38 AMERICANWAY
NOVEMBER 15 2009
C O O K I N G
Y
“You can’t cook unless You’re havin’ fun!
You cannot do
this if you don’t
love it
!” Chef Brannon Soileau’s booming Louisi-
ana drawl echoes aroundK7. The
K
stands for kitchen classroom;
there are 41 here at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA), the
Juilliardof culinaryarts.Soileau is likeacrossbetweenSantaClaus
and adrill sergeant. This is Skills II, and today’s lesson is braising:
the alchemy of turning tough, cheap cuts into gustatory gold. I’ve
come to get a glimpse of student life, and I’m already worried for
my eyebrows — the heat from the industrial six-burner cooktop
feels like awall of flame.
Soileau’s demo concludes, and pens are tucked into shoulder
pockets,next to thermometersand tastingspoons.Fifteen tall,white
toques flit between cutting boards and sauté pans. The uniforms
cover the tattoos I’ve heard of andhope to glimpse: whisks, knives,
and the words
duck fat
in a banner where the word
mom
might
otherwise be. Soileau pulls tongs out of his briefcase and snatches
seasonedmeat toput intoahot pan to sear. “Thispan’sbeen rockin’
sincewe’ve been
talkin’!” A few laughs echo around the fresh-faced
group. “Howdoweknowwhen it’sdone?”asksSoileau.Thestudents
reply in chorus: “Fork-tender, Chef!”Thiswill be theirdinner.
IfYouCan’tStand the
Heat…
For students at theCulinary Institute of
America, cooking is asmuch an obsession
as it is a vocation.
ByKellyKingman
Grandbuffet
students in acia kitchen
Baking andpastry instruction
