December 2009 — Issue 5

HTA and HTA School of Culinary Art 128 Bram Fischer Drive, Ferndale, Randburg Tel: 011 285 0937 � Fax: 011 285 0939 � E-mail:

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Twelfth Night Cake

The Twelfth Night Cake pays homage to the Three Wise Men who visited the baby Jesus on the 12th day after his birth. This Christian holiday is called Epiphany, Twelfth Night, and Three Kings Day.

It is an enriched dough-brioche-filled with dried fruits and nuts. This recipe is derived from an old Arab recipe. The practice of serving the cake with a prize or bean inside, around Christmas time actually dates before Christianity. However the Romans served a similar cake, Christians throughout most of Europe by the middle Ages, made the traditional King Cake. European immigrants introduced king cakes to the Americans. When the Latin speaking population of Europe settled in Americas (Mexico, South America, Florida, California) it became known as rosca de reyes .

In many countries it was customary to celebrate Epiphany with a feast on its eve, or Twelfth Night. A central feature of these festivities was a cake in which a bean or token was hidden. He who found it in his piece of cake was named lord of the evening's entertainments and could command guests to do his bidding. In France the cake was known as gateau des rois , or king's cake, in honour of the Wise Men. In Germany it is Dreikongskuchen ; it is the Black Bun in Scotland; in Portugal it is bola-rei ; and in Spain it is rosca de reyes .

While preparing the cake the cook dropped a bean, coin or other small object in to the batter. The man who found the object in his slice of cake was declared "King of the Bean." If a woman received the bean, she became queen and appointed a man as king. Records indicate that in late medieval France these kings were selected by a kind of edible lottery...In the sixteenth century, ordinary Dutch and German households celebrated Twelfth Night by baking a coin into a cake and acknowledging whoever received the coin in their slice of cake as king of the feast.

Birthday List – December

Matthew Gray Protea Hotel Group 1 December

Thuso Ntokwe Protea Hotel Group 1 December

Leslie Venton Protea Hotel Group 1 December

Tyrone Chilwane Protea Hotel Group 2 December

Angela Hangwani Munyai Protea Hotel Group 10 December

Debbie Woodgate Protea Hotel Group 12 December

Tshegotatso Johnson Sekele Protea Hotel Group 16 December

Lunga Trevor Loketsi Protea Hotel Group 18 December

Mary Jane Phetlhane Protea Hotel Group 27 December

Edward Mofokeng Sandton Indaba Hotel 31 December

News

Santa's Reindeers are:

Dasher, Dancer, Prancer,

Vixen, Comet, Cupid,

Donner, Blitzen and

Rudolph

By Clive Selomane

In-Service looks back at 2009

HTA and HTA School of Culinary Art 128 Bram Fischer Drive, Ferndale, Randburg Tel: 011 285 0937 � Fax: 011 285 0939 � E-mail: admin@htatrain.co.za � Web: www.htatrain.co.za

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As we say goodbye to our last Block Release Group for 2009, we would like to take a look at what we thought was memorable throughout year. Many new Industry Partnerships were formed in 2009 and improvements made to the In-Service Programme.

At the beginning of the year the Scoreboard System was introduced into the In-Service Program to track the trainees’ progress on a weekly basis. The Scoreboard takes into account weekly tests, practical assessments and projects. Weekly averages are calculated for each individual trainee. In-Service trainee is rated in the order of achievement. At the end of the six-week In-Service Program trainees are rewarded through the Merit System based on the following percentages:

Gold Merit – 90% + Silver Merit – 80% - 90% Bronze Merit – 70% - 80% Congratulations to the In-Service trainees who were awarded with the Gold Merit in 2009.

With the addition of George's place, Block Graduation has turned into an event to be remembered. Industry chefs, family and friends join them to celebrate the comple-tion of each Block Module. Special awards were handed out to the Top Student, Culinary Spelling Champion, Culinary Mastermind, most Improved Student and The Lecturer's award. Once all awards are given out and all formalities were concluded it was time for the trainees to celebrate, and enjoy the company of the friends they have made at HTA.

