Fragrant Fruits in the PCS Kitchen

Jennifer whisks up some glaze for grilled fruit.

Walk into the busy Promise Culinary School kitchen on any given class day and you’re likely to be overwhelmed by the delightful aromas emanating from the students’ current project.

That was the case recently when Jennifer and her classmates were grilling fruits that they had first brushed with a glaze of sugar and cinnamon.  Skewered melons, strawberries and pineapple released their fragrance in the busy kitchen as Jennifer was preparing to brush some glaze on the fruit.

“We had a class on fruits this morning and learned about the different types, such as exotics,” she said as she whisked a bowl of glaze for the next group of skewers.

Chef Aaron Vannetta, who has been an adjunct faculty with PCS for 18 years and has a varied background as a food scientist and chef, gave the students a detailed lesson on fruits and how to use them to complement every course of a meal, from appetizers to desserts.

“Today’s lesson was to give everyone a background in fruits, what are the most popular ones around the world, how to prepare them, not just by grilling but also poaching.They can be an entrée, appetizer or used as an accompaniment with another dish,” he said. “We make some applesauce and some compotes. We are also making some compotes with some salsa that we’ll serve with other dishes such as pound cake so the students can see different ways to pair them.”

Jennifer confided that her days are long, beginning a few hours before class starts each day. She leaves her toddlers with a sitter, who takes them to day care, and travels to New Brunswick to arrive on time for the 9 a.m. start of class. Her evenings are filled with playing and reading to her children and doing her own homework. They’re too young to know Mommy is going to school, she said.

“I’m getting them ready for the next day,” she said.

The Promise Culinary School blog is following Jennifer as she completes her training this year.