Kusina Maria

Mocha Souffle

Day 1 of the Certificate Program on Basic Cooking and Baking Skills at the Center for Asian Culinary Arts (CACS) Davao was a frantic but enjoyable one. It started with the distribution of uniforms, kits (with very sharp knives), and manuals. We then met with Chef Agnes Borromeo, a graduate of CACS, who briefed us on the basic rules, things to remember, and such stuff. We were asked to introduce ourselves. Surprised to know that some of my classmates travel from other cities and provinces just to take the class. The more shocking thing was that we didn’t have any lunch breaks. BOO! But since it was our first day, and we weren’t warned, they gave us an hour.

Chef Agnes Borromeo

Chef Agnes taught us the basic terms and things to remember when baking, and she demonstrated peeling and cutting fruits, and how to prepare and cook pancakes and crepes. YUM!

Group 2 with Chef Agnes

We were assigned to groups, with each group assigned five recipes to make. Group 2 is composed of me, Rosemarie, Kuya Bong of Iligan, Kristopher, and Earl. We were assigned to make the following:

• Chicken and Ham Crepes
• Crepes Samurai
• Chorizo Souffle
• Mocha Souffle
• Creme Caramel Renversee

It took our group a long time to mise en place (prepare ingredients, containers, and tools) as everybody went crazy in the kitchen like headless chickons. LOL! We even forgot to mise en place for some recipes. And it took us a lot of tries to get the separation of the eggs properly. Rose, Kristopher, and Earl were good at it though. I was more into sifting flour, measuring, and looking for the ingredients.

Chorizo Souffle

We took care of preparing the crepes batters first, then the souffles. I prepared the Mocha Souffle with Earl, while the others took care of the Chorizo Souffle. We had an easy time with our dessery souffle but we had to take good care in folding the whipped egg whites with the mocha base so the mixture would not fall flat. We had a bit of a fail moment when the egg mixture of the savory souffle fell flat because the egg whites were whipped too early even as the chorizo base wasn’t cooled yet. Rose and Bong rushed to make a second batch which was done hastily but perfectly. Our Mocha Souffle was great. I love mocha so I loved it sooo much. It had great flavor, and a very soft and fluffy, airy, light texture. The Chorizo Souffle was also very good, a bit crusty on top but very soft inside. And very savory, perfect for chorizo-lovers like Chef Agnes.

Chicken and Ham Crepes

After the crepes’ batter has been refrigerated and cooled, Rose started cooking the crepes, both savory and sweet. Meanwhile, Kuya Bong and Kristopher prepared the other components of our crepe dishes. For the Chicken and Ham Crepes, they prepared the sauteed chicken and ham mixture and the mornay sauce. And for the Crepes Samurai, they prepared tons of fresh ripe mangoes and a custard sauce. The two crepe dishes were then assembled separately in baking dishes and baked like casseroles. Our Chicken and Ham Crepes were sooo creamy, rich, and flavorful that Chef Agnes told the rest of the class to taste it. It complemented well the saltiness of our Chorizo Souffle.

Crepes Samurai

Meanwhile, our Crepes Samurai, though also very good was a bit of a fail when we divided it straight right out from the oven. It became a watery albeit very delicious mess. LOL! I brought some of it to the poker room and my colleagues loved it and asked for more. Somebody told me that the taste was a bit uneven. I blame the watery mess. I suggest it be prepared, baked in served in individual portions to avoid the mess. Or prepared and baked as a big casserole, but refrigerated first so the thing would harden a bit before being cut up and served.

Group 3's Pot de Creme

For our group’s custard, I took the responsibility of making the Creme Caramel Renversee (French for sosy Leche Flan). As I have made leche flan before, I was confident I would be able to do it without any untoward incidents. I called on the boys to separate the egg yolks I needed, but it was all me from that moment on. I prepared the caramel base on the round baking dish, made the custard and prepared the bain marie (water bath). Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to wait for it to bake as it was too late already so I don’t have any photos or commentary on its taste. But I would like to think I made a kick-ass Creme Caramel Renversee.

Ria

I also loved the Pot de Creme that Group 3 made, and the totally fab and slightly healthy Chicken and Spinach Crepes of Group 5. It was a hectic but very much enjoyable experience. And I am totally looking forward to more lunch break-less Saturdays in the kitchen with my groupmates, my classmates, our Chef teachers, and unlimited culinary fun mixed in with learning.

Thank you again to my Mommy for enrolling me!!! <3