My Last Day at Pomfret

was Tuesday. What did I do, you ask? Well if you read my last post you may know. I made hamburger pizza! Ha. By the way, I drew Pomfrito. I also made other pizzas too. Pepperoni, cheese, sausage, supreme, vegetarian, pepperoni-sausage, etc etc. Well, I learned a lot from working at Pomfret. First off never volunteer to be somewhere at 6AM Monday morning, especially when there is no reliable close parking. Second, there is a lot that goes into the foodservice industry. Like, a LOT. Early prepping, purchasing, people bringing in orders all the time, SANITATION SANITATION SANITATION, having to clean dishes and put them back into place, knowing where everything is stored, making sure everything on display is at proper temperature, keeping the seating area clean, and the list goes on. I had learned about some of these things in classes like Purchasing and Food Systems Management, but I had never seen them in real life until now. Even if I never work in a kitchen like this again, it is pretty invaluable to have had such an experience. Although I don't think I would have minded getting there at maybe 8AM instead of 6.  =)

Some pictures from Tuesday:

This is where I worked most of the time, helping to finish up breakfast or beginning on the lunch menu.

Here is the pizza station! I would put together about 16 pizzas at a time.

Here is the bakery, where I also spent a lot of time working. The lady on the right once spilled a batch of pink goo everywhere in this area (including on my back!)

I've made hundreds of these yummy little guys.

Matt. He works the line and gets to see all the Pomfret kids.

And here we have the supervisor and Ms Kathy, the manager.

Sadly, Choice was not there on my last day so I could not get a picture of my mentor  ='(  

Well, I guess this concludes my Pomfret experience blog. It's been a good one.

Stay hungry.

HEY KIDS!!!!!

Look everyone!!!!

It's Pomfrito the Clown!

That's right,

YAY

Hey kids, I'm gonna show you how to make hamburger pizza!

Hamburger pizza? How do you do that???

Why, it's simple. All you do is:

.

But how?

Alright kids, here's how:

So you're sitting home one day

                            and you hear your stomach say

                                   I'm hungry!

                                   I'm hungry!

                            And what do you need

                               but a pizza for your greed

                                I'm hungry! I'm hungry!

                    So you run on down to the store real quick

                and you get some pizza dough, nice and thick

                 Go on over to the condiments aisle

                   Get some mustard and the pickle slices

                  Don't forget cheddar cheese, then go and pay

     The other ingredient's the meatloaf from the other day! 

                Once you're home you've got lots to do!

                 Here are the steps, let's do a run-through:

1) First you spread the mustard on the pizza dough

              it may not be sauce; it tastes good though!

2) Now the cheddar cheese goes on over that

                 if it's not on tight do a pat pat pat!

3) Before anything else add the dill pickle rounds

         always remember to remove any coffee grounds!

4) Then crumble the meatloaf all on top

             and this pizza won't be no kind of flop!

5) And that's the last step except to bake bake bake

                   leavin' all the other kids behind in your wake!

     Alright kids, that's all there is to do

      Doing it though, is up to you!!!

  I think I can do that, Pomfrito!

 Yes. Yes you can, kids!

I can do it!

Success

In the news
A Kitchen Party!!!

We did our cooking and partying today. I got to the Home Ec kitchen at 1:30 and my partner and I got to cooking. We made Tomato Beef Stew. So I cut up some carrots and celery and tomatoes and such, along with the beef, and threw it in the pot. Viktoriya cut herself twice (oops). We seasoned it with ground cloves, salt & pepper, garlic powder, red pepper, and paprika. It took a while to get everything prepared, but by 5:00 we were ready for the hungry masses. 

We had a really good turnout. I went through a whole stack of paper cups and I had to go get more. And I got lots of compliments from our guests, especially one guy who liked the carrots.

So it was really pretty fun. I liked cooking (especially chopping up the veggies) and I enjoyed serving and chatting with the guests. It was like back in the good ol' days when people still cared.

Yeah.

More Work work workworkwork

Tomorrow is my last day at Pomfret. I will be there for a loooong time tomorrow to see how things transition from breakfast to lunch and such.
Today I will be cooking with my Food Prep class in the Home Ec kitchen for the Walnut Grove people from 1:30 pm until we finish (maybe around 7:20ish pm).



So at Pomfret I have been doing a lot of different things. One morning I came in and squeezed a bunch of limes. First you have to roll them with your hands to break the fruit so you get more juice out of it. Then you cut it in half and take one piece and put it in a little handheld juicer.

Then, you just squeeze that sucka for all it's worth. Make sure it is being held over a pan or your sore hands are all for nothing afterwards.

I have also made taco shell bowls. That was an "interesting" experince. Actually, it was kinda boring due to the amount of time it takes to do it. Let's ask the best fry cook in the world, SpongeBob SquarePants, to tell us how it's done.


Okay, change of plans. Apparently Mr. Squarepants only knows how to cook Krabby Patties and related items. Not taco shell bowls.

You put the tortilla in between the two . Then you put it down into the . After about 40-50 seconds of holding it over the very hot oil, you finally have !!!!! After allowing it to cool and dry, it can turn into such a thing as . Now that's a work of .

First Work Experiences

I have worked at Pomfret for a couple of Mondays now. In the mornings I work with a guy named Choice, helping him to finish up preparing for breakfast and then begin preparing lunch. The first morning I was there I learned a lot about where things are in the Pomfret kitchen and what areas are used for cooking what. There is an area for baking and then about 5 other areas where other items are prepared. There is a lot of storage space, with two refrigerated areas and two freezers. There are also some racks with cans and dry goods on them. And then, of course, there is the dish washing area. I have cut up chicken to put in an alfredo dish, wrapped bagels (which is the bane of Choice's existence, so I hear), made up a lot of waffle mix, and cut up cauliflower and broccoli, among other things. Also last Friday I made pizzas. About 15 of them. It was one of the funnest things I've done there. Let me describe-
How to make a Pomfret Pizza:  

Step 1) Put wire rack on large cookie sheet

Step 2)spray with Pam and then sprinkle Pizza Peel (aka cornmeal) on the wire rack


Step 3)put already-made, frozen crust on wire rack and brush with herb-infused oil
 

Step 4)let sit for awhile to proof while repeating these steps for 14 more pizzas. =)

Step 5) after doing these steps for all pizzas, go back to first pizza. Roll a spiny roller over pizza so it won't bubble up while cooking.


 Step 6) spread sauce over crust


Step 7)add cheese, pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, bell peppers, chicken, etc.. in correct portions to taste good.


Step 8)put pizza in oven that automatically rolls it through so it is cooked when it comes out the other side.
 

Step 9) roll pizza on a cart over to the serving area, cut up pizza, and put it under the hot lights.
 

Step 10) watch hungry Pomfret kids snatch up the pizza almost faster than you can make it.
That's how you make the Pomfret Pizza.