The majority of Tuesday was spent with Chef Shola Olunloyo at Studio Kitchen. The 2-hour delay that morning did not affect our travels in any way and we set out for Studio Kitchen almost as soon as we got into class that morning. Shola is based in BOK, an old vocational school in Philadelphia that was closed down and transformed into a coworking space in which many of the tenants are practicing some form of the arts such as cooking, photography, and fashion. Chef Sholas kitchen did not disappoint, his many unique kitchen gadgets kept us asking questions and he gave us insight on how each comes into play. He began by picking 2 volunteers to help him throughout the cooking process. The first food made was a lemon buttermilk ice cream which he used to help conceptualize emulsion. It was made by making a basic lemon curd mixed with buttermilk, then placed in a blast chiller. The blast chiller froze the ice cream in just an hour, and gave it a very creamy gelato like texture. During the chilling process he made homemade pasta with flour and water. This was made in a large pasta extruder. Once cut into shapes the fresh pasta cooked in seconds. It was extremely tender and the texture was perfect. This was paired with a tomato cream sauce that balanced the pasta perfectly. The last thing we got to try with Shola was celery ice cream. He gave us this unusual flavor combination to demonstrate that, when flavors and acidity are properly balanced, you can make almost any flavor profile work. It was strangely delicious!
-Lauren and Cat
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