Practical #1

So, the first practical is behind me and i am thankful for that. Overall not a great day but not a horrible day and for those of you who know me well than i don't need to explain any further but here is how the day went. I would say today was like a quick fire challenge or an episode of chopped.
The day started off well with our second theory test which was giving the ingredients and procedure for besciamella.
That part i aced. Moving on to part two of chopped.
From there we were given two recipes from our text that we had covered in the previous weeks and specific times when we were to present our plates. The first was caponata which is a great eggplant and pepper antipasta.
That part i also aced. Moving on to part three of chopped, the final.
From there it went downhill.
The second dish was ravioli filled with a spinach and ricotta filling. Making the ravioli was the easy part. However, making the butter sage sauce was a bit more difficult for me today. Actually i made it perfectly but my timing was off by about 3 minutes and that 3 minutes threw everything off. I was early and therefore had to take it off the heat and my sauce broke, meaning the butter, oil, and water seperated and when i tried to bring it back it just didn't happen. Therefore leading to my downfall and my dissapointing grade on practical #1. If i was on chopped, i would have been chopped here and lost the money.
Thankfully my caponata and my knife skills were dead on today because that is what saved me. Apparently i have some of the best knife skills in the class, so that is a positive.
After the dust settled i was above the average for the class but below my standards and where i expected myself to be today, so, on to the next day to keep learning and keep practicing.
Theory Test #2 = 95%
Evaluation #1 = 86%
Practical #1 = 75%
Language Test #2 = 97%

I look at it like my running, when i don't perform well i look at how i have trained and what i have done leading up to that performance. I look at how i was mentally prepared and if i was focused on the race and i analyze what i could have done better and what did go well. It's the same in the kitchen, i look at what was good and what needs improvement. It's a progression, you stack consistent training on top of consistent training and you reap the benefits on the road, track, and in the kitchen. I think that is why i love being in the kitchen because it is so much like running because you control so much of what you produce. You get out of it what you put into it. If you run a little and put a little time in here and there than average you will be and if that's what you want then great. But if you want to be one of the best then you have to be willing to put in the time and effort, no one is going to hand it to you. The same goes for the kitchen, if you want to be a great chef you have to have the passion and the willingness to put yourself out there everyday. My standards and goals are always lofty but what would life be if it wasn't a challenge, if it didn't teach you, if you could always just get by...to me that wouldn't pay respect to what we have been given here in this life and it just wouldn't be fun.

Anyways, off my soapbox, now on to the new week and to start proteins, starting first with chicken. Should be some good stuff cooking in the kitchen over the next couple of weeks. Stay tuned...