Bar en Crôute Feuilletée- Sea Perch in a Puff Pastry Crust

With France having the 5th highest per capita consumption of fish in the world, no wonder there are many wonderful dishes featuring fish. Try this delicious recipe and impress friends and family. All metric measurements have been translated to American standard measurements. Remember these measurements are estimates.

Ingredients :
• 1200 grams sea perch (2 ¾ lbs, can be Sea Bass or Rockfish)
• 250 grams fine fish stuffing (1 Cup)
• 20 grams chopped tarragon (1 ½ Tbsp)
• 500 grams Puff pastry dough (1 lbs)
• 1 egg yolk
• 200 grams savory crêpes (7 oz)
• Choron sauce (a béarnaise sauce without the tarragon or chervil and plus added pureed tomatoes)
Marinade:
• 1 tarragon branch (2 tsp)
• 4 basil leaves (2 tsp)
• 1 stalk thyme (2 tsp)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 stalk rosemary (2 tsp)
• 10 grams chopped garlic (1 Tbsp)
• 1 deciliter olive oil (1/3 cup)
• fresh ground black pepper

Method of Preparation :
1. Clean the fish.
2. Cut the fillets and remove the skin. Keep the head.
3. Rub the fillets with the herbs and season with fresh ground pepper.
4. Place the fish in a dish and sprinkle with olive oil before covering and placing in the fridge.
5. Make the fish stuffing.
6. Roll out the dough evenly to 2mm thick and cut into 2 even parts.
7. Drain the sea perch fillets, wipe them with a paper towel and season them with salt.
8. Place one part of puff pastry on a baking sheet.
9. Cover the dough with a layer of crêpes.
10. Place the fish head and 1 fillet on the dough, reshaping the fish.
11. Fill with the fish stuffing and sprinkle with the chopped tarragon and the chopped basil.
12. Put the bay leaf, thyme and rosemary stalks in the head cavity.
13. Cover with the remaining fillet.
14. Carefully wet the borders of the dough and cover with the remaining crêpes and then dough.
15. Seal the borders and cut off any excess dough.
16. Brush with egg wash and make a decoration on the dough.
17. Let it rest in the fridge for 15 min.
18. Cook at 220ºC for 7min, then at 160ºC for 20min. (425ºF, and 325ºF)
19. The center must reach 65ºC. (150ºF)
20. Serve with Choron sauce.

Tilapia Goujonnettes with Caramel Pears and Mint Cucumber

Summer is the time of seafood. This delightful recipe takes a favorite fish, Tilapia, and presents a dish that is both appealing to the eye and to the palette. Tilapia has become the fifth most popular fish consumed in the U.S. With its low fat and low mercury one can see why.

To begin the recipe there may be a few term you are not familiar with. Goujonnettes is one of those. Goujonnettes are small strips cut from a fish fillet.

Another, tournée, is French for the word "turned." The term refers to a method of cutting and peeling vegetables into oblong, seven-sided football-like shapes. Aside from its aesthetic element, the classic French technique helps vegetables to cook evenly. A tournée knife is a paring knife with a curved blade.

Chiffonade is a method of cutting garnish in which the leaves of the plant such as mint or basil are layered on top of each other, rolled like a cigar and then cut cross-wise. The mint will fall into lovely green ribbons.

Both metric and American measurements are provided for this recipe. American measurements are approximate.

Ingredients :
• 120 grams tilapia fillets cut into goujonnettes (1/4 lbs)
Marinade :
• 1 deciliter chardonnay white (1/3 cup)
• 30 grams chopped shallots (1 oz)
• 2 mint leaves - chopped
• 1/2 deciliter olive oil (1/6 cup)
• 2 grams chopped garlic (1/4 tsp)
• 1 gram thyme flower (1/8 tsp)
• salt and pepper and cayenne
Garnish:
• 300 grams tournéed cucumbers (2/3 lbs)
• 2 each pears, whole
Sauce:
• 200 grams heavy cream (1 cup)
• 15 grams mint leaves (1 Tbsp)

Method of Preparation :
1. Combine the marinade ingredients in a stainless steel bowl.
2. Cut the fish into goujonnettes and place in marinade. Chill for 1 - 2 hours.
3. Cut the pears into eighths and sauté them in butter and sugar until caramelized. Add the cucumbers and cook for 2 minutes. Set aside.
4. Remove fish from marinade and pat dry. Strain marinade. Reserve liquid and aromatics. Season fish with salt and pepper.
5. Sear fish on one side only and place on a baking sheet. Finish cooking in a 350F oven.
6. Using same pan sweat. The aromatic garnish and deglaze with liquid. Reduce the liquid by half. Add the heavy cream and reduce to a sauce like consistency. Strain and finish with fresh chiffonade of mint.
7. Set up plates as per chef instructor demo. Serve at room temperature.

