BACKSTAGE FOR DINNER @ TTHTI

whoever said one thing twice is NEVER nice wasn't quite on the ball. because when chef jason invited us to another TTHTI Internal Internship session, we thought it was great.

this time we went for dinner and we got there early so we could go backstage to see what happens behind the doors.

just to bring you up to speed, the Internal Internship is a series of breakfasts, lunches and dinners prepared and hosted by the TTHTI students. this creates a real-life scenario which allows the students to use their skills in a true environment, inclusive of paying customers with appetites and opinions.

it is intended to help prepare them for what they will face when they step into the commercial kitchens of the real world.

for us, it was exciting to see how a commercial kitchen really operates. it showed us what it takes to get an order off the menu and onto the plate.

the one word we'll use to describe it is: PACE! we struggled to keep up and keep out the way at the same time. imagine our surprise when the chef in command on this dinner, chef david, assured us that a real kitchen is even more tempo with a lot more shouting, brutal honesty and plain ole cussin'.

up close, the students showed a lot of skill on the job.

simple stuff, but they seemed to be making it happen under the pressure.

so down to the tasty stuff. after we collected our footage, we sat with chef jason and chef gregory for dinner. i had the mussels in marinara sauce for my appetizer.

there was also a nice chicken chowder with a split peas base.

the salad got some high praises. fresh garden vegetables, tempura plantains and blue cheese dressing.

the main course featured a pan seared snapper with garlic lemon butter sauce, which i had with the duchess potatoes and sauteed vegetables.

also available was leg of lam with dijon mustard. this was a best seller. sold out pretty early.

and there was also an asian rubbed chicken with a peanut butter and soy sauce reduction. you'll also see the cheesy spaghetti here. another choice the menu offered. the chefs were impressed with the sauce.

did i mention that they baked fresh bread in house to go with the meal? ok. well they did. with a herb butter to spread.

we weren't up for dessert, so we didn't sampled the creme de mint chocolate mousse. but it looked really good when it was setting.

this shoot was fun. and the conversations we had with chef jason, chef david and the inspiring chef gregory (who could be a motivational speaker if he wanted to be) were particularly encouraging that night. this time around the food was good. not blow mind, but well executed with good flavours across the board. and the chefs pointed out just one or two technical improvements that could be made, which honestly, the average customer may not pick up that easily. the internal internship period ends on february 4th, so you still have some time to head down to TTHTI and check out breakfast, lunch or dinner if you're interested. check out the video of our backstage experience:

FRIDAY LUNCH BUFFET @ TTHTI

(phone rings)

BITTT: hello?

jason: hi q! how you doin? it's jason.

BITTT: aye jason. what's up meng?

jason: i'm good. our internal internship period is on at TTHTI and i wanted to invite you guys for lunch as my guests...

at least, that was the intent of the phone call. it was a bit jerkier than that with the poor reception and what not, but the end result was us heading down to the Trinidad and Tobago Hospitality and Tourism Institute on friday for lunch with chef jason peru, executive lecturer, TTHTI.

looking at the well preserved vintage feel of the building's exterior, you probably wouldn't expect a nicely designed modern dining room with a bistro feel inside. complete with a state of the art kitchen and bar too. but then again, it is a premium culinary institute with a number of international affiliations, why wouldn't you expect that?


anyway, in this setting, the institute gives its students the opportunity to test their skills in a real world scenario,

that means that they host and prepare meals and beverages for actual customers. this helps to meet the needs of the industry by producing students that are more or less ready for the practical situation having sharpened their chops on events like these. call them practice runs and then some.

so we enjoyed a nice buffet styled meal done entirely by the students and let me say, i think they did just fine.

soup and salad with a choice of plain or herb rolls...


beef arepas...

rice pilaf...

bacon wrapped chicken roulade...

beef steaks made to order the right way. sprinkled with a little salt, black pepper, done in a hot skillet and served with a herb butter.

and what good meal is complete without dessert? there was carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, served with a cherry sauce.

i thought the students did very well. service with a smile as well as a proud glow that said "yeah... we make dat!"

it was a very enjoyable experience as well as a delicious meal. basically a best kept secret. you can check it out at the TTHTI in chaguramus daily from now until February 4th. breakfast - $40, lunch - $90, dinner - $125. isn't that right chef jason?

