Building the perfect ensemble

… “A pinch of cumin!” then the chef threw in the whole bottle.

As an aspiring chef should know, the process of producing the perfect dish takes time, experience, and patience. No cake has ever been baked in two minutes, not that it’s impossible if you want to have an extremely scorched cake if you still want to disrespect the cake gods by calling it that.

One may be confused when they try to break down the words ‘culinary mastery’, it’s a straightforward concept. We begin with the literal meaning of this, which is the ability to master all culinary skills and techniques, as well as some manipulation of all things culinary to make them work in your favour.

At Capsicum, we view your chef studies as trimming a Bonsai Tree. The fact that it takes 10 years of keeping a Bonsai before you can be considered a novice means that we’ll ensure to take extra care in moulding you to be the culinary genius that we know you have the potential to become.

The culinary space needs to be thought of in a much broader sense, like an abstract sculpture because what you serve is a total figment of your imagination brought to life.

We at Capsicum, take pride in transferring world-class skills to our students to allow them to be confident enough to visualise a Mona Lisa standard dish and make it exactly as they visualised it. Now, try to convince yourself that we don’t train future Master Chefs.

Oops! Slight derailment there, back to the business of culinary mastery. Whether it’s at home or in a professional kitchen set-up, a budding chef needs some basics in their arsenal. Some of these skill sets may seem simple; however, the perfection of these culinary techniques is what makes or breaks a dish. These skills can be best learned in our Professional Chef course and can be taken a step further with our Advanced Professional Chef course.

From the likes of Gordon Ramsay to Siba Mtongana, no professional chef started with perfect skills, they all had to master a skill at a time to get to the level they are at now. Our passion lies in developing your skills and fuelling your passion. We go above and beyond training culinary geniuses; we like to see our students taking on the most daunting of recipes and building confidence, which filters into every aspect of life. Just like Mr Miyagi training Daniel-Son, a few of the skills we’ll teach you are:

1. Knife Skills

There are many technical aspects to mastering cutting techniques that only trained chefs know. From proper knife grip to precise cuts, working with knives in a professional kitchen requires a variety of skills. This is the first and most important skill you learn in culinary school. It also makes him one of the most tested skills in job interview job exams. Capsicum teaches this and more in our Chef 101 course.

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  2. Mastering the Perfect Sauce

Once in the kitchen, you will learn and prepare a wide variety of traditional and contemporary sauces for various dishes. But to take the next step, knowledge of the five Mother French sauces is essential. Some people may be intimidated by the idea of combining ingredients in the safest manner possible to possibly create a shelf product or simply a one-time masterpiece to finish off a gorgeous ensemble, we’ll teach you the ins and outs when you take our Professional Chef Programme.

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   3. Mastering the Traditional Proteins

Safety measures must be observed when working with meat, poultry, or fish in a professional kitchen. All steps of safe handling, preparation and safe storage of perishables are essential to prevent all forms of food contamination. As a budding chef, you need to know how to check for freshness and doneness while cooking, how to clean, and how to properly pack for storage. Our Food Handler course is a perfect choice if this is your forte.

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  4. Ingredient Cleanliness

Handling fruits and vegetables is just as important as handling meat. The volume of food prepared in commercial kitchens requires careful handling of all ingredients before use in cooking. As for fruits and vegetables, their freshness should be checked carefully to make sure they are clean and undamaged to avoid any kind of food poisoning.

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       5. Kneading the Dough

Whether you're a chef or a pastry chef, working with dough is an integral part of your kitchen. Whether it's a pizza or a roti, the perfection of the final product lies in the kneading of the dough. It seems like a difficult task but remember that if the consistency of the dough is compromised, it will ruin the bread, and ultimately the entire dish.

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   6. Kitchen Safety

Finally, be careful as you run through the busy kitchen atmosphere. A dining room kitchen is a busy place, so you can easily get hurt if you are not careful enough. There is more to the kitchen than just flames and sharp utensils, we’ll teach about all of this and more in our Food and Beverage Standards course.

Having the right foundations in place is key to getting off to a good start and building a successful career in the culinary industry. So, enrol in a good culinary school, preferably Capsicum, that can help you take the first step towards building a career in the culinary world.