Chef Trevor Boyd HTA Quality Assurer and Culinary Team South Africa Manager joined HTA in January 2009. Chef Trevor took the In-Service Trainees on as a project close to his heart. With his addition to the In-Service team it brought an industry ethic of hard work, perfection and continuous learning that passes onto the trainees. Chef Trevor takes a special interest in the Chef's Table where industry elite sit down to enjoy a meal that is prepared by our trainees under his guidance. One of our favorite chefs table this year was held on the 9th of September 2009 and the menu was as follows:

Amuse Bouche: (Smoked Ostrich Carpaccio with a Vegetable Chakalaka)

Starter

Pressed Vegetable Terrine accompanied by a Chive, Ricotta and Mascarpone Cream

Sorbet

Pineapple Granita

Main course

Roasted Peppered Beef Fillet served with a twice baked Carrot soufflé, basil pesto creamed potatoes, and a red and thyme wine jus

Dessert

White Chocolate Bavarian Cream, Chocolate Malva pudding with Strawberry Frozen Yoghurt

The conversation around the table was stimulated by the perfection of the food combination.

Roxanne Sanders

The Saxon Boutique Hotel and Spa

1st Year Group B

Adrian Vigus-Brown

The Sheraton Pretoria Hotel

1st Year Group B

Mariaan Venter

Protea Melrose Arch Hotel

3rd Year Group A

In 2009 the HTA In-Service partnered with one of South Africa's leading Wine connoisseur’s Judith Lee. Judith attained sponsorship of some of South Africa’s leading Wine Estate labels for our wine lessons. With Judith’s bubbly personality and extensive knowledge on South African and International Wine Estates she has

passed on a passion for this noble art onto the lecturing staff and trainees.

HTA has also enlisted the help of the Randburg Fire Department with the Disaster Management and Community Preparedness Programme, where our Apprentice received their Fire Safety and First Aid training; to prepare them for any event they might face in years to come.

In 1856, President Franklin Pierce decorates the first White House

Christmas tree.

HTA and HTA School of Culinary Art 128 Bram Fischer Drive, Ferndale, Randburg Tel: 011 285 0937 � Fax: 011 285 0939 � E-mail: admin@htatrain.co.za � Web:

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1st Year Group A 1st Year Group A

26 April 26 April ——4 June4 June

1st Year Group B1st Year Group B

19 July 19 July ——27 August27 August

2nd Year Group A 2nd Year Group A

18 January 18 January ——26 February26 February

2nd Year Group B2nd Year Group B

8 March 8 March ——18 April18 April

3rd Year Group A 3rd Year Group A

30 August 30 August ——8 October8 October

3rd Year Group B3rd Year Group B

18 October18 October——26 November26 November

Block Release

Dates 2010

Guess the Dish INGREDIENTS

310 g sugar

120 ml water

325 g glucose

1 egg whites

35 g glucose

70 g milk powder

140 g white chocolate

Cashew nuts (toasted) and glace figs

METHOD

• Boil the sugar, water and glucose to 115’C

• Whip the egg whites and glucose together and add the sugar in a steady stream

• Melt the white chocolate and stir in the milk powder and add to the sugar mixture, add the fruit and nuts

• Turn the mixture out onto a prepared tray and leave to cool

VARIATIONS

Many variations of this dish can be created for eve ry ones taste. Add citrus zest, liq-uors, dried fruits, nuts, fresh herbs (thyme, rosem ary), chocolate, coffee, seeds (pine nuts, pumpkin seeds), croquant.

Lesson from the Lecturer Menu Planning

This is the tool that every chef needs to master at an early stage. It is very vital as chefs nowadays that they do not only cook in the kitchen - they have to be managers in their department.

Menu planning is a subject close to any chef entrepreneur-it assists the chef to run the business smoothly in any hospitality sector. In order to set up a proper menu it is of utmost importance to have background knowledge on all the factors that influence the business.

As you start drawing up your plan, the first thing to keep in mind is the type of kitchen, which involves how it is set-up, the meals to be served, and the sitting capacity or the type of clientele. Then you look at sup-plies to utilise. In this instance consider the season and local availability of the food commodity, as this will influence your end product and costing therefore. Thirdly balance your meals in regards to preparation methods and cooking methods. Follow a correct sequence eg. Light to heavy and back to light. Within this section flavour the food sparingly and harmonise with a simple or creative presentation. Remember that with presentation garnishes should be part of the dish -as some chef would prefer the dish to garnish itself.