A SOUPREME DISCOVERY (re-heated)

anyone that really knows me will know that i love me some soup. i'm a fan of pretty much any kind of soup. i mean, what's not to like about something you can drink and eat at the same time? that's good stuff if you ask me. so it would only follow logically that a place dedicated to making soup would get a mention on my blog. hence this entry about a little establishment i discovered a few months ago called SOUP SUPREME. I found it in el socorro on william street. actually, half a block away from the "roti factory" i talked about in a previous entry. i went to this soup haven a few times. enough times to be convinced that they can produce a consistently tasty soup.



on this particular occasion, i had the cow heel soup. having only sampled the cow heel and the fish broth before, i think i was wrong for neglecting to explore the other menu offerings in favour of enjoying one of my favourites. (i'm a cow heel man by day and a fish broth man by night.) their range is decent, presenting cow heel soup as pictured above, fish broth as mentioned before, ox tail soup, beef soup, vegetable soup, corn soup, calaloo soup, chicken soup and the house special. (i won't take away the joy of you going and asking what the house special is for yourself.)



i tried my best to capture how well seasoned this soup is with my less-than-professional camera skills for you all. but trust me, it's all about loads of fresh seasoning including generous amounts of the famous shadon beni. i inquired about their ingredients and was quite pleased when they told me they use very little oil and didn't use any golden ray, sugar, maggi or split peas powder in an effort to make a commercially viable soup. instead they use real, fresh ingredients and cook them right so you get justice. i think them there words are pretty darn reassuring.



as for value, this large cow heel soup ran me $35. now i usually take my soup sans provision and dumplings. just my preference, but they have all the bells and whistles. actually, they dropped in two little pieces of corn for me this time just for so. however, look at the generous portion of cow heel that ends up in your bowl. this is not the first or second bowl i've purchased, and it's been the same heaping helping every time. add provision to the mix and i do believe you'll have a real challenge on your hands.



i took mine away and enjoyed it the way i prefer to enjoy meals... at home in comfort. but they actually have a nice, clean space with tables and chairs where you can sit and enjoy your meal. and though i've never seen a thick crowd there as opposed to a steady flow of customers, the place is big enough that even with a line, your dining experience shouldn't be compromised.

i'd say, if you're in the area, or you're in the mood for a nice soup, SOUP SUPREME is definitely worth a try.



STOP THE PRESS!!!
new addition to the menu. lamb soup.



yes... lamb. as in mary had a little one. call me uninformed, but that's the first time i've heard about lamb on a soup menu. i guess you can make a soup with anything, but lamb soup is not something you would see for sale very often. if you like lamb, this is your soup. if you're baidawi, it's not. it's my new fav though. they don't have it all the time, so you have to ask for it and keep your fingers crossed.



the lamb is properly well pressure cooked, so it is tender (as all the other meats at this joint are), and the broth has the trademark seasoned taste that makes it difficult to go to the patraj around the corner, even for a roti lover like me. and yeah, yuh know the portions that we dealin with.

one more reason to check out this spot.

a souper holiday

easter long weekend... what to do? call dawi.

dawi: hello.
me: yaw... wuh scene?
dawi: no scene.
me: you call me dis mornin?
dawi: yeah... wham to you?
me: was sleepin nah. long weekend yuh know.
dawi: steups... how you go be sleepin? steups. anyway, wuh we go do?
me: we could cook someting.
dawi: aight. what?
me: a soup?
dawi: yeah. dat soundin like a plan.
me: well come een.
dawi: yeah. aight. bless.

dawi makes a wicked corn soup, and within the context of a small lime, it hits the spot. quite fulling, tasty and relatively inexpensive in the realm of feeding multiple people.




his method begins with chopping up stuff to make a base. pumpkin...





garlic...





onion...





pimento.





then to shake some flavour into it, he adds some black pepper...






salt...






and some of the good ol' all purpose seasoning.







then it's time for the key ingredient... split peas.







add some water, a little golden ray cooking butter and let all that bubble like... well... like soup.







notice there's no pressure cooker on hand. the idea is to cook this down a bit, then put it in a blender.






the thick end result looks like this, and goes into a big pot on the bubble. now we're really cooking. time to stretch it out with a little more water and add some more ingredients.






crunchy things like carrots...






flavour makers like maggie vegetable cubes...






and maggie garlic onion cubes.






he doesn't usually add coconut milk to it, but this time was special... i guess.







he mixed that in.







then gave it a taste to make sure everything was up to scratch.







it was, so in went more ingredients. corn...







potato...






now all this time, the dumpling dough was laying low in the cut, getting ready to make a grand entry. it's the usual dumpling scene: a little white flour, some salt, some water... done.







it was that time now, so he rolled it out between his palms...








then cut them into little pieces







splashing is optional, but it looks cool.







next, let it bubble. they say watch pot doh cook, so he covered it down and let it simmer on a low fire with a few check ups for floating dumplings. they float up when they're done.







soon after, it was finished. and we had disposable cups to give it the authentic "side-of-de-road-corn-soup finish". well, more so because disposable cups mean less things to wash up after the enjoyment.






niceness on the holiday.

put yuh own twist to it. a lil meat if you'd like. or maybe things that we forgot to buy like shadon beni, thyme and green seasonings like that. make it your own. there's a lot to try.

leh we bubble!