The Dreaded Cooking Practical, Pass or Fail

Before we leave on externship, we have to take a cooking practical. We are given 6 different menus that we have to prepare for because we draw a menu that day of the practical. We have 2 1/2 hours to prepare a soup and an entree. We have cooked all of these items during Skills 1, 2, 3, so nothing is unfamiliar. I saved most of my recipes from those classes, so prepping the recipes was not hard. The hard part was the week leading up to my practical

As each day went by before my practical, more and more of my classmates were failing, and those that passed were just barely passing. I started to get worried. The chef was picking out the little things, according to the students. I listened to the tips and hints they could give me about how to not mess up, which was hard for this chef because he had specific ways of doing things that we are not taught in school. I mentally prepared myself to pick out every single detail and avoid failing. I made sure I understood my recipes, made detailed game plans and read over everything.

The thing that is occuring with most classmates is that they are failing the first time, and when they take it the second, they get a very high grade, which apparently is common with this chef. I don't want to go into the practical with the "second chance" mentality. I want to pass it my first time. I am mentally prepared and I know what I am doing, I just cannot get flustered.