We are living in times where people are very health conscious. Insure to consider value for food to suite your market, taking into consideration preserving natural nutritive value of the food itself. The colour of the food needs to be very appealing, avoid clashes of colour. Language usage on the menu needs to be de-scriptive and written in a language everyone could understand, avoid spelling errors.

The above mention factors are the basics to get a start up on menu planning. Be reminded before compiling a menu it needs to be researched and tailor made to suit your kind of product.

In 1836, Alabama is the first state in the USA to declare Christmas a

legal holiday.

In 1643, the British Parliament

officially abolishes the celebra-

tion of Christmas.

HTA and HTA School of Culinary Art 128 Bram Fischer Drive, Ferndale, Randburg Tel: 011 285 0937 � Fax: 011 285 0939 � E-mail: admin@htatrain.co.za � Web: www.htatrain.co.za

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CARING CUISINE IN KATLEHONG

-International Chefs Day 2009- On 20 October 2005, gastronomic guru and renowned South African patron of culinary excellence, Dr. Bill Gallagher, initi-ated via the World Association of Cooks Societies (WACS) the International Chefs Day. Now an annual culinary event held on the 20th October, the day has quickly become highly anticipated by all culinarians marked with a big red cross on all calendars. The original initiative has gone from Dr. Gallagher’s mere unifying thought to this dynamic, purposeful driven day, pulsating with merriment and goodwill, and undoubtedly exceeding in its original intent. Not only has it become a day celebrating and paying homage to the chefs’ noble art, but taking it upon themselves, chefs all over the world have become more and more fixed beyond just venerating their profession, but also taking their vocation to where it is most needed- the unfortunate, the poor and the needy.

Heeding this notion, the Lecturers and students of the HTA School of Culinary Art, situated in Randburg, and this year celebrating its 10th Anniver-sary, put word to action on International Chefs Day on Tuesday, 20 October, and headed out to The Fountain of Love Orphanage in Katlehong. Due to all the charitable donations from HTA and their students, the students’ parents, industry partners and chefs in their personal capacities, a generous bounty of clothing, toys, toiletries, bedding and groceries was handed over to Rosie, the “mother” of some 20-odd orphaned and aban-doned children at the Fountain of Love. But that wasn’t all: once the delivery was made at the orphanage, the HTA trainees set out to the day-care centre at the church around the corner to establish a soup kitchen for the day and hopefully bring some relief for the impoverished community and Rosie, who apart from the orphanage, remarkably also runs this soup kitchen on a daily basis. Continuing throughout the day, the trainees fed both the day-care and after-school kids and every other child of the local community who were invited in by the caring and friendly smiles of the young cheffies. By estimation, over 300 kids were fed on Tuesday- for some, it was the only nourishing meal of the day. When asked what made him take his assistant lecturer, chef Samantha Alexander and his chef trainees out to Katlehong on International Chefs Day, HTA School of Culinary Art’s leader, Chef Morné Ströh, himself a professional chef, simply said, “To make them aware. To make them aware that there is more to life than their lives. To make them aware that anybody can do something, somehow, somewhere, some time. They (the students) are after all the gatekeepers of the nutritional legacy of this country, and in a land like South Africa, nobody needs to go hungry. NOBODY.” One has to wonder if this was what Dr. Billy Gallagher had in mind all along when he conceptualised International Chefs Day ... South Africa chefs like to think so.

Accordin

g to a 19

95 surve

y, 7 out

of

10 British

dogs ge

t Christm

as gifts

from the

ir doting

owners.

History of the Yule Log Many centuries ago Vikings used to celebrate Midwinter or “Yule” festivals. They would indulge in nights of eating and drinking and watching the flames consume a log in the hearth. They associated the Yule log with good health, abundance, productivity and fertility.

The tradition of burning a single log of freshly cut wood on Christmas Eve has survived throughout history. It is a custom that is still upheld in many European countries. There are of course a few differ-ences between the various traditions but fundamentally the ceremonies are similar.

