Week 2: Chopping and Shopping!

Although it was a short week due to the Fourth of July holiday, Brainfood students encountered many new and exciting experiences!

We began the week learning knife skills and knife safety in the kitchen. The students practiced a batonette, a dice, and a mince while preparing ingredients for ratatouille and minestrone soup. 

The next day, students delved further into knife skills by learning how to julienne and brunoise. These cuts were practiced while making an Asian noodle salad and a creamy fruit salad. 

Thursday proved to be a busy day when students prepared the Greek dish spanakopita and prepped spice cookie dough, before rushing off to the Penn Quarter Farmer’s Market to meet Chef Dean Gold (Chef/Owner of Dino). While exploring the variety of foods a farmer’s market has to offer, Chef Dean Gold discussed the importance of fresh produce and supporting the local economy. The Brainfood students were then divided up into teams with the challenge of unanimously choosing a $5 item to purchase. The procured items were sampled by the class the following day. The assortment included honey yogurt (from Leesburg, VA), cheddar cheese (from Easton, MD), fresh apple cider (from Rappahannock County, VA) and blackberry gelato (from District of Columbia). 

The week ended with a feast of sorts when the students prepared gazpacho with homemade croutons, spice cookies, spiced butternut squash, and soft pretzels with both cheese and chocolate fondues. 

The students have definitely become quite amazing cooks in their short two weeks in the Brainfood kitchen!

- Mallory Smith, Brainfood Summer Staff

Mallory is a student at University of Wisconsin, Madison and is living in DC for the summer.