Knowledge Base > Eric Wynkoop - Ask Me Anything (Office Hours)

Ask Me Anything (Office Hours)

Eric Wynkoop - Ask Me Anything (Office Hours)

This event was on Tuesday, April 30, 2024 at 11:00 am Pacific, 2:00 pm Eastern

Join Chef Eric Wynkoop in his virtual office as he welcomes all of your questions. This event was created for you and we encourage you to Ask Anything – from cooking techniques to co… Read More.

Recorded

Question:

Can you talk about what is expected with the blanching/par boiling broccoli assignment on Rouxbe?

Answer:

It could, you know, uh, that the assignment focuses on broccoli. It's a great item to, to use, and we ask that you use that, um, unless there's some absolute extenuating circumstance that, uh, precludes you from doing that. But, um, what I find is that, um, uh, a many students will strive to, to, to match the, you know, when they cut the broccoli in half the internal sort of the, the visual appearance of the broccoli against what we show in our video lesson. And they become consumed with the look of the broccoli and, um, will admit defeat. Uh, if their results don't look the same, what? But, uh, actually, what's most important is the texture. Okay? Uh, broccoli, like, like any of us, has its own personality. And whether it's seasonally or based upon geographic origin or, or something else, you know, one of those many variables that we encounter with food, the look of the, in the, uh, uh, the stock, once you cut it open, can be different, um, from what you see in our video lesson. Um, so the important thing when cooking, of course, is to put the product in your mouth, uh, and to understand it, right? That's ultimately what we're gonna do. So, uh, you know, if, if you're visual characteristics of the broccoli aligned with our video lesson, fantastic, and, and most of the time it does, uh, but there are a fair number of times when it doesn't, don't worry about it. Um, now this is where, uh, in your assignment, your description becomes very important, uh, as an online, uh, experience. I'm talking now as an instructor. Uh, we rely upon two things, of course, uh, to pro to critique your, your work and to provide, provide feedback. And one is your clear up close photographs, and the second is your rich description. And, uh, when we combine those two, it's amazing how much we can understand about your food, not only about the food on the plate, but also what you did with that food, um, you know, in preparing it. And, uh, so your rich description, uh, also tells us your experience and your comprehension, uh, of the process, as well as the finished product. And that's very important because ultimately, you're the cook. Uh, and, you know, we want you to understand what's going on, to give you that, uh, that empowerment, uh, in your own kitchen. Uh, so please accompany, uh, all of your assignments and, you know, starting with this blanching assignment with a rich description, uh, that talks about the texture and the comparison between the multiple samples, uh, that you submit.
Eric Wynkoop

Eric Wynkoop

Director of Culinary Instruction

rouxbe.com