On the day before Christmas, the “master of the house” goes out to cut a piece of wood, and then brings it into the house. It is placed into the hearth, though frequently this is preceded by some kind of ritual: carrying the log around the kitchen three times, for example, to request plenty of food for the next year. Once the log is in the hearth, it is sprinkled with plenty of offerings: salt, oil and mulled wine, to name but a few.

Depending on the culture, prayers are said before lighting the Yule log and lighting the log is not just a matter of holding a match under it either. Traditionally the log should be lit with the remaining little pieces of last year’s Yule log. The youngest daughter would normally per-form this procedure. If there are no daughters in the family, it is the mother who would set the chunk of wood on fire.

The intention was to keep the Yule log burning the whole night long and preferably the whole of Christmas Day too, so the size of the log and the kind of wood used were very important. The Yule log custom got a bit lost when people started replacing their hearths by stoves and later by central heating. The log was still brought into the house, but it had become a lot smaller and was no longer burned, but deco-rated and placed onto the table instead. Together with the disappearance of the burning tradition came the rise of the Yule log in the form of a pastry that is eaten on Christmas Eve. These log-shaped rolls of fluffy cake and rich cream are often called by their French name, “bûches”, and have become extremely popular.

History of Mince Pie Mince pies are a British tradition, usually eaten during Christmas or New Years. The pies are typically very small, two to three inches in diameter, but the American version is usually four times larger, and able to serve many. Either way, the pies are made of a sweet puff pastry or shortcut pastry. "Mince" comes from the word "mincemeat," which interestingly enough no longer contains meat. Mince pies evolved from a medieval pastry called "chewette." It was made with chopped meat or liver, boiled eggs, ginger, dried fruit and other sweet ingredients. It was fried or baked. During the 17th century, the meat products were replaced with suet. Vegetable fat can also be used to suit vegetarian diets. By the 19th century in Great Britain and North America, mince pies no longer contained any meat. The suet pies are still made today, but they usually vary from the traditional version. Today mince pies are traditionally filled with fruit mincemeat, also known as fruit mince, contain-ing dried fruit, which include raisins, currants, cherries, apricots, candied peels. Added to that

spices, cinnamon or nutmeg, nuts in the form of walnuts and almonds, suet and alcohol usually brandy or rum. The pie is cooked and dusted with caster sugar or icing sugar. Mince Pie Traditions: Mince pies are a favourite of Father Christmas, so traditionally children should leave a plate of pies at the foot of the chimney Only stir the mincemeat mixture clockwise because stirring it counter clockwise is bad luck for the upcoming year While eating the first mince pie of the season, its traditional to make a wish Always eat mince pies in silence. Eating a mince pie each day of the 12 days of Christmas is good luck for the upcoming year Mince pies should have a star on top depicting the star that led the Shepards to baby Jesus “Mince pies”, “mincers”, or “minces” are cockney rhyming slang for eyes

The Food We Keep

As modern living moves many of us further and further from primary sources of food, we more easily take for granted the marvels of modern packag-ing. Gone is the close awareness of growth and decay, of the fragile balance between the heat that halts enzymatic growth and the chill that retards decomposition, or the interaction of humidity and ventilation that discourages moulds. No matter what method of preservation we investigate - freez-ing, canning, smoking, drying preserving or storing- we still find intricate reaction at work, confronting us with the same problem that have faced con-servers from time immemorial.

Whenever kept food show even the slightest sign of spoilage, such as leakage, off-odour, bulging can ends, or liquid that spurts out when a can is opened, please accept the best advice we know: if in doubt, throw it out . Do not even taste the smallest bit of the contents. Rare is the climate or circumstance that allows man to live the year around on varied, fresh and abundant foodstuffs with bounteous quotas of valuable nutritive elements. So food preservation by home and by commercial methods must loom large on our horizon.

As with all food not eaten when fresh, both processing and storage time usually work against the retention of nutritive value. So how best to freeze, can, dry, salt, smoke and preserve food we as the hospitality must take the responsibility of safe preparation.

HTA and HTA School of Culinary Art 128 Bram Fischer Drive, Ferndale, Randburg Tel: 011 285 0937 � Fax: 011 285 0939 � E-mail:

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In 1834, Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert brought the first

Christmas tree to Windsor Castle for the Royal family.

