The School of Gastronomy

When I heard we were going to be eating at a school where people were being trained how to cook, I was a little skeptical. Were we going to be the test dummies to see if the food was edible or not? Seems like a good thing to do with the Tourists! This was the school of Gastronomy where people train for one to two years learning not just how to cook and bartend, but actually run a successful restaurant. 

The school is one of many branches all of which interact, helping each other with different aspects of the students training. For example the meat and vegetables that we ate at lunch were grown at another school where people were being trained in  food production. The students prepare food for over two hundred customers every day, coming up with new exciting dishes constantly to keep the crowds coming back. The school is located right on the beach with impressive views of the water and a small island off the coast. Here the students work on their cooking skills, experimenting with new techniques and foods to develop their own unique style that they can market as a restaurant owner when they finish school. 

Close to two hundred students learn from head chef Nancy who helps them with their cooking techniques, and offers advice based on her experience working in the restaurant industry. 

Our appetizer consisted of chorizo, blood sausage, steak skewers, baked cheese, and chicken insteine. Everything was delicious although some of us were a little shocked after finding out what we had just eaten was intestine. I’d say it’s good that they didn’t tell us beforehand because then most of us wouldn’t have tried it, but thinking objectively it actually tasted quite good. 

The main course was a Chivito. Chivito is a traditional Uruguayan food and one that you can find all over the country. Inside the sandwich was a thin strip of steak, ham, cheese, a fried egg, cooked peppers, and lettuce. The meal was truly delicious, and we all left stuffed unable to eat any more. The students making the food couldn’t have been more than twenty years old, and already the food that they were creating was far better than many of the dishes we had tasted out at nicer restaurants. In my opinion the school is doing a great job training the students to become talented chefs. I can only hope that some come to the United States one day so that I can try their cooking again.