This was a very interesting week; you know, the kind that drags on and on but when it is over you look back and wonder where it went? I'm not really sure that last week even happened to be honest-- it all seems like a distant memory now. However, the effects of the sleep-debt I have incurred are proof enough that last week did, indeed, happen and that I somehow was a part of it.
Friday marks a milestone for me in terms of my education and all that I've been training to do. I was involved, for the first time, in a culinary competition; kind of a sporting event for people who like to cook. My entire class was required to participate, and had we known beforehand what we were getting ourselves into, we would never have volunteered for it (even if we had a choice). The competition was hosted by the ACF (American Culinary Federation) and was called a "Cold Foods Competition" which, sadly, does not involve ice cream of any kind. The ACF cold foods competition consists of a number of different categories that the competitors can choose from-- including wedding cakes, show platters, hors d'oeuvres platters, and a five course meal-- all presented cold and dipped in a substance called Aspic, which is made from gelatin. This competition is completely for show, and judges the cooks on their knife skills, creativity, presentation skills, and pretty much their ability to be perfect. My classmates and I spent countless hours on our projects; planning, organizing, and preparing each item as carefully as we could. The process of "aspic-ing" is very gruelling, and cannot be done too far in advance, which required us to stay at school all night Thursday to do it properly. I got home at about 6 am, after having been at school since 8:30 am the previous day, and slept for two hours before getting up, showering, and heading back to school to finish my work. I worked from 10 am to 2 pm, trying to get every detail as perfect as possible, and knowing that it wasn't--and couldn't possibly be-- perfect. At 2 the judging began and we all slumped back to the kitchen to clean up the horrific mess we had made, while the judges analyzed and picked apart the results of our efforts. I felt like I was running a marathon, and was pushing myself past what anyone should reasonably put their body through. At 4 pm they invited us back into the presentation room and subjected us to another 2 hours on our feet while they verbally ripped each competitor's display to shreds, one at a time. It wouldn't have been "better" if it had been a reality tv show-- the judges hardly had a nice or decent thing to say about anything, and all of the effort and lack of sleep didn't help to lift our spirits as we endured their criticisms. Then came the "awards ceremony". The important thing to note here is that this wasn't a competition against each other--everyone had the opportunity to receive a medal if their presentations were acceptable to the judges. Sadly, the outcome was not what we were expecting or could have hoped for. The judges were even less impressed than we realized, and nobody walked out of there with higher than a bronze medal, which they gave very few of. I was one of the few lucky ones who did manage to scrape a bronze, but I do feel bad for all of my very talented colleagues who were seriously ripped off. I'm pretty sure most of them deserved it more than me.
Anyway, now that its all over and I have had a chance to catch up on some much-needed beauty sleep, I am grateful that I had the opportunity to participate in this. Despite the difficulty of the tasks, both physically and mentally, it was a really good learning experience, and I have a personal sense of accomplishment simply because I got through it. However, should I choose to compete in the future, I think I'll stick to competitions that allow me to make food the way it is intended to be-- EATEN.
Roasted Rack of Lamb with Mushroom-Asparagus Risotto, Oven-dried tomato, Haricot Vert, and Rosemary Jus
Mediterranean Seafood Platter- Pan-seared Scallop , Sauteed Shrimp, Grilled Baby Octopus
Open-faced Gyro with Tzatziki Sauce and Cucumber Salad
Chicken Consomme with Stuffed Grape leaf
Greek Tomato Salad with Feta Cheese, Kalamata Olives, Mint, and a Balsamic Reduction
6 comments:
sounds intense.. haha. it should be the presentation and then the taste, that would be fun! at least for the taster..
n hey, congrats on the bronze! the few times i've eaten at your mom's when you've cooked it has been delicious!!
I'm pretty sure the judges were just as over-tired as you were, because your presentation looks amazing. And i think you chop very chef-like.
Congratulations!! Your presentation looks PERFECT to me! I once had a professor who refused to give A's--I worked SO hard in her class and at the end of the semester it was so frustrating to have that one B on my transcript even though I had worked harder in that particular class than I had in any of my others. Too often people are just on power trips when they ought to be helping others learn. The whole time I was reading your post, I was thinking about how great it is that I occasionally get invited to Hamilton family functions--between your and your mom's cooking, the Hamilton house at meal time is a good place to be!
Kalli! That looks AMAZING!!! I could NEVER do that! And...you need to teach me everything you know! I am so impressed...it must have been such an intense situation! Congrats on the medal! also...I heard recently that the body DOES in fact, catch up on sleep, so get those zzzzz's in anywhere you can!
I think it looks great!! You are so talented! I agree with you though...food is supposed to be eaten. That looks too good to eat...I wouldn't even get too close to the table just so I wouldn't bump it by accident!
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