Day 02: Salads & Dressings

Jul

Day 02: Salads & Dressings

Yesterday’s lesson was all about salads and dressings. We’re tasked to complete 9 salads and the following dressings in four hours from scratch:

mayonnaise
curry dressing (mayo based)
thousand island dressing (mayo based)
honey dill mustard sauce (mayo based)
cocktail sauce (mayo based)
yoghurt dressing
caesar salad dressing
bacon mustard sauce
asian dressing
balsamic vinaigrette
raspberry dressing

Chef Gerd divided the class into four teams and my team was tasked to complete the following:

Cucumber Salad with Yogurt Dressing
Thai Beef Salad
Shrimp Cocktail
Cocktail Sauce

Sounds easy, no? Not! Every salad should be for 10 pax and each dressing’s yeild is about a litre!

My task: cut 0.9kg tomatoes with a dull knife!

Chef Gerd working some brandy into the garlic fried prawns

tuna loins seared only 10 seconds on each side to avoid meat toughening

It wasn’t very easy listening to Chef Gerd while standing next to these!

Our salads and dressings combined after four hours:

Salmon Tartar with Honey Dill Mustard Dressing
I can eat this all day. Seriously.

Chicken Pineapple Salad in Curry Dressing
The curry’s a warm and interesting twist to the usual chicken salad. A definite must try!

Warm Potato Salad in Bacon Mustard Sauce
Chef Gerd was right! This salad served with a really fat and juicy BBQ will merit you a spouse! HE DID! :lol:

Black Pepper and Cilantro Crusted Seared Tuna
My fave! The super pepper spiced tuna reminded me of the grilled porkloin Jayvee made.

Thai Beef Salad
Oooooh! Those’re my (almost Julienned) tomatoes! Very hearty and filling salad. Best served after cooling since it’s got lots of cucumber.

Shrimp Cocktail
Even non-drinkers will get a good kick out of this yummy baby. Don’t forget to squeeze the lemon!

(same salad above good for 10)

Mesclun Greens with Mango, Apples, and Garlic Fried Prawns tossed in Balsamic Dressing
This salad made me appreciate the hard work behind doing everything from scratch. The raspberry vinaigrette’s AMAZING! The flavors just keep on bursting in my mouth bite after bite!