Life is Generous - Eleonora Tamayo

Eleonora Tamayo delivered the student speech when she graduated with an AAS degree in Baking and Pastry on July 16th. She has also brought home three gold medals in baking and pastry for Culinary Institute LeNôtre. Today she is part of Culinary Institute LeNôtre’s Baking and Pastry team. She had started with a diploma program and when she found she could not bear to leave Culinary Institute LeNôtre and its rich learning environment she extended her program to the AAS degree program. What brought her down this path?

Eleonora says life is generous to her. Eleonora was a computer scientist in Columbia before she moved to the United States four years ago. Why the about face? Passion she says. Eleonora was heavily influenced by her family’s love of international cuisine. Eleonora’s father had studied in the United States for his Architectural degree, he also traveled internationally and brought Eleonora with him to France where she learned about French food and even wine pairing.

Her family designated one night a week as international cuisine evening and the family would cook together such dishes as beef bourguignon, duck ala orange, Borsht and Peking Duck. To take this further her father took several from his voluminous collection of cooking books and translated them into Spanish so that the whole family could use them. Her father also started a group called the “Gentlemen of Fine Cooking”. It was made up of ten men who got together to create fine cuisine. Of course there was a certain amount of competitiveness in the group, but at the end of the year they each prepared three dishes and invited three couples to partake in a magnificent dinner.

While in her computer science position, Eleonora became the designated organizer of the company’s parties and cocktail hours. She had the knowledge and the social skills. She also developed a quick bread and small birthday cake business. Her primary sales were to her computer science employer for employee birthdays and celebrations and orders taken around the holiday season.

When she came to the United States, she found Culinary Institute LeNôtre and enrolled in a diploma program, she quickly extended her stay from the diploma program to the AAS degree program because she simply could not get enough of Culinary Institute LeNôtre. After one year of the program she switched from Cuisine to Baking and Pastry. For Eleonora pastry is meditative and calming. Cuisine results were wonderful, but there is a different type of stress in cuisine than pastry. For Pastry you must have patience and be meticulous.

Plans – Eleonora is part of the Baking and Pastry team led by Dawn Parrott. The team commits to practicing together at least once a week. The next big competition is the Oklahoma State Sugar Art Show that will be judged by Kerry Vincent. Kerry Vincent is the director and co-founder of the annual Oklahoma Sugar Art Show, an author, and a freelance writer. She is also a judge on the Food Network Challenge television show. Eleonora says that competitions are a great way to challenge yourself and push yourself further. They are fun and provide a venue for more complicated creations that could not be done in a traditional classroom setting. Eleonora plans to return to Columbia someday and open a cake decorating business there.

Red Fruit Clafoutis

Clafoutis, is a baked French dessert of black cherries or other fruit including red cherries, plums, prunes, apples, cranberries or blackberries. The berries are arranged in a dish and covered with a flan-like batter. The clafoutis can be served either warm or cold.

The clafoutis comes from Limousin region of France and where black cherries are the tradition. The region of Limousin is a former Province of France around the city of Limoges in central France. It lies in the foothills of the western edge of the Massif Central, with cold weather in the winter.

A traditional Limousin clafoutis contains pits of the cherries. According to some, the pits release a wonderful flavor when the dish is cooked. If the cherry pits are removed prior to baking, the clafoutis will be milder in flavor.

The dish's name derives from Occitan clafotís, from the verb clafir, meaning "to fill" – perhaps the batter with cherries - Occitan is a Romance language spoken in parts of Southern France. Clafoutis apparently spread throughout France during the 19th century.

