culinary school- week 15 - GRADUATION!! (138 lbs)

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Gosh, I'm not quite sure how to even begin to describe the mayhem that was Week 15. We had been assigned to teams of 4 during the Thursday of Week 14. Dan, Derek, Jonathan and I had already begun (collaboratively) sketching out the recipes and menus for what would become our practical exam. For 3 consecutive days we would be executing our menus and serving them to the public during seatings that were staggered every 20 minutes. Each seating was peppered with smatterings of restaurant professionals. Because each team's menus were placed randomly at each seating, one never knew if their food was being served to a high profile chef, or to a classmate's kid brother. Our 3-4 course menu (plus fresh breads, amuse bouches and intermezzos) had to change daily, while meeting a lengthy list of ingredient, budget, skill and technique requirements. There were lots of other complexities thrown at us; last minute 'wild card' requests for vegetarian menu items, cakes with icing, the killing and cooking of live lobsters, etc. Each team sent one member out onto the floor to serve during the day's meal. My turn came during the dinner service on day 3, when I was assigned the judges' "table" (a cloth-covered pastry making station with 5 plastic bar stools). The layout was cramped and the traffic flow awkward, making it difficult - no, impossible for me to serve some of the distinguished guests without brushing my bottom up against the backs of some of the other distinguished guests....

I did make myself a necklace in honour of the evening's activities. I've since decided that it is my graduation gift to myself- surely I deserved something, having missed honours marks by a piddly 2.75%.

Somehow, we all survived (and didn't make anyone sick). Wednesday night ended with most of the class crowding into a bar, drinking many libations and blowing off a lot of steam.

Sunday:
Final Practical Prep

Monday:
Final Practical 1 (First Lunch)

Tuesday:
Final Practical 2 (Second Lunch)

Wednesday:
Final Practical 3 (Dinner)

Thursday:
Massive Cleanup + Food Prep for Graduation

Friday:
Graduation Ceramony