PBS and chef Hubert Keller

It's been an exciting, but grueling week. I've been working really hard on my capstone project, a research paper, and my sommelier training, and working 10 hour days on the "Secrets of a Chef" set.

Monday was my first day on the set, and the first day of filming. Above is a picture of the set, we're filming in the Fleur de Lys kitchen, which is really beautiful. And yes, that's Hubert Keller, and he's a really nice guy.

He also makes incredibly beautiful food. He has a great eye for presentation. The stuff he makes for the show is simplified for the home cook, but still very tasty. Above is a salmon ceviche, from the second day of filming. At this point it was sitting under the lights for a bit, so it was far prettier on camera. Filming adds a whole different set of complications to cooking, it's interesting to see behind the scenes.

For my Wednesday morning Advanced Restaurant Desserts class, we had the pastry chef from Botero at Encore give a demonstration. She made fried tempura cheesecake, and dressed it up to look like a sushi roll. It was really cute, for the "ginger" she used shaved pear, and the wasabi was white chocolate that she intentionally seized with water and green food coloring. The cheesecake was molded into a tube, then frozen, rolled in hazelnuts, battered, then fried. She topped it with thinly sliced bananas, caramelized some sugar on top, then sliced it.

We didn't get to plate our own desserts for lack of time, but we will have two really pretty (and delicious) platings next week, and the chef was a really cool lady, so it was definitely worth it.

I had a little bit of time to throw together dinner last night. It doesn't look like much, but the flavor was really great. I made an American bison tri-tip, with mole and Arrogant Bastard Ale demi glace, and a pumpkin and Pecorino gratin. With a little tweaking, this dish could be something incredible, I had to stop my boyfriend from stealing it off my plate before I could finish!

Today was another long day of filming. I was an extra on the set again (I'm going to be on TV!), today chef Keller prepared several "sliders", above are scallop, bacon, and spicy mayo sliders.

Chef Keller's parents owned a bakery in France when he was growing up, so he also made millefuilles, they were really beautiful, and when they brought the leftovers backstage, they disappeared really quickly.

He loves burgers, here's another style of "slider", seared salmon, topped with cucumbers and some smoked salmon instead of bacon. He also made bison and king crab sliders, and braised beef cheeks.

Filming is a bit arduous, and completely different from working the line in a normal kitchen, but the experience really helps add to your creativity and versatility, so I truly appreciate the opportunity. Plus, I get to be on TV; granted, I'm in the background pretending to cut and stir things, but it's still pretty cool!

Now it's time to drink wine, make dinner, and study for my midterm tomorrow. I'm going to be going back to the set after class, working an event on Saturday, then filming again next week. No rest for the weary!

Until next time, adios!