Culinary Achievers

DEAD DOUGH Dead dough is a edible medium for sculpture or showpiece made from a mixture of flour, sugar and water, basically. Molasses can be used, in case colour is desired for a darker shade.  The art of dead dough making is an ancient one, dating as far back as Egyptian times. Sugar and wheat (flour) were two of the most common foodstuffs available to the Egyptians. Bread was the staple diet of most Egyptians. Dead dough, an artisan bread (no yeast) are used for decoration only, typically as centrepieces. In modern day, stencils are also been used for making sculptures. Stencils can be made out of simple paper chart or other materials such as metals like steel or any other medium can be used. The stencils have to be wrapped with silver foil before use. The dough takes the shape of the stencil or mould being used. Different sizes and shapes of cutters can be used too. These are usually made of metal such as steel. The dough i...

Introduction  Molecular mixology is the process of creating cocktails using the equipment and techniques of molecular gastronomy. It includes all the various methods which are being used in the modern kitchen. They include usage of gels, foams, powder, atomized sprays etc. The focus is on using fresh ingredients from the kitchen in the bar and enhancing the flavors’ of the drinks. Traditional Background   Traditional mixology stress on measured mixing of different alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages to a harmonious whole. Traditionally, molecular mixology was layering of ingredients in the cocktails and adding few of the fresh herbs, fruit puree and fruit nectars to have a fresh taste. Modern Concept – Modern molecular mixology is used on application of scientific analysis and techniques to cooking and mixing, mostly working with foams and gels to create unique drink texture and flavor Many of the traditional kitchen ingred...

CANDY MAKING  This blog explains all about the Candy, its history, classification, process of making & all other aspects to educate the audience about its popularity. WHAT IS CANDY? Candy, also called sweets or lollies, is a confection that features sugar as a principal ingredient.  HISTORY Prior to the 1900s, candy was commonly sold unwrapped from carts in the street, where it was exposed to dirt and insects. With advancements in technology, wax paper was adopted, and foil and cellophane were imported from France by DuPont in 1925. Necco packagers were one of the first companies to package without human touch. CLASSIFICATION TOOLS USED Pots : Heavy (copper, anodized aluminum, cast aluminum or cast iron) pot with deep and straight sides; this will help prevent boil overs.  It should be large enough to hold 3 to 4 times the volume of the ingredients. Spoons : Long handled ...

When you see the word buffet, it's hard not to think "all-you-can-eat." Although the noun can refer to food set out for self-service,  The two meanings of buffet come from very different sources. Buffetthe self-serve meal is drawn from the piece of furniture on which such a meal might be served, a bufet "sideboard" in eighteenth-century French, and is pronounced buh-FAY. Banquet Buffet setup: The hotel offers different kinds of buffets. Each hotel/outlet category has a number of buffet set-ups to choose from according to the budget and selection of dishes. Buffets must be rigorously set up according to the pre-established layouts. Any buffet set-up must fulfill the following requirements: Efficient for both guest service and replenishment. Layout and decoration attractive for the customer. Adequate lighting, with colors if required. Sufficient power points for connecting all the required electrical appliances. Suf...

INTRODUCTION Amuse Bouches are small bite size, delicious, well presented meal served before the first course which are meant to please the palate served in finer restaurants according to the chef’s desire. HISTORY   Amuse Bouche was traditionally known as Amuse Gueule which means mouth or snout of an animal. The name changed due to the inappropriate translation. Also, having come to existence only around 1984, they have proved to be valuable as they allow for higher yield of the restaurant’s ingredients and for a platform for chefs to show their talents. Amuse Bouche came into limelight during Nouvelle cuisine movement, which laid more emphasis on smaller courses but brought intense flavors. USES:       Chefs utilize the available ingredients effectively to depict their creativity and innovation. Amuse Bouche creates an eye appeal to please the guests and simulate their appetite.Combining flavors to give the guests i...

Everybody seeks education for a purpose. Be it to get a job, following one s passion, to achieve something greater and beyond or even just to go on with life. So did I and here is mine Hailing from a family of entrepreneurs, business and finances were the most common topics of discussion during dinners as I grew up. Although I didn’t understand much at that time I still was fascinated by the idea. Every now and then people would ask me what I wanted to be in life and I would just casually reply back stating whatever i had in mind at that time and people seemed to be okay with it. When i was 18 and people around again asked me what i wanted to do. Except this time they were all dead serious. And i still wanted time to figure out stuff and they were not okay with it. After which i had to join the rat race or the big south Indian dream of being an engineer. Like every good student i studied hard for about 6 months and slowly i started to realise that this not what am supposed to...

BEST OF CAI-ICE SCULPTURES The history of ice sculpting began as soon as ice harvesting began. A 300 pound of crystal clear ice block can be purchased and used for sculpting. People often refer to Ice sculpting as ice carving .Ice sculptures have a very limited lifetime and they are mostly used at extravagant events or special occasions. Chef artists with these skills are generally called as Ice Sculptors .Combining traditional carving techniques with today’s modern technology in terms of power tools and crystal clear Ice-Blocks the students are trained to master the fine art of Ice-Carving under highly experienced professional chef instructors.Student learn to design a beautiful carving from a jpeg images or an old photograph.  They also try out their hands on three dimensional life size sculptures and the tallest ice carving made by the students of CAI stands 26ft in height and 32 blocks of ice were used to make this carving. The master piece was display just...