One of my favorite classes we teach at The Chopping Block is Culinary Boot Camp. I am sure everyone has heard me talking about it a million times before, but it is one of the most comprehensive, technical and life-changing cooking classes for the home cook. It consists of five intensive, 8-hour days where students learn everything from knife skills, butchery, braising, and every other cooking technique a home cook would need to be comfortable and confident in their own kitchen.
I love being able to make connections with my students, and by having a longer time together in the kitchen we are able to get all of their questions answered. My favorite part of teaching this course is seeing those "a-ha" moments when the light bulb goes off in their brains and it is all starting to click, and the cooking processes start to make sense. On graduation day, the last day of Boot Camp, the students get to make their own meal with their partners. The intent is that the students have learned all of the skills during the week that they can make anything they can imagine! They get to choose any protein to work with and they have five hours to cook a fabulous meal. I have seen so many fantastic meals made on this day, from Lobster Thermador to whole poached snapper!
Scallops, crab, and shellfish are always a popular choice on the final day. One of the lessons on day five other than just cooking is plating techniques. I try to inspire the students to go out of their normal plating routines and think of height, focal points, white space and how to create movement around the plate. Pictured below are mini crab cakes with mango salsa, salsa verde, hollandaise, and red pepper coulis.
Inevitably lamb gets picked often as a final protein for the graduation meal. Most people will order lamb at a restaurant, but they just don’t feel comfortable cooking it at home. And that is exactly what I want to help the home cooks with! Anything that they can order in a restaurant is possible for them to cook at home. So I absolutely love it when they choose lamb because it is one of my favorites to cook at home. I have seen students braise lamb shanks for tacos.
One of my go to recipes for lamb is a simple sheet tray meal of fennel, onions and rack of lamb roasted in the oven and served with pomegranates and balsamic glaze. I was really happy when one group wanted to try it for themselves.
Another group decided on a Mediterranean theme for their lamb dish. They made a charred blood orange honey glaze to accompany their roasted carrots with hazelnuts and feta cheese. They made an herb, cumin and coriander seed crust on their rack of lamb.
I would have to say that the most popular protein choice is duck. Students love learning how to properly render, or melt off the fat layer, to create a crisp crunchy fat cap on the duck breast. Most students learn that it is a completely different cooking process compared to chicken and that you can, in fact, eat duck medium rare!
On the second day of Boot Camp, we learn how to butcher a chicken so to take that skill a step further a lot of the students want to work with the whole duck on day five. That way, they get to practice their butchering skills they just learned and they can prepare their duck in a variety of different ways.
Students get so creative with their preparations! In the picture below, the group made sautéed duck breasts with roasted brussels sprouts, risotto, and root vegetables in a flavorful harissa broth.
This group made a cherry gastrique and chutney to pair with their duck.
Another popular preparation I see in Boot Camp is to use the legs and thighs and confit them. To confit means to cook something in fat slowly and for a long period of time until it is tender. Usually, this process takes multiple days but we are able to achieve the same result in just under four hours. First, we cure the legs in an equal part salt and sugar mix with aromatics like herbs and spices. We completely cover the duck in the cure mixture and let it sit out at room temperature for an hour or so. Then we rinse the cure off and submerge the duck in duck fat and bake in 325-degree oven for about 3 to 4 hours until it is fork tender. This group used their duck confit in a cassoulet.
This group decided not to butcher their duck but wanted to try roasting a whole duck for the first time. I love seeing the students try things for the first time, and we all were so impressed by the juicy interior and perfectly crisp exterior!
I am always so proud and amazed with my Culinary Boot Camp students! They complete 40 hours of cooking and instruction and by the last day, they create something from scratch, something they have never attempted before. It is so incredible to be a part of. I can tell they are proud of themselves too when I see the excitement in their eyes!
All of The Chopping Block's classes offer inspiration for the home cook. Whether you have been cooking for years or are just starting to learn, there is always something to take away from our cooking classes. So I only have one question for you: if you are contemplating taking Culinary Boot Camp next year, what protein would you choose for your final graduation meal?
