lines.

Looking at those ingredients I came up this.

Almond Tuile Cups filled with sautéed pineapple served with a Coconut Carmel sauce.


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## cape chef (Jul 31, 2000)

Thanks folks for your ideas.


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## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

In the Sweet Kitchen has a recipe for sweet risotto...
off the top of my head what about a sweet aricini with possibly something coconut in the middle of the sweet panko coated fried rice ball with figvinager/strawberry goo....
may take too much finagling. Can be made early on and put in the fridge to solidify, fry at last minute.

the hip thing going around STL is a take off on PBJ....house made nutter butters, grape soda float, tiny grape newtons, all in small portions on elongated plate. 

I used to make jelly rolls with nut flour mixed into the cake, don't know the proportions....a jelly roll takes about 10 minutes to cook.
filling could be a lemon curd/ strawberry fig vin ....still not a wow.

Hot Chocolate in chicago has some incredible desserts. What about a panna cotta with a fruit soup....


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## suzanne (May 26, 2001)

I like the idea of a tart with pate sucree, coconut-lime pastry cream filling, and caramelized pineapple on top.

Or if you don't want to have to bake a crust, I recently did a crumb crust with panko and almond butter -- you could use the PB instead. For my crust I used:
2 cups panko (you've got)
1/2 cup turbinado sugar (you have brown sugar)
1/3 cup roasted almond butter (you have PB; iirc, the recipe I took off of for this used PB)
2 tablespoons water

Mix panko, sugar, butter. Sprinkle on water 1 T at a time. Press into buttered pie plate. Recipe says 9-inch with graham cracker crumbs; I had enough for a 10-inch with panko (fluffier).

And of course, doing as individual tarts can make for a more elegant presentation.

I'm sure you will ace it!! eace:


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## cape chef (Jul 31, 2000)

Thanks all,
I received a 9.85 out of 10. I was offered and I excepted the job today. :thumb:


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## katbalou (Nov 21, 2001)

congratulations!!!! 
what did you end up preparing and what is the new position?
kathee


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## petalsandcoco (Aug 25, 2009)

Congratulations are in order.

We all knew you would win ! :thumb:


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## cape chef (Jul 31, 2000)

Thanks Kat & Petal,

My mystery ingredients where bronzino, Sea scallops, pork tenderloin & chicken breast. I had 20 minutes to submit my 4 course menu.

first
Pan- seared bronzino with potato scales, tomato confiture, orange buerre blanc, crispy fried caper oregano garnish

second
Panko/thyme crusted sea scallops, lightly curried risotto, green apple/asparagus/cauliflower sauté, white truffle essence

third
"Turdunkin" (not really) of pork tenderloin and chicken breast layered with duxelle, seared and roasted, red pepper/red wine demi glacé, tourneed and glazed rutabaga and carrot, celery root soufflé

dessert
Caramelized pineapple, lemon/ginger curd, strawberry consommé, pecan praline

The position is senior executive chef for the Taft school


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## katbalou (Nov 21, 2001)

wow. i hope that you have children that can go there.  looks kind of nice. :smiles:
kathee


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## cape chef (Jul 31, 2000)

Tuition is $45,000 a year. Out of my league :smoking:


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## cheftoddmohr (Apr 17, 2009)

I'm impressed!
It would take me 20 minutes just to write that menu down, let alone conceive it.

Congratulations!


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## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

Congrats!:smiles:


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## katbalou (Nov 21, 2001)

didn't you get that as part of your salary negotiations? :roll::mullet:


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## petalsandcoco (Aug 25, 2009)

Cape Chef,

With a menu like this, it was a hands down..... YOU WIN ! I would like to try a few of these next week....

first
Pan- seared bronzino with potato scales, tomato confiture, orange buerre blanc, crispy fried caper oregano garnish

second
Panko/thyme crusted sea scallops, lightly curried risotto, green apple/asparagus/cauliflower sauté, white truffle essence

third
"Turdunkin" (not really) of pork tenderloin and chicken breast layered with duxelle, seared and roasted, red pepper/red wine demi glacé, tourneed and glazed rutabaga and carrot, celery root soufflé

dessert
Caramelized pineapple, lemon/ginger curd, strawberry consommé, pecan praline


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## nichole (Sep 16, 2009)

I agree with you petal, and i love your menu salad, appetizer, main course and desert. I would to try that soon. Thanks for the idea.


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## greyeaglem (Apr 17, 2006)

Yay!!! :thumb: :bounce: Now dummy here wants to know what a bronzino is.


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## petalsandcoco (Aug 25, 2009)

Another term for Seabass , I believe....


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## cape chef (Jul 31, 2000)

Correct, also called sea dace


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## suzanne (May 26, 2001)

So what happened to the other 0.15????  

Just kidding -- that's fantastic!! Of course, we all knew you would ace it. Mazel tov!!!

And that looks like a great school, with community service as a very important component. Boarding school, too, so that means three meals a day. Wow. And faculty, and visitors. You will be just great!!


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## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

CC they are right..... part of the perks of working at a school is that your kids get tuition. At least that's the way it is for St. Louis University & Wash U....that's a huge perk, salaries aren't great but add on the tuition component for your kids and it's made many stay longer......


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## ed buchanan (May 29, 2006)

Congrats are in order. Good luck in new position.


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