Day three: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times
Posted on | April 20, 2009
This was one of those odd little days where you are not sure if the world is smiling at you or scowling.
Actually, I do know. The world was doing both.
And, oddly enough, it was doing both, one right after the other. As in smile, scowl, smile, scowl, smile …
Early to bed and early to rise
We woke up at six, as we always do, but we were out the door by 6:30 which is a bit earlier than usual.
We left so early because tomorrow we are having a live fire session, so I wanted to get to school early so I could prepare two items for it. I also wanted to get some of the egg items signed off on my proficiency sheet.
Oh, let me tell you what the live fire is. It is, in essence, a restaurant simulation where the chef places orders and each team has to cook ‘em in a limited amount of time. And the proficiency sheet is a series of items we have to accomplish, individually, and get signed off on. This week being egg cookery, the items range from a hard boiled egg to a hollandaise sauce.
This was the first time I had ever made almost all of these eggs (we’re not a big egg-eating family). Flipping the eggs so they come out over easy is a bit of a challenge. The first time I did it, I managed to keep one yolk intact, but broke the other.
The chef took one look and told me my eggs would never look good in a swimsuit.
I giggled for five full minutes. He has that kind of sense of humor.
But I did manage to get sign off on seven of my proficiency items. Good smile, there. But, erm, I have 11 more to do. By Friday.
Oh dear!
Then I got a scowl: I could not make the reduction for my quick fire hollandaise: There were no shallots around and we were not allowed to get them from the walk in. Still (and here’s a smile), I did get to make the clarified butter we’ll need.
So, okay, I’m getting there, step by little step.
“I knew a chef who said the ideal crepe only had one side.”
~ Chef Rushmore
Eight o’clock and class starts with a demonstration. First, we learned how to make dough for the quiche. Then we learned how to make crepes.
Then it was our turn to do it.
Stern Girl took it upon herself to make the quiches (we had to make two) and told me to make the potato dish while the Other Guy, the third member of our team, was to make the crepes.
Naaaw. I’d made that potato dish three times already. I wanted to do the crepes. So I traded tasks with Other Guy.
Smile: I made pretty darn good crepes. Not one-sided, mind you, but pretty thin. And, miracle of miracles, even the first crepe came out nicely. And that’s the one that you usually have to sacrifice so you get a good harvest.
Scowl: I cleaned up my spot on the burners and returned to our prep table only to see that the quart of clarified butter I had come in early to make for our live fire hollandaise was gone. Someone took it.
I assume it was an honest mistake. After all, this is a pretty hectic kitchen. But, bother. I came in early to make that.
Smile: When She Chef learned what happened, she offered to make me more. I refused (why should she have to be inconvenienced by my misfortune?), but it was incredibly generous of her to offer.
Screw it. I’ll come in early again tomorrow.
So I helped Stern Girl make the fillings for the quiche and we popped it into the oven.
Gimme a break
Production over, it is time to pop into the student lounge, grab my belongings from the locker, and head over to class.
And that’s where I got the biggest scowl of my day.
I ran into a fellow student who promptly made an uninvited, unanticipated, unappreciated, and quite lewd proposition.
I was absolutely taken aback. And really offended.
And just a little sad that that had happened.
“I have about 40 chickens. I’m retiring 12 of them, soon.”
~ Chef Rushmore
The lecture room we had for the first term is nice: Large, with big windows. The lecture room for this term, however, is a narrow little space, with no windows, at the end of a dark hallway.
It makes me feel like I am in a dungeon.
So I sit down, take off my side towels and my apron and that damn hat and put them in my bag. And reach in to get my bottle of water … only to come out empty handed.
Damn. I haven’t drunk anything since yesterday and I normally keep a bottle of water in my bag because I know I’ll be pretty thirsty by now (now being nearly lunchtime).
Ah. We left in a rush this morning. So I could make that butter. Which disappeared.
Smile: Got a paper cup at the coffee station and filled it with water.
Scowl: Downed almost all of it before I realized there was a film of dust on my water. Nasty.
Smile: Brought Other Guy up to speed on our menu for the breakfast live fire (he was away for a few days so Stern Girl and I did all the prep work). He said he was great with eggs.
Scowl: We spent the better part of an hour doing culinary math. I have to take some time this evening and try and wrap my head around it. Don’t these restaurants have computers?
Smile: When I left today, I was greeted by the sun. You can’t beat sunshine.
Home James
Scowl: Only to miss my streetcar. By seconds. And had to wait another twenty minutes.
Smile: But got a seat on the overcrowded streetcar thanks to a teenager with old-fashioned manners. Normally, I just thank the rare person who offers me a seat and refuse it, but he didn’t seem to speak English. So it was nice to ride, with my backpack between my feet and my knife kit on my lap.
Scowl: Only to come home to an email from the husband telling me he has got a business trip coming up. I hate when he is away; I am miserable with the missing of him and I never manage to get any sleep when he is not home.
Smile: But then I found some leftover strawberry ice cream in the freezer.
Scowl: So I went to wash up before I ate, only find the poor kitten had throw up in the bathroom. I cleaned it up and washed.
Smile: Then I curled up on the couch, flipped on the TV and, purely by accident, tripped across a very old episode of Baking with Julia. She is making pâte à choux. My kitten is curled up on my lap, purring. And I am eating ice cream straight out of the carton.
On balance, I think the smiles outweighed the scowls.
Which means it was a good day, after all.
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2 Responses to “Day three: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”
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April 21st, 2009 @ 10:48 am
That’s one heck of a roller coaster!
I hope that Scowl Chef, as he will be known to me took a good hint and doesn’t proposition you again. How…uncomfortable. That’s not a good place to be uncomfortable.
April 24th, 2009 @ 3:56 pm
How inspiring, that you’ve taken this leap to go to cooking school! I just found you on Dooce and really like your writing, so I’m off to read more – bye!