A Shot of Encouragement

I spent an hour after class with a CCA graduate who told me that our two upcoming classes, Restaurant Production and Advanced Garde Manger, were two of her very favorites. This is nice to hear. Some cheerleading from the sidelines is in order. We've gotten past the point of being able to encourage one another: when somebody complains, the response is most likely "You and me both". And of course our non-school friends and family can say "hang in there" but that's not the same as hearing from a veteran who says "There's stuff left to look forward to." Maybe I shouldn't be so anxious to reach the end. There are still lessons to learn, and good times to be had. It was a timely reminder.

We began class today with an entertaining exercise, though it would have been easier to take somewhat later in the day. We tasted six olive oils and six vinegars; then we each wrote a five-course menu utilizing as many of the products as possible. ("Imagine your client is a distributor of these oils and vinegars, and wants you to produce a tasting menu.") By 8:30, we were on our way to the Bistro kitchen.

I lead a team of crazy people, but somehow it all works out, and we get the day's work done, plus breakfast, and leave the kitchen in good shape. This morning, we had french toast, and eggs to order, and fried potatoes. "Oh my God, these potatoes are great!" Peter said. "Who made them?" I think he was surprised to hear that they were Alex's work. Alex typically appears to be goofing around, taking numerous breaks, cigarette or otherwise, during the morning, and today he and Meghan riffed for a while (as we washed dishes) about how hung over he planned to be following his 21st birthday, a few days after we finish our coursework. "I'm not going to be able to get up or even talk for days," he vowed. Fitz leaned over to me and said, "If I ever acted like that, I'm sorry to all I may have offended."

On the agenda today: Aioli (to be used in the Southwest Ranch Dressing), Tomato Vinaigrette, and Flan, and we soaked the beans, to be cooked tomorrow. We also soaked rice for horchata. Meghan spent much of the morning trying to purée two heads of garlic cloves for aioli. Alex (who devised the recipe) had counted on using a mortar and pestle, but there was none to be found in our kitchen, so she tried various alternate methods, including a food mill and a chef's knife. Success came, finally, but the Southwest Ranch Dressing had already been fabricated, aioli-less. "Oh well," Alex said, "It kept her busy all morning, at least."

Peter had to mediate a meeting of the set-up team, which is in disarray. Afterwards, he said to me, "Oh, if people could only just get along. They were fine yesterday." And we both knew who was missing yesterday, and present today. "This class is quite a challenge for me," he said. I apologized out of force of habit. "Oh, please," he said. "It's not you."