For 10 crème brulee ramequins
• 9 oz milk
• 4 oz cream
• 4 Eggs
• 7 oz sugar
• 1 drop of orange essence
• 16 oz berries

1. Blend the milk, cream, eggs, sugar and orange essence together
2. Split the berries between the 10 ramequins
3. Pour the milk mix on the top of the berries
4. Preheat your oven at 375°F
5. Bake at 375°F for 20 minutes until light brown color
6. Serve either warm or cold

Bon Appétit

Gary Mularski – Dining Chez Vous – Best Boss I Ever Had

Today, Gary Mularski has his own business as a personal chef, his business is Dining Chez Vous (Dining at Your Place). How did he get there? Gary has a B.S. in Chemical engineering and spent 29 years in sales and management positions of large multi-national companies. It was during a five year stint in Belgium that Gary developed a passion for French food and cooking. He walked away from a very good position in 2008 to take early retirement. He wanted to do something that he loved. That love was culinary arts.

Gary saw the show “Recipe for Success” on the Food Network, and this particular episode focused on personal chefs that prepared meals for busy families. That sparked an idea. At that time he had taken a couple “boot camp” type cooking classes. He decided to take the next step in formalizing his culinary education. He attended a Culinary Institute LeNôtre open house and then enrolled in the Diploma program for Culinary Arts. He graduated in February 2009 with Gold Medal Honors and a Diploma as Sous Chef in Culinary Arts with a specialty in cuisine.

Then he opened Dining Chez Vous personal chef service. He offers personal chef services, dinner party services and entertainment cooking. The most intriguing engagement was also his first. A person in Philadelphia contacted him after finding him through the United States Personal Chef Association (USPCA) directory listing. The customer wanted to arrange for a real French meal to be prepared for his parents who had never been to France and who lived in Houston. Gary was the chef.

His personal chef services are his mainstay. They are for people that like to eat healthy meals but are either too tired to cook or don’t like to cook. He offers weekly meal packages for individuals and families. How does he operate the personal chef business? Many of the family meals are prepared the night before and instructions are left on how to reheat. He makes it simple for his clients. He brings all of his own tools and does all clean-up himself.

But, it is not as easy as it sounds. First he reviews with his client likes, dislikes and special dietary considerations. From this he can plan menus. But, he as an independent business has a variety of other tasks such as being up-to-date on health regulations, advertising (including a web site), and sourcing - he does it all.

How does he get his business? Today he gets about 60% of his customer leads through his web site and 40% through his listing in the USPCA directory listing. He also gets requests for dinner parties and entertainment cooking from past co-workers. He works about 10-12 days a month and loves it. The best boss he ever had.

Antonina Kuzmin – Mathematician to Culinary Artist

Antonina now works at the River Oaks Country Club under Chef Charles Carroll, CEC AAC, helping with a variety of food events. She completed the Diploma Program in Cuisine at Culinary Institute LeNôtre and graduate May 7. While at Culinary Institute LeNôtre she did an externship at a Houston Restaurant which prepared her for her job at the country club. Her dream now: to work at a Gordon Ramsay Restaurant in Europe.

But, she was not always a culinarian. Antonina, originally from Russia, has a degree in Economics and Management from a university in Russia and also degrees in Mathematics and Economics from a German university. She spent almost eight years of her life immersed in these fields. How did this hard core mathematician become a culinarian?

Antonina says her father was a chef and always told her to never do this, it is too hard. This is what initially led her down the path for her degrees in economics, mathematics, and management. But, she always had a love for cooking. As she contrasts the two fields: in mathematics and economics you are always proving something which has already been proven; there is not a sense of it being useful. With Culinary arts you are producing something that is useful, pleasing to the eye and pleasing to the palette.

It came down to a choice of what is right, culinary arts, versus what is easier, to stay on track with mathematics and economics. She chose the route that was right for her, Culinary Arts. What she has found is that studying cuisine has opened up her mind and her horizons. Cuisine is tangible, you taste everything you make. Cuisine is creative, not a narrow look at things.

What were some of the things she especially enjoyed at Culinary Institute LeNôtre? To start, a diploma program was offered. With multiple degrees she did not need to seek another. Secondly, the intensity of the labs: the full-time chef instructors are there for you to get the knowledge if you want it. They also prepare you for the real world. She could not believe that at the end of level I, cuisine students were well prepared for creating a full buffet for the graduation reception.

Now that she has graduated and is working in the real world she is seeing just how well prepared she is. Recently she saw a chef come in for an interview at River Oaks Country Club and the candidate was given a mystery basket. At the start of her program at Culinary Institute LeNôtre this exercize seemed daunting. She now saw that she could tackle the creative challenge, identify the ingredients and know what could be made from them. Congratulations Antonina!

