Tarts must taste good, but they should also look “sexy,” culinary arts students at H. Lavity Stoutt Community College learned during an Oct. 13 baking class at the college.
“What is the thing that I always preach in here?” HLSCC culinary instructor Gorvey Henry asked the class as he prepared to demonstrate how to place fruits on a tart.
“Make it sexy,” a student replied from the group.
“Of course, it has to be sexy,” Mr. Henry countered. “How many times have you been to a pastry shop and all the items are not uniform? We want to make sure we avoid all of that.”
But the cooking course isn’t all about making tarts look sexy, Mr. Henry explained.
“By the end of the programme here, they should be able to make just about anything,” said the chef. “They should be able to take recipes and decipher the best cooking methods and ingredients.”
The course is designed to give students a feel of a normal commercial kitchen atmosphere, Mr. Henry said.
“This is a mirror of a real kitchen to a certain degree,” Mr. Henry said. “This isn’t as intense. It’s slower, we don’t have consumers we have to serve, but we do have a high standard.”
Jalezcia Smith said she’s adapting to the kitchen atmosphere.
Before joining the course three semesters ago, the budding chef could cook, but not as good as she can now, she explained.
“My skills were out of shape, but coming to the classes set them straight,” Ms. Smith said. “Now I’m the main cooking person in my family. I cook everything even birth day meals and for thanksgiving and Christmas. It’s always awesome to see the reaction from my family, especially when they smile and say the food tastes good.”
Christopher Luckham’s story is similar: Before the cooking classes, his family couldn’t trust him to make a meal, he said.
“But they are more confident in what I’m doing now,” he said as he helped whisk eggs for lemon merengue pie. “It’s been such a challenge but lots of things to learn and a lot of fun too.”
Though learning to cook is the ultimate goal, the students always make time to have some fun, according to the affable Mr. Luckham.
“That one over there, [Kevin Jones] he loves to interact with everyone,” Mr. Luckham said of his peers. “He bakes the best cakes. Over there, that’s Krista Grant, she’s the perfectionist; she always takes her time to make sure everything comes out right.”
Having a cordial relationship with each other makes things better, the student said.
“Team work is extremely important. If you’re a team, everything goes faster and smoother,” Mr. Luckham said.
Shemore Baker showed that during the class.
Ms. Baker, who is also passionate about electronics and technology, took some time to prepare coconut garnish for the group.
“Desserts are easy, but some of them can get complicated,” said Ms. Baker, who prepared a banana and chocolate tartlet. “You just need to know what you’re doing and follow the procedure.”
At times, cooking could be challenging, but having a passion for it makes everything easier, she said.
“This is what I love doing the most. This is my passion,” Ms. Baker said as she watched over sugar she had in a food processors. “Culinary art is not for everybody, you have to have a passion for it. If you have a passion for something, go for it.”
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