I felt pretty comfortable with the subject matter of this class. I am very interested in nutrition and read a lot about it, particularly eating for health. I am also very aware of special diets for people with health concerns after being around my mother, who was diabetic and then later on a renal diet. Then there’s my son with the nut allergy who has made me cautious about using cashews in anything. He never had a reaction until he ate a cashew blondie, then started swelling and itching like crazy. He had to go to the Emergency Room for treatment!
We studied various diets for celiac disease, heart disease, gastric bypass, diabetic and others and then were given our assignment. We were given a role on the line and then Chef Kurima would give us a ticket. The ticket would specify the type of dietary restriction. We took turns being the executive chef, sous chef, line cook, and prep. Our first order was for a child with celiac disease and lactose intolerant. We made risotto with peas and corn and some pieces of chicken.
We were told that children don’t like their food touching and we should have made chicken nuggets. I was under the impression that we were in an upscale restaurant so I didn’t think about making a fast food type dish. Besides, my children all loved rice dishes with any number of added ingredients, but then they grew up in a Japanese/American household. We were given a variety of different tickets with low carb, heart disease, gastric bypass, diabetic, etc. You get the picture. We were not so great but not terrible either. At least we didn’t kill anyone and we were able to come up with a dish for every order. The final order was a dish for a customer who was blind, a smoker, had only one arm, dentures, and high blood pressure. At least chef has a sense of humor. Chef Ray volunteered to help us out by being the executive chef and we made shrimp and grits. His idea was to make a shrimp mousse served in a demitasse cup after it was baked in the oven. You can guess what happened when chef closed her eyes and tried to sample the food. Of course, she touched the demitasse cup and said, there you go–a lawsuit for my burn. So, even Chef Ray is not immune from the bad idea. Overall, a fun class and good learning experience. Not too stressed out for a change.
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