Accompaniments & Garnish and About Chefs Career

Accompaniments &Garnish

Accompaniments can be defined as any additional food items that are served with the main dish. Accompaniments are generally flavored food and sauces offered with specific main dishes. Appropriate accompaniment enhances the flavor of the dish by providing a balance and contrast to taste. There are various accompaniments that are being served with different dishes in separate monkey bowls.

Garnish can be defined as a small bit of foodstuff used as decoration on top of the main dish to enhance the presentation. Different varieties of fresh cream vegetable products, meat items, sauces, gravies, pasta items shell fishes etc are mainly used for garnishing the dishes of particular choice. Careful selections of garnishes that have flavor, color and eye appeal are accepted to make the dish attractive. Main purposes of garnishing dishes are as follows;

• To make the dish attractive in appearance
• To enhance the flavor and appetite
• To help improve the color combination with the main dish.

Garnish can be divided into two types as:

1. Simple garnish
2. Composite/ compound garnish

Simple garnish consists of single food items whereas compound garnish are the combination of more than one food items used in the decoration of a particular dish.

Food, Accompaniment and Their Garnishes

Tomato soup: crouton or cream as garnish

Momo: soup, tomato sauce, pickles

Pizza / pasta: tomato sauce, grated parmesan cheese

Roast lamb: mint sauce, roast gravy, bread rolls, butter

Roast chicken: Roast potato, roast gravy, bread sauce

Roast pork: apple sauce

Roast duck: apple sauce, orange sauce

Fried fish: tartar sauce, lemon

Pulao: fried cashew nuts and onion

Dal: whole red chili, coriander leaves, fried onions

Burger/ sandwiches: potato chips, lettuce, French fry

Iced-tea: slice of lemon, / lemon wedges with mint spring

Cream soup: cream and chopped parsley

Oysters: tobacco sauce, brown bread, butter

Tandoori chicken: Onions rings, lemon slices, green salads, mint sauces

About Chef Career

If your vision of a chef is someone in a puffy white hat who races around the kitchen making sure each order is filled, then you are only partly right. True a chef`s job revolves around creating meals that tastes and looks great. Chefs plan menus and create meals in a variety of settings, from a cafeteria to upscale restaurants. There are many levels of chefs, from prep chefs to executive's chefs. Executive chefs spend most of their time planning menus and supervising others. The hours are long and the stress runs high.

Chefs and dinner cooks measure, mix and cook food according to the recipes. Perhaps no one is more synonymous with the word chef than the late Julia child. With her sharp wit, easy going attitude and signature voice. Julia brought French cuisine to America kitchen. Her first cooking show was debuted in 1963 on a public television. She made "supremes de volaille a blance" or chicken poached in butter. It was served with rice, wine and cream sauce. Before she passed away in 2004. American enjoyed over four decades of Julia child`s culinary expertise.

Chefs and dinner cooks prepare meals in restaurant, hotels, and institutions. Although the terms chefs and cooks are used interchangeably, chefs tend to be more highly skilled and better trend than cooks. Many chefs have earned fame for themselves and their restaurants by their skillful preparation of dishes. In general chefs and cooks mix and measure ingredients. They cut and chop food items. They season and cook dishes and meals. They regulate the temperature for ovens, broilers, rolls, and other pastries. To do their work, chefs and cook use varieties of pots, pan, knives, and utensils. They also use equipment such as slicers, grinders, and blenders. In addition, they clear equipment or work areas or inspect the cleaning done by others workers.

Many chefs and dinner cooks may also hire and train cooks and kitchen workers. In addition, many chefs and cooks keep records of food supplies that are used. They then estimate when more will be needed and order them. Some chefs and cooks also help, plan meals and develop menus. The specific duties of chefs and cooks are often determined by the restaurant in which they work. Institutional chefs and cooks work in the kitchens of schools, hospital, and other institutions. For each meal, they prepare large quantities of a limited number of menus items. Restaurants chefs and cooks typically prepare a wider selection of dishes. They usually cook most orders individually.

Large eating places have varied menus and employ many kitchen workers. Their kitchen staff often includes several chefs and cooks. These workers are sometimes called assistant or apprentice chefs or cooks. Each one usually has a special assignment and often a special title, such as vegetable, fry or sauce cook. Executive chefs coordinate the work of all. To be a chef one must practice the following points;

• Sign up for cooking and nutrition classes; the sooner you learn the basic the better.
• Sit up in chemistry where you will learn about the makeup of different foods and the link between chemistry and nutrition.
• Take business classes. Some chefs take on managerial tasks, such as budgeting and staffing. And you might end up with your restaurant someday.
• Get an after-school job at a restaurant and find out if the fast pace of the kitchen for you.

References:

Joshi, Basant Prasad et.al., Fundamentals of Hotel Management-XII, Sukunda Pustak Bhandar, Kathmandu

Bhandari, Saroj Sing et.al., Principle of Hotel Management-XII, Asmita Publication, Kathmandu

Oli, Gopal Singh et.al., Hotel Management Principle and practices-XII, Buddha Prakashan, Kathmandu