Meditation in the kitchen......

Most cooks are energized by the adrenalin rush of dinner service, the orchestrated hustle in a crowded kitchen. But the quiet hours at Liaison can also be an inspiration, before the creative process begins anew.

Dim light reflects off idle stoves, utensils wait in ordered assembly, and coolers hum a background melody unnoticed in the chaos of the day.

The counters sparkle, the floors are scrubbed. Tools are stacked in casual congregation as sauté pans on gleaming shelves form a military rumba line. Spring scales are poised for action while sauce

pans rest, nestled together on open racks.

The stillness is like meditation; a space to clear the mind, and slide into the day centred, focused, and ready to learn.

A positive attitude and strong spirit awarded at graduation and beyond...

 Kirandeep received Liaison Kitchener's
highest honour: the annual Award of Excellence.

Giovanna-
Certificate of Recognition

Chef Dean Michielsen has a sweet spot for all of his students, even after they have flown the coop. At last week’s graduation he sent his fledglings off into the culinary world with a mix of pride for their accomplishments, and sadness for their departure.

The room was filled with graduating part-timers from 2012 along with their families and friends, as Chef recalled the highlights of their time here at Liaison. “The dedication and enthusiasm of part-time students makes it exciting to teach you,” he says of the people that most often juggle full-time jobs, family responsibilities and evening classes. It also made his task of choosing just four students for achievement awards a very difficult one.    “Every one of you has the passion.” 

Chef Elaina Ravo, Director of Liaison Kitchener had her own words of wisdom & experience for those she addresses as "our very precious students”.

Teresa-
Certificate of Recognition 

“Being a professional chef is a gift and an honour. The only limitation in your path is you,” she advises. “To achieve your dream, you need a positive attitude and a strong spirit. You may have to get out and knock on doors, sometimes until your knuckles bleed. Some doors will be shut in your face, but you have to pick yourself up, brush off the dust, and keep knocking.” 

She closed with these timeless words, credited to many philosophical minds over the decades:

“Watch your thoughts, they become your words;


watch your words, they become your actions;


watch your actions, they become your habits;


watch your habits, they become your character;


watch your character, it becomes your destiny.”

Lonnie - Certificate of Recognition

For more photos of our March 20 graduation, visit our Facebook page. 

What's on the menu? Knife skills and technique with a recipe on the side......

Chicken curry with basmati rice, lime and cilantro.

Knife skills are an inherent part of
most lessons.

With so much going on at Liaison Kitchener during the daytime – full-time programs, special events, Friday lunches – our evening classes so far have been flying under the social media radar. Since they attend school just two evenings per week, these part-time students are part of the school’s social fabric for a much longer stretch of time than the daytime students, and deserve a little more attention. 

The lessons flow a little differently at night: while daytime classes concentrate on classroom theory in one five-week stretch, the part-timers get textbook material interspersed with hands-on kitchen time, giving them a chance to apply their freshly-learned theory at the stove as they work their way through their term.

Last week Chef Tekin had a couple of poultry lessons on the menu, walking the evening students through an Asian curry with basmati rice, along with a poached chicken leg, wrapped in bacon and stuffed with ricotta and spinach.

Chef Tekin wraps stuffed chicken in plastic wrap and foil
before poaching.

The goal is not so much for students to learn a recipe or two- those can be found in any number of books, magazines and websites. Knife skills and technique, however (cutting up a whole chicken, cooking methods, etc)  are at the heart of every lesson, giving students a chance to practice these essentials each time they don their aprons. 

For more photos, visit our Facebook page. 

Fuel your passion, feed your mind....

Chef Elaina Ravo in the library at Liaison Kitchener

The library at Liaison Kitchener feeds the mind and fuels the imagination; a sanctuary from the hustle of the kitchen and the intensity of the classroom.

Racks of neatly stacked magazines – Fine Cooking, Saveur, Cook’s Illustrated - flank a cast of characters, standing side by side like soldiers at role call: Brits Gordon Ramsay, Heston Blumenthal and Jamie Oliver are next to the new-world influence of the Barefood Contessa, Emeril Lagasse, and our own Ontario local-food champion Lynn Ogryzlo.

The bold, primary colours of the Culinaria Series defy political boundaries: Germany and France rub shoulders with Greece, while Spain and Italy get acquainted. Across the room, the complex layering of spices from Lebanon, Morocco, Jerusalem and Turkey share the shelves with fast and fiery Vietnamese. There are cookbooks in Arabic too, for a truly authentic reflection of the flavours of the Middle East.

From the textbooks Professional Cooking for Canadian Chefs and Garde Manger, to the lay cook’s Culinary Landmarks: A Bibliography of Canadian Cookbooks – 1825 to 1949, these tomes reflect the provenance and care of foods we turn to for comfort and celebration.

 Classroom theory, knife skills, food safety and classic technique will make professionals out of Liaison’s students. It is this library, though, with its combined passion of generations of chefs from around the world, that will help them forge a culinary identity for themselves and for this country.

All photos by Terry Asma, 2020studios.com