By Ilanga Kok

By Trevor Boyd

By Kabelo Segone

HTA and HTA School of Culinary Art 128 Bram Fischer Drive, Ferndale, Randburg Tel: 011 285 0937 � Fax: 011 285 0939 � E-mail: admin@htatrain.co.za � Web: www.htatrain.co.za

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Entertaining your Guests over Christmas

When you are entertaining this Festive Season try not to feel that some-thing extraordinary is expected of you as the host. IT ISN'T. Just be yourself.

Even the lofty and distinguished amongst us, shrink from ostentation. Nothing is more disconcerting to a guest than the knowledge that he or she is causing a household discomfort. Confine all noticeable efforts for their comfort to the period that precedes their arrival. Satisfy yourself that you have anticipated every possi-ble situation, believe that you have thought of every special dietary require-ments, the howling child ,the last minute dash to the garage for ice, your partners over indulgence, your assistant ineptness, your own qualms over unexpected guest arriving at your door.

Then relax and enjoy your guest.

If at the last minute, something does happen to upset your wee-laid plans, rise to the occasion. The mishap may be the making of your party, capitalize on it. Remember way back in Roman times ' a host is like a general'. It takes a mishap to reveal his true genius.

We are frequently asked what is the ideal number for a Christmas dinner parties. The is no answer to that question. There is probably a workable minimum, and unless the guest are very close friends, that minimum must exceeds two.

Once guests have arrived allow them to informally assemble in the living room where first-time acquaintances are able to exercise options and establish small centers of mutual interest. In my experience that this can only be engi-neered with any degree of success amongst groups of at least 8 but 12 is an even happier number.

If you plan pre - dinner drinks, have the glasses ready with the aperitif pre-poured, crackers, canapés' and horsd'oeuvre should all be on standby ready to serve. If you and your partner are discerning diners ,you will keep this introduction to the meal light. If the quantities of food and beverages are too generous before hand, your guest’s palate will become jaded and destroy your dinner on which you have expended such effort. Should you have the kind of guest who enjoys a long cocktail period & varied hors d'oeuvre, be sure to season your main course food more heavily than usual. You may politely shorten the cocktail preliminaries which have a bad habit of going on in-definitely, by serving a delicious hot or cold consommé near the bar.

Never forget that your family is really the most important assembly you will ever entertain, whether for them or for friends always check the freshness of the air, the temperature of the dinning area, and the proper heat or chill for plates, food and drinks, especially hot ones. Be sure that each diner has plenty of elbow room, at least 30cm be-tween the center of the next table setting. Formal meals, given in beautiful surroundings, served by competent well trained servers who can be artist in their own right are a great treat. We can not expect to have ideal conditions all times in the average home, however no matter what the degree of formality always be sure that the table is attrac-tive and immaculately cleaned and the rhythm of service is maintained.

Enjoy a hassle free Festive Season

Your friend in Service excellence.

Silent Night was written in 1818,

by an Austrian priest Joseph Mohr. He was told the day before Christmas that the church organ was broken and would not be prepared in time for Christmas Eve. He was saddened by this and could not think of Christmas without music, so he wanted to write a carol that could be sung by choir to guitar

music. He sat down and wrote three stanzas. Later that night the people in the little Austrian Church sang "Stille Nacht"

for the first time.

By Kabelo Segone

Sous Vide Sous-vide, French for "under vacuum", is a method of cooking that is intended to maintain the integrity of ingredients by heating them for an extended period of time at relatively low temperatures. Food is cooked for a long time, sometimes well over 24 hours. Unlike cooking in a slow cooker, sous-vide cooking uses airtight plastic bags placed in hot water well below boiling point, usually around 60°C.

The method was developed by Georges Pralus in the mid-1970s for the Restau-rant Troisgros. He discovered that when cooking foie gras in this manner it kept its original appearance, did not lose excess amounts of fat and had better texture.

Another pioneer in the science of sous-vide is Bruno Goussault, who further re-searched the effects of temperature on various foods and became well-known for training top chefs in the method. The sous-vide method is used in several gourmet restaurants under Thomas Keller, Jesse Mallgren, Paul Bocuse, Joël Robuchon, Charlie Trotter, Alessandro Stratta, Grant Achatz and other chefs.

