Three Days in Hell

So now that I'm back to school, I finally broke my "stay-at-home-everyday streak." When I stepped into the building, everything was different. They re-located the lockers, canteen, staff rooms and administration offices. Anyway...I met all my classmates...most of them I haven't seen since the break started. No one has really changed that much...I mean...it is only a month and a half...how much can a person change within that timeframe?

Anyway, I couldn't believe just how much I struggled on the first day back in the kitchen. Everything was just chaos. I'll start with the first day.

Day 1 - First day back in hell

I had my theory class at 12.30pm and I was kinda hoping that it's gonna be some really awesome chef who's gonna be our lecturer. Turns out it was this plump lady who claims that she's a chef...but I've never seen her in a chef's uniform ever. Well...she's an okay public speaker...but she can be quite obnoxious, especially to those who can't speak English too well. For one thing, she always picks on the overses students....like the Koreans and the Taiwanese. Bottom line is, I don't really like her as a theory lecturer.

Anyway, after theory class, we had an hour break and then we had our demo class. I was really excited about demo class....coz once again, I was really hoping that one of my favorite chefs, Chef Steve, Chef Ross or Chef Colm would be my demo chef. Well, yet another disappointment. I had this German chef...Chef Andreas, as my chef for Monday and Tuesday demos. But after going through his demo class, I find that he's pretty okay chef...not excellent...but I can get by with him as my demo chef.

So the recipes on Monday was puff pastry and spatchcock. Oh my God....I HATE PUFF PASTRY SO MUCH!!! My puff pastry sucked...BIG TIME!! Anyway...my practical chef for Mondays and Tuesdays is this old Italian dude that speaks a very strong Italian accented English. His name is Chef Vito. He's super strict...but reasonable. Once again...not my favorite chef...but I can live with him as my practical chef.

It was such a hassle that day...even though we were only cooking two recipes. It was a really hot day too...and the kitchen was at least 40 degrees. We were all sweating like pigs and hassling to finish our dishes. I cut the inside of my nail on a sugar snap pea....can u believe that?? I cut my finger when I was trying to pull out the strings on the sides of the sugar snap peas. Wasn't a deep cut...but it was very painful....almost like a papercut. And I can't even put a band-aid on coz it bled from the flesh inside of my nail. Anyway...that was only a minor cut.

But after a while, I burned my hand on a 300 degree Celcius steel pan. I took out the pan from a very hot oven and put it on the stove while I tried attend to some other task. So DUH...the handle of the pan is very hot. I actually warned the guy next to me, Pedro to be careful of the hot pan. So after I finished the task, I came back to the pan and held the handle with my bare hand, without a tea towel...and Tssss....I burned my right palm. It was such a bad burn that I could literally feel that the devil is building a little hell on my right palm. I couldn't do anything except running it on cold water. My hand was sooo red and I could still feel the burn. It's as if my hand is literally on fire.

Anyway...I tried to finish cooking the dish even though I burned my hand. I wasn't gonna let a minor setback ruin my dish. I could only use my left hand to complete the remaining jobs. I couldn't use my right hand at all...coz anything that I touch, it just hurts twice as much. Judging from the pain I was enduring, I was expecting my skin to peel sooo bad the next day...or worse..BLISTERS. But you know what?? I think I have some sorta supernatural healing powers....the burn just healed by itself and didn't even leave any burn marks, or even blisters. My right palm looked as per normal...and it didn't hurt at all. Lol...I think my skin is like leather...it's so tough and thick that heat doesn't really affect it. So that was Monday.

Day 2 - Second day in hell

Once again, I had Chef Andreas as my demo chef...and there was this new chef next to him as well...he looked pretty young, good-looking and foreign. I think he might be Polish or Scandinavian. But I really couldn't tahan his arrogance. Anyway...I'm not really interested to talk to about him. So...we were supposed to cook the puff pastry that we made the day before with a mussel filling. Also we had to prepare a guinea fowl and cook it.

During practical, I had so much trouble with my puff pastry that Chef Vito suggested that I used someone else's one. I could tell that he didn't wanna say that my puff pastry is totally "un-useable", coz he didn't wanna disappoint me. So in the end, I had to use someone else's puff pastry. and I threw mine away..it was upsetting, coz if u remember last term, I made puff pastry before...and it wasn't successful too. Lol...I just never had any luck when it comes to making pastries.

As for the guinea fowl that I cooked, it wasn't that great too. Chef said that it needed more time in the oven...coz some parts were uncooked. And my sauce wasn't that great either...basically, everything was shit. It kinda felt like the first day when I started the Basic course. Everything's just chaos. And that was Tuesday.


Day 3 - Final day in hell for the week (today)

When I got up today, I knew that it was gonna be a much better day. I decided to use a different approach in writing my workflow. I typed it up, instead of just writing em' on the workflow sheet. As I was typing it up, I felt like I understood the recipe more clearly. I spent about an hour typing up a really detailed workflow, whereas usually it only takes me 30 mins to write in on the workflow sheet. So I'm actually putting extra effort in my workflow...which I'm really proud of.

I knew that today was gonna be Chef Ross' turn to teach the demo...and I was really excited. Okayyy...I'll admit I've always had a little crush on him. Lol. It's nothing serious....just a harmless crush, leaning towards admiration actually. So anyway, I was really excited to attend his demo...coz last year when he was my practical chef, he was really awesome! He's a funny character...really.

During the demo, I was paying like 200% attention to him...lol...I think my blink counts were drastically reduced. lol. Anyway...Chef Ross was sooo professional and organized during his demo....it was kinda unexpected, coz I heard some bad reviews about him from other students who have attended his demos before. I guess this only proves that reviews are bullshit. He kept his workstation clean and tidy, his system was flawless, his food was delicious and most importantly, he's really entertaining during his demos. Like I said...he's quite a character. Gordon Ramsay can go back to hell....Chef Ross is now my idol!!! I got a bit disappointed when he told us he was married...lol. If not, HAHAHA....i might jump on him. Lol...just kidding la. I like Chef Ross as the way I like Kiefer Sutherland....strictly idolization and admiration only. Except that chef ross is more real...lol...compared to Kiefer.

Anyway...I guess the amount of effort I put in my workflow and the attentiveness I had during demo, I managed to improve drastically on my speed and quality. I managed to serve the dishes on time....and chef Anita said that my dish was full flavors...but the only thing I had to watch out for is my sauce. My sauce was way too greasy...I guess it was becoz I didn't degrease it enough. But today was good. Not sure if it's because of chef ross' demo...or just the extra TLC (tender loving and care) that I put into my cooking. Maybe it's both. Either way, I'm happy....coz at least I'm improving.

Oh...did I mention that I cut my finger again today? This time it's with a knife. I gotta say...it didn't hurt as much as I'd expect it to when I cut myself. It just bled a lot...but it didn't hurt at all. I guess adrenaline was pumping all over my body that my nervous system just backs out for a moment there. I've cut myself twice this week...and burned myself. Lol...how careless can I be?

So that was three days in hell....in details! Lol...way too much details. Anyway, I'm just so glad to be back in school...I'm enjoying myself, even though that it can be so stressful....but I guess it's better than boredom. I guess I'll catch you guys later. Adios!