- November 27, 2024
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At 8 a.m. every Monday leading up to the Certified Master Chef examination, Hammock Dunes Executive Chef Jason Hall had a conference call with other chefs who were registered to take the test. They approached it as a team effort, emailing pictures and sharing notes and thoughts about dishes prepared as practice.
They critiqued each other verbally, over the phone, based on technique and presentation.
“We’re all very self-critical,” Hall said. “Just quickly looking at things I can say, 'That looks a little dry, overcooked,' or ask what herbs were used.”
But this was just the beginning.
A Palm Coast resident, Hall recently traveled to The Culinary Institute of America, in Hyde Park, N.Y., for the eight-day examination.
“The test is full of emotion,” Hall said. “The successful days at the exam are short-lived, because your focus has to move forward. The same philosophy has to be applied to the days that do not go as planned, because you cannot go into the kitchen the next day with any hesitancy or doubt.”
Seven chefs from across the country took the exam, given by the American Culinary Federation and sponsored by McCormick For Chefs. Hall, 37, was the only candidate to successfully pass all segments of the exam, becoming the 67th CMC in the nation.
“Passing the exam was a surreal experience,” Hall said. “To receive my CMC designation and be a part of the elite group of chefs I have learned so much from and hold in such high regard is a dream come true.”
Each day of the examination focused on a different competency. Day one focused on healthy cooking. This meal was restricted by calories and nutritional elements. Guidelines included no more than 1,500 milligrams of sodium for the five-course meal set to serve 10 people. The appropriate amount of fat and carbohydrates also had to be adhered to, and the whole menu had to be signed off by a nutritionist.
“That day is a little tricky because everyone is used to cooking with butter and salt,” Hall said. “We had to find a new approach to flavor-building.”
Days two and three focused on garde manger, the preparation of cold foods such as pâtés and cold musses. In this test, chefs are given a mystery basket two days in advance. Chefs are to develop a menu, write a prep list, manage an apprentice and turn in a food requisition. They are given a 12-hour prep day, because dishes require butchering proteins, pressing, cooking and chilling overnight.
Day four deals with classical cuisine, a segment of the test Hall failed when he took the exam in 2010. And day five focused on freestyle cooking.
“A weight was lifted that day,” Hall said. “It allowed us to do our own food — they want to see your food philosophy and your style.”
The exam began to get trickier with day six, global cuisine. In this segment, examiners picked three dished from any region of the globe. Chefs were responsible for knowing how the dishes were made and for creating them just how they would be made in their countries of origin.
“You have to have an understanding of their staple ingredients,” Hall said. “If you approach it with an understanding of what that country does and how they season, that can really help you approach the food and use it as another other day of cooking.”
Hall gave an example: In America the traditional ingredients for a stock are carrots, onion and celery. In Thailand, Thai basil would be used.
Day seven focused on baking and pastry, the only day of the exam that allows the chefs to really be on their own.
“That day is a day you can really practice in advance over and over again, because they are your own recipes,” Hall said. “For the most part, everyone does well on pastry day because there is no mystery basket.”
Day eight, the final and most difficult day, is split into two segments: continental cuisine, focusing on dishes from Northern Europe, and the final mystery basket.
Part two of day eight counts for 30% of the total exam score. It consists of a mystery basket that is kept secret, including 24 new food items. Chefs are given 30 minutes to write a five-course menu and five hours to produce it, with a 30-minute break in between.
“It’s like ‘Chopped’ on steroids,” Hall said of the day that cost him the certification in 2010.
But this time, Hall passed with flying colors.
“The practicing, studying, planning and revising of what I did at the 2010 CMC test was key for me. I looked at where I fell short and focused on those areas,” he said.
All together the preparation for the exam was six years in the making.
“I was very fortunate to work under Certified Master Chefs when I was very young,” said Hall, who started cooking at 19. “For me, I was injected into that culture, and becoming a CMC always seemed like the thing I was supposed to do.”
Since the exam, many opportunities have opened up. But for Hall, it’s all about giving back to the culinary world as much as possible.
His plan is to really spend time with the chefs at the club, nourishing their skills, as well as continuing to teach at First Coast Technical College. Hall also has aspirations to compete in the Chef of the Year competition and as an individual in the Culinary Olympics, in Germany.
“It’s all about giving back to the profession and sharing the knowledge,” he said.