Sous vide, as a cooking style, does have its drawbacks. Lack of oxygen and low temperatures can actually cause significant food poisoning and grow nasty bacteria like botulism. To avoid this undesirable result, chefs have an array of water bath machines that help keep the water circulating around the bagged food.

Another advantage to sous vide is the relative ease of preparation. Ordinarily, when a person orders food at a restaurant, it has to then be prepared. By using the sous vide method wait time is reduced and more customers can be served. Not only is sous vide cooking popular in many of the four and five star high end restaurants in the world, but it has proven to be a great way to prepare better tasting food for airplanes, cruise ships and for room service in hotels.

Any type of banquet that requires extensive preparation can now be less chaotic right prior to serving because food is already cooked to order, and merely needs to be served. Unlike food that is cooked in advance and reheated, sous vide meals are fresher tasting and have not had time to oxidize and lose flavour.

Several sous vide styles of cooking are available to consumers from supermarkets. These include the boil in bag forms of food that have been popular for a number or years, and new cooking bags that can be used to hold flavour in while you make your pot roast or a flavourful chicken dish. Yet not all chefs are fans of sous vide.

There are limitations to the kinds of things you can cook via sous vide. First, you can’t crisp things, and a roast chicken cooked sous vide will not have the crispy skin so many people enjoy. It’s best suited for foods that would traditionally be poached or stewed. Second, some chefs claim they miss one the things they love most about cooking, the aroma of food. Because sous vide foods are sealed, you don’t get that delightful come hither smell that results from cooking things in a more open style. For many, though, the convenience and ability to produce large amounts of food may outweigh these small drawbacks, and the cooking method continues to increase in popularity.

HTA and HTA School of Culinary Art 128 Bram Fischer Drive, Ferndale, Randburg Tel: 011 285 0937 � Fax: 011 285 0939 � E-mail:

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Want Dis Alles Pasella….Want Dis Alles Pasella….Want Dis Alles Pasella….Want Dis Alles Pasella….Want Dis Alles Pasella….Want Dis Alles Pasella….Want Dis Alles Pasella….Want Dis Alles Pasella….

From Left::

Annelle (5FM), Morne (HTA), Randall (SA’s Got Talent), Paul (Passela)

On Friday, 27 November, SABC 2's Pasella shot a

program insert at HTA, which was co-hosted by Chef

Morné. The main theme off this insert was to show

Idol's and SA's Got Talent meanie Randall Abraham's

"soft side", if there is such a thing ...

Watch this episode on 06 January 2010 at 19h30.

To everybody who assisted for the Pasella shoot,

especially to Lesley and Clive in his absence,

THANK YOU very much for your help!

The day was a huge success because of you.

View the results of your hard work on

06 January 2010 06 January 2010 06 January 2010 06 January 2010

at 19:30at 19:30at 19:30at 19:30

On SABC 2On SABC 2On SABC 2On SABC 2

The first American Christmas carol was written in 1649 by a minister named John de Brebeur and is called "Jesus is Born".

By Trevor Boyd

By Morné Ströh

From the Desk of the SCA Head of Department

It is always a truly miserable time of year for me, and I’m sure this year for Chef Sam too. Although much anticipated, the dreadful final exams looming over us, and the fact that everybody just seems to be a little more edgy these days, while the student angst is hanging in the air so thick it’s choking us, this all is not the real reason that brought my misery about. The truth is that I am very, very sad to loose the Class of 2008 on 11 December

There is nothing really more to say about this group than … WOW! Daily I am dumbstruck in awe if I reflect back on the kids they use to be two years ago to the young, adult professionals they are now. Their maturity, knowledge, expertise and culinary skill far exceeded our expectations and they are surely light-years ahead of any other class out there. These guys’ got skill! Loads of it! And they have now set a benchmark legacy that would not be easy to rival. Students to come have indeed very, very big safety shoes to fill.

As a lecturer and training institution, it is particularly rewarding to see the youngsters evolve into what you’ve always believed they can become. It gives a lecturer such a feeling of fulfilment to realise and witness this phenomenal metamorphosis: the precision in skill, the correct application of knowledge, the willingness still to learn, the ea-gerness to participate, the enthusiastic and serious commitment to the craft- One can only hope that this culinary legacy will be carried over to their careers and one day when we meet them in the passages, we’ll still see all those worthy attributes in their kitchens.

