Students Learn That Culinary Skills Extend Beyond the Kitchen

Three weeks was just enough time. By January 24^th, the ten students in the winter study course Elementary Cooking Techniques were ready to emulsify, sauté, braise, and poach their way through preparing a grand final dinner. As they cooked for students in Peter Pedroni’s wine tasting class, the skills they had acquired

during intensive cooking sessions helped them stay focused and produce colorful plates featuring seasonal products—all without the use of recipes. Elementary Cooking Techniques armed these mostly first-year students with professional kitchen skills and fostered their understanding of farm-to-table cooking.

Over the January term, instructor Brent Wasser guided students through the foundations of classic French cooking. Students simmered beef bones for hours in pursuit of clear flavorful stock. They learned to dice onion uniformly, julienne carrots to exact specifications, and mince garlic so as to maximize its flavor. From roasting chicken to pan-frying portobello mushroom caps, they explored fundamental cooking methods suited to fruits, vegetables, and meats alike. “I thought I wanted a couple of basic recipes to work with, but knowing these five techniques is infinitely more useful,” said Joe Bianco ‘16. After reflecting on

hours spent practicing knife cuts with his eight-inch chef’s knife, Corey Smith ’14 realized, “I can now tell the difference between mirepoix, medium dice, small dice, and brunoise.”

Readings and field trips emphasized the value of understanding how food is grown and knowing its origin. Students read authors such as California peach grower David Mas Masumoto and farm-to-table advocate Chef Dan Barber. At Mighty Food Farm in Pownal, VT, students learned about season extension as they harvested spinach alongside farmer Lisa MacDougall in a high tunnel. At East Mountain Farm in Williamstown, farmer Kim Wells ‘78 explained the differences between the pig breeds he raises. Meeting the farmers that grew or raised the vast majority of the raw ingredients used during the class helped students understand the impact their food choices have on the local economy and the environment. “Elementary Cooking Techniques made me realize the need to regain mindfulness about our eating habits—the need to consider not only the pleasure and energy we get from food, but also the labor, artistry, and natural resources required to put food on our plates,” said Rebecca Lewis. From organic produce to pastured meats and MSC-certified fish, the course continually reinforced the importance of making responsible food choices.

Students had an opportunity to learn from professionals working in the hospitality industry. At Mezze Bistro+Bar in Williamstown, they watched chef Joji Sumi break down a whole hog. “In visiting the restaurant Mezze and watching Joji make use of an entire pig so as to be as sustainable as possible, I have come to understand the importance of respecting our resources,” said Jessica Bernheim ‘16. Michael Menard, the lead baker with Williams Dining, taught a class on bread making. The students each made their own dough using Vermont-grown flour, and leavened it with the college bakeshop’s very own sourdough. Near the end of the course, a field trip to New York City with Johanna Kolodny ‘01 afforded students the opportunity to see farm-to-table cooking in action at the restaurants Print and The Green Table. “I have learned to step back from the immediate desire to create a meal and first give deliberate consideration to what is available per season, what is produced locally, and by what methods it is produced,” said Ryann Noe ‘16. An afternoon spent learning about the foods sold at the Union Square Greenmarket exposed students to the wide variety of regionally grown food available in the middle of winter.

Some students finished the course with new professional inspirations. After meeting men and women working in agriculture and the hospitality industry, the world of food seemed more approachable. “One of my favorite things about the course was getting a chance to meet people who are working in fields that don’t

necessarily require graduate school (or any school for that matter) but that are still incredibly fulfilling,” said Sophia Janetty ‘16. Corey Smith ‘14, who was interested in cooking professionally before the course, finished the January session with a stronger conviction that food will be an important part of his professional future. The experience of learning about cooking from seed to plate made the vast possibilities of working with food more clear to him: “This class really took to heart what Fernand Point says in Ma Gastronomie: ‘As far as cuisine is concerned, one must read everything, see everything, hear everything, try everything, observe everything, in order to retain, in the end, just a little bit!’”

These students will likely all continue their quest to understand the convergence of culinary arts and agricultural ethics. Three weeks of intensive cooking was just the beginning of their journey, but it was enough time to produce a fine meal that was delicious and sustainable.

 

Elementary Cooking Techniques welcomes Economics, Geography, and Appreciation of Wine

• Spinach salad with bacon vinaigrette, apples, and local sheep’s milk cheese

• Cream of red kuri squash soup with sunchoke chips; multigrain rolls

• Roasted butternut squash, sweet potatoes, apples, and caramelized onions, with kale chips

• Beef braised in merlot wine and hearty beef stock, with root vegetables

• Green tea cake and ginger poached pear, with ginger-infused honey and vanilla bean whipped cream

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