Need Some Help

[Nashby]

Hi all,

Ive read the forums for a while and this is my first post, a little about me, I moved to The Big Island of Hawaii from England when I was 18 and got a job as a Pantry cook at a Hotel, wasent my intention on moving here to become a cook although I have always had a passion in it and did want to become one when I was younger, So ive moved up recently to a Cook II position after working for a year and just moved to Main grill at night in a high volume fine dining outlet.

I don't have any real desire to goto culinary school any time soon since i do better working on the job and learn alot more (get paid to always helps) so I get all the food science books, and various other books I can to learn as much as I can since its what I love to do learn new things and try them out, but recently I got asked what are the 5 mother sauces, what are the 4 main cuts and I just looked at them and couldent say anything because I didn't know (save hollidase sauce and julliene cut.

So my question is there any comprehensive guide I can find all the main information I really need to know or do I have to keep seraching the web everytime I get asked somthing.

Thanks

[bbally]

Go to ACF and purchase The Professional Chef.

[teddy]

Professional cooking 4th or 5 th edition by Wayne Gisslen

[moselle]

"On Cooking" Labensky-Hause

[jonesg]

Learning the classifications of sauces doesn't make a good sauce, it just satifies a queery.

Knowing how to make all the sauces and make them well is more important than knowing the answer to an academic question.

If you have no desire to go the culinary academic route then just make sure you know your sauces, theres more people who can pass tests than there are cooks with talent who know how to tease a sauce to near perfection.

Save yourself a ton of money and use wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_sauce#Sauces_in_French_cuisine

Also, if you're serious about food, pick up some advanced pastry skills, they will carry you further than knowledge.

[Nashby]

In response to Jonesg I understand what your saying, but unfortunatly my work environment is quite hectic and sometimes really slow so i wanted a pysical reference i could just go on the line and make it and perfect it. Unfortunatly theres no pastry gear or pastry setup at the hotel (go figure) and all our sub par pastry chef does is proof premade pastrys from a box and fire them although I do make a mean Haupia for Luau.

Appreciate the awnsers

[chfbdawg]

http://www.acfchefs.org/Content/OnlineResources/books/books.html Culinary fundamentals, good one to start with.