I expect, and had always expected, great things of this group. I am sure we will be seeing a lot more of them in future. Maybe some will leave our shores, maybe some will leave the profession altogether, what ever you do, always remember your training, always be the ambassador of professionalism, always pass you craft legacy on to young-sters, and always stay in touch! I personally cannot wait for the Final Prac Exam! It’s going to be awesome!

But we’re not done yet guys. We still have our Final Charity Restaurant Evening on the 25th, our Xmas Tree at the Fountain of Love in Katlehong, our final social and get-away, and our final theory exams, unfortunately. It’s been busy the last three-months, but I’m sure you would agree it’s been worth every second.

Wherever you go, go safe this holidays, rest, enjoy and have a beer for once without anybody looking over your shoulder. Just remember where you come from. We’ll be here, and Paddy’s will be here. Come and visit, HTA’s doors is always open to students! Finally, remember what I always tell you guys, and it’s a good reference for the future:

"Where your training fails, common sense must prevail!"

HTA would Like to wish you a Safe, and Blessed Festive Season.HTA would Like to wish you a Safe, and Blessed Festive Season.HTA would Like to wish you a Safe, and Blessed Festive Season.HTA would Like to wish you a Safe, and Blessed Festive Season.HTA would Like to wish you a Safe, and Blessed Festive Season.HTA would Like to wish you a Safe, and Blessed Festive Season.HTA would Like to wish you a Safe, and Blessed Festive Season.HTA would Like to wish you a Safe, and Blessed Festive Season.HTA would Like to wish you a Safe, and Blessed Festive Season.HTA would Like to wish you a Safe, and Blessed Festive Season.HTA would Like to wish you a Safe, and Blessed Festive Season.HTA would Like to wish you a Safe, and Blessed Festive Season.

The common abbreviation for

Christmas to Xmas is derived

from the Greek alphabet. X is

letter Chi, which is the first letter

of Christ's name in the

Greek alphabet.

HTA and HTA School of Culinary Art 128 Bram Fischer Drive, Ferndale, Randburg Tel: 011 285 0937 � Fax: 011 285 0939 � E-mail: admin@htatrain.co.za � Web: www.htatrain.co.za

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Netcare Aspic WorkshopNetcare Aspic WorkshopNetcare Aspic WorkshopNetcare Aspic Workshop

On 24th and 25th November 2009 HTA hosted an Aspic and Salon Culinaire Workshop with 8 members of the Netcare Catering Team. The objective was to give an overview of aspic competitions, practical training and education on the aspic procedure.

Not an easy task when finding out that only one of the delegates had ever been involved in the process of aspic. But never to be one to shy away from a challenge we knuckled done to some serious competition education.

The first two hours were spent discussing what the process is all about, all the dos and don’ts and some of the tricks of the salon culinaire world. We also looked at inspiring competition pictures, which seemed to be the catalyst for the great things to come in the kitchen over the next 2 days.

The rest of day one was spent in the kitchen preparing food for a starter, main and dessert. The delegates were all give practical instructions and then were left alone to produce their own food. After a full day in the kitchen all food was sealed, refrigerated and mise en place lists were checked to see that all preparations were in order. We had a short recap and discussion on the following days events.

Day 2 started with a discussion on the melting of the gelatine and how the day would progress. Another practical demonstration was given on what was needed to be produced to get ready to do the dreaded ASPICING PROCEEDURE!!! The delegates were again left alone to get ready. It was great to have the delegates ready on time exactly when the gelatine was at the correct temperature.

We spent the next 5 hours coating the food in the gelatine, cutting and burning, correcting sauces, polishing plates and plating up our final product. All the plates were presented and individual feedback was given in a group forum.

I was really impressed with the food that was presented considering that just 48 hours previously these delegates had no idea of what was expected of them. My hat goes off to Netcare for taking the initiative to train and develop their staff in the art of Salon Culinaire Competitions. Their vision is to train their staff to be able to compete with pride on a National level and I do believe that with a little more support we can have a whole new breed of competition chefs emerging on the competition circuit.

By Morné Ströh

By Trevor Boyd