20021107 MCST Culinary Class

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 Culinary Students of MCST

Create A Thanksgiving Feast from
the Past

Photos By Joe Gigli

Denville - As part of their final grade, culinary students from Morris County School of Technology, prepare a Thanksgiving Dinner, from the traditional foods found at the first Thanksgiving. (above) Dan Seaman, of Parsippany Hills; Tom Pollio, of Morris

Knolls; James Bellando, of Morris Knolls; and Tim Dangler, of

Butler. (right) Sunshine Collier, of Morris Knolls tops off a wild mushroom. (left) Pound Cake with Marzipan decorations, made by the students.

Re-creating the Past

Culinary Students Cook Special Meal as Final Exam

Photos By
Joe Gigli

Denville - (top) Dan Seaman, of Parsippany Hills; T.C. Calvert, post grad; James Bellando, of Morris Knolls; Tom Pollio, of Morris Knolls; 

and Tim Dangler, of Butler.  (above left) Steven Babich, of Roxbury; (above right) Tim Dangler, of Butler. (far right) Chef & Instructor Steve Remillard, tells the story of the first Thanks giving.

By Jeanne Dikdan Gigli

DENVILLE – As a tribute to the Native Americans who helped the Pilgrims survive their first year in the New World, 19 junior and senior culinary arts students at the Morris County School of Technology

(MCST) researched recipes, organized, prepared and served a meal that was similar to the very first harvest feast back in the early 1620s.

 The seeds for this event were planted this past

summer when Steve Remillard, chef instructor at MCST, began his quest to discover some of the foods that were served at the first, what we now call, Thanksgiving. This fine culinary occasion has been graded and will count as the students' final exam for the marking period.

 Approximately 15 guests from Fox Hill

senior citizen community in Rockaway and school administrators were treated to a spectacular array of food including roasted wild mushrooms and sliced herbed venison as appetizers; a corn and red pepper soup and one of two salads was mixed greens with pumpkin vinaigrette.

 It has been said that since the Pilgrims settled in Massachusetts near Cape

Cod, they ate a lot of seafood. Hence,

lobster in champagne sauce was one of the entrees to enjoy. Others were maple glazed turkey and pineapple glazed ham.

   To complete this feast were side dishes - Jack Daniel's sweet potatoes, fruit and rum stuffed acorn squash and grilled asparagus; assorted rolls – a nut twist, apple cheese quick bread and pumpkin gingerbread muffins; and dessert – Indian pudding, pound cake and pumpkin swirl cheesecake. Is your mouth watering yet?!

 "They did such a remarkable job," said Mr. Remillard of his students. "They were so focused

(above) Dan Seaman, of Parsippany Hills, serves Mr. James Rogers, Superintendant and other guests.

in their research to come up with the menu items, then watching them pull it all together was also very impressive."

 In addition to the consumables, the students also set up the dining room and crafted the table centerpieces, some of which were made of modeling chocolate and pastillage, which is confectioners sugar, water and gelatin that forms a moldable dough. A sight to see were the petite marzipan grapes, apples and bananas atop a bundt cake as a decoration.

 Mr. Remillard explained that the rating the guests gave to the entire experience - excellent, good, fair, poor - were a large portion of their grade. Most of them said the food was wonderful, and that they were available to come back and do it all over again any day next week!

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