Sandra Alonzo Shafer – Alumna and Personal Chef – Take Charge of your Career

Sandra Alanzo Shafer made an about face in her career when she left the Petrochemical Industry and entered the Culinary Institute Alain & Marie LeNôtre. In less than one year Sandra has moved herself up the ladder from a position at the River Oaks Country Club paying $9.50 an hour to a position as a personal chef making $70,000 a year. How did she do this and what is her job like? Sandra says simply hard work and networking got her there.

From the time she returned from a six year stint in Cyprus with her family until enrolling in Culinary Institute LeNôtre she attended the institute’s annual open house. The institute felt like home; with French cuisine and pastry the foundation of the program and the international flavor of the environment she knew this was what she was looking for. Sandra had spent time traveling internationally and speaks four languages: English, Spanish and some Greek and French.

She visited on a Friday in January 2008 and immediately began classes on the following Monday. Sandra completed two AAS degrees, an Associate degree in Culinary Arts and an Associate degree in Baking and Pastry Arts, and graduated in July of 2009. The rigorous programs, instructors that were vested in her success, encouragement from the entire staff and her dedication prepared her for her career once she graduated.

Sandra takes everything on full throttle. While at Culinary Institute LeNôtre she did an externship at the River Oaks Country Club and upon graduation she was brought in to the River Oaks Country Club in a temporary position to help with the Friday and Saturday buffets. One of her first nights there she prepared a 50 pound bag of carrots, without her own knife and getting tennis elbow for weeks as a result, but she was called back for a full-time position. Sandra’s advice is that there is no job too little in a kitchen and always put your best effort forward. You never know where it will lead.

Once full time, Sandra dove in and made sure to apply high standards to her work. One task she was required to do was to prepare a menu each week. Menus were due to the executive chef, Chef Charles Carroll, on Thursday for approval. Sandra made certain to always have hers worked out and submitted by email by Wednesday that way her menus were approved by Thursday morning allowing her more time to source and prepare. Sandra says put in the extra effort, you will be noticed.

Sandra left the River Oaks Country Club for a position at the Coronado Club. She received a raise here, but a main consideration was that she had the weekends off.

Some short time after this Executive Chef Charles Carroll, of the River Oaks Country Club, contacted her to let her know of a VIP club member that was in need of a personal chef. The position would include managing and preparing family and business dinners and the salary was $70,000 a year. With Chef Charles recommendation and her excellent track record she landed the job.

Sandra reports that flexibility is a number one requirement in this position and that the job is hard work but there are great perks too. The meals usually run from the three family members to ten people. Many times guests are at short notice. There are occasional receptions and luncheons. She plans on bringing in other Culinary Institute LeNôtre students to help with special events rather than hiring professionals in the field. Her days are variable.

As for perks, she has gotten to travel with the family to their Aspen home on a private jet to cook for them while there. And she has even traveled to Paris, Rome, and Greece as part chef and partly to serve as guidance for the young ladies of the home. Flexibility pays.

Whereas at a club you have a team of chefs and cooks to put things together, here Sandra must do it all. Sandra uses all of the techniques learned at Culinary Institute LeNôtre. Though the family says she doesn’t have to make more than a simple meal some days, she is creative as possible using the techniques she learned at Culinary Institute LeNôtre to improve and keep her skills current. Her meals stand out. Sandra says “Never let your skills lag; always strive to do your best. You will always get a great referral.”

She does her shopping on Monday to keep the pantry well stocked and buy the basics. She purchases the proteins when the menu is planned. Having a well stocked pantry enables her to stretch meals when there are last minute guests. She serves every dinner with a salad, main course, and a dessert.

Sandra has wonderful advice: Networking cannot be stressed enough. When meeting people in the culinary field ask for advice, ask for referrals, follow through with the contacts you are given. When meeting people in the culinary field ask them about their experiences to become familiar with all the choices there are.

She has had fabulous experiences by networking, for example while on vacation in Puerto Vallarta with her husband they were treated to a dinner off the menu because she had networked with the CEC on her previous trip there.

Sandra continues to use the Culinary Institute LeNôtre as a resource. The doors are always open here. She has not had much work with chocolates lately and wanted to keep her skills current in this area. She attended the chocolate gala and asked Chef Philippe if she could attend Pastry Lab when chocolates are covered; the answer was “of course”. Sandra states “The doors are always open for anything that you need help with at Culinary Institute LeNôtre.”

Take your career into your own hands, work your hardest and network!