Jade

I had a bit of a shock on Monday morning when I opened the meat fridge and saw Jade staring back at me. She had been brought in to demonstrate how nothing should go to waste, and it is possible to use just about any part of an animal for food. Fortunately, Chris took it upon himself to do the demonstration, rather than handing us an ear here, a cheek there. I am gradually realising that Chris, although flitting in and out of the school like a will-o-the-wisp, knows more about food than everyone else put together, so we were lucky to have him in during Meat Week.

Photo above: Jade chills out

Photo left: Chris checks Jade has visited the dentist regularly.

Jade was cut in half down the middle, then had her brains scooped out and discarded (although Chris reliably informed us they are a delicacy in some parts of the world). She then had her ears cut off and the ear canal removed ("you can't eat the waxy bit" - although I do wonder if it would make a nice confit). Next she had her eyebrows and other facial hair singed off over the hob. Half of her then went in one large pan, and half in another, with a ham hock in each, a big bunch of chopped vegetables and herbs. She was then boiled for a couple of hours, and the meat then falls away from the bones. Chris made sure he'd got all the meat off, mixed it with very rich, gelatinous beef stock (which I had slaved over the previous day), more herbs and veg, and turned it into a terrine mould. Once pressed and set, it tasted fabulous.

Price of Jade, £3. Ham hocks, £3.30. This made at least 20 portions of terrine which would retail at £4 each. And that is how to make serious money in the restaurant business.

We had our "Creative Meat" assessment on Friday. I had played it very safe, and didn't expect very good marks for originality at all, so I was preasantly surprised to get a higher score than I'd anticipated, although my main course (the Greek thing, with lettuce, you remember?) was fairly rubbish, I have to agree with the judges (Chris and Gill). Apparently I would have got a higher score for my salmon patties had they been perfectly round, which personally I think would have detracted from the look of the dish, but who am I to argue. Gill did at least say that my starter was the nicest thing she tasted all afternoon. Given that they spent around 2 hours tasting 13 three course meals she did well to remember anything.

Photo above: salmon and dill fish patties, with yoghurt, wholegrain mustard and dill dressing