An Audition of Sorts

When I finished the Pastry Program at school, I chatted a bit with the director of the Recreational Program about teaching an introductory canning class. It seemed to be something they weren't currently offering and when I speak with people about canning they often asked how to do it. So I thought maybe I could use my experience and, via the culinary school, teach a recreational class or two. 

Before I could be approved to teach I had to lead a demonstration of what I might be doing to a few of the people who organize the classes. I decided to make strawberry jalapeño jam as it's not just a plain fruit jam and it allows for a conversation about improvising. I brought all my equipment, ingredients, and a bunch of my cookbooks as well as some finished products for the audience to sample. 

There was something that was going on in the kitchen this morning that was supposed to be done by the time my demo was scheduled but things didn't quite go as planned. The kitchen behind me hummed with activity (and smelled amazing) as chefs prepared for a big event tomorrow. Since I like that level of busy-ness I didn't mind at all. I did have to use the front demonstration stove which is electric. I haven't used an electric stove in decades! It was an adjustment but I managed. I got everything ready to go ahead of time so it would be more like a cooking show and then people didn't have to sit around and watch me chop.

Ultimately, I made eight jars of strawberry jalapeño jam (I kept two) and got permission to teach the class. Yay! I even spent some time helping out with dishes for the group doing event prep since they were stacking up. It felt really nice to be back in that kitchen.