Right Answer, Audrey.

APRIL 26, 2009. A day that I will remember for a while, only because it was absolutely GORGEOUS outside, and I was inside a kitchen all day. We kind of knew it would be wicked busy for the days leading up to it. The restaurant opened its patio seating (extra 100 seats i think) and we had TONS of reservations. Plus it was Sunday, a beautiful day to be outside. The day went somewhat smoothly. We were prepped, so we never ran out of food (except for a temporary hold on littleneck clams, also called 86'ing the littlenecks, thats a term in the kitchen for when something is out of stock) we put them back on the menu about an hour later when the daily shellfish order arrived. And we only got minorly set back with salads and raw bar orders. It became confusing as to which salads we had made and which ones we hadn't. We actually waited until there were no salads in the window and until servers had to call for them so we would know which ones we had done and not done.
I was so ready to go home at 4 pm when my shift was over, until Adi (the chef, but we call him Adi, not chef, its a very informal kitchen!), calls out, "Hey Audrey, you wanna stay a few extra hours?" The way he asked was pretty much saying, "Audrey you are staying a few extra hours, thats not choice." And because I had tons of adrenaline running through me, I yelled back, "sure! I would love too! (but there was also someone working there that I have a tiny crush on, so I was okay with staying, SHHHHH.) Then one of the food runners looks at me and just laughs probably thinking, "that was stupid, hahahahahaha." And then I look at Adi after I gave him my answer and he looks at the sous chef and says, "she gave the right answer," almost like it was a way to test my value as an intern....either way, I only stayed 3 extra hours, no big deal, but I was tired. I think I'm on his good side though now, or he just knows that I have a hard time saying no to anything and now he will take advantage of it. I'll report back later.

BURN #2

Yup. I burnt myself again. I was making bacon and my wrist hit the oven door, so I have a nice mark on my arm. It was funny cuz after it happened, I looked at the chef and was like, "Chef I just burnt myself." and I show him. Then I'm like, "its about time I burnt myself here! I've been here 2 weeks and it took me that long to get hurt!" And he looks at me and is like, "NO!! Don't think that way!" I guess you had to be there. ANyways, I uploaded a photo of it.

DAY 1 at The Mooring

Today was my first day of work, and it was awesome! It wasn't that busy of a day, it was actually quite slow, but that was what I was hoping for. That way I would be able to learn my way around the kitchen. I worked with Rudy in the pantry/pastry/raw bar station. Rudy is from Guatemala, which is awesome, because now I can practice my Spanish. I understood most of what he said, and I think he understood what I said. Currently, only one person works those three stations, but once the volume increases, it goes to at least 2 people, sometimes 3. We did a lot of stocking of food items today, which gave me the chance to figure out where things are stored.
When we got a ticket for a salad/dessert/raw bar item, I would make it because for me the best way to learn anything is hands on practice. I know what is in all the salads, I just need to work a little faster I think, but hey, for day one, not bad.
We got a ticket for the Grand Sampler, which is a raw bar item with 6 oysters, 6 clams, 6 shrimp, and 3 lobster claws. Rudy helped me with everything, and it was my first time opening a clam. THAT is going to take practice. I'm not that bad at opening oysters though. I'm happy we got a ticket for that because now I know what it is.
As we were nearing 4 pm (when I go home), Tim (the sous chef) and Marina and I were trying to think of an appetizer to go with a wine tasting that takes place every week over on Belleview Ave. We came up with a roasted/pulled duck leg with caramelized onions and a raspberry wine reduction in puff pastry. I think it will be delicious. I stayed a few minutes past 4 o'clock to be able to finish it. As a joke, Tim was giving me a hard time for not being on my station. He was like, "gosh Audrey, for Day 1 you sure are being lazy!!"
I really like the kitchen as of Day 1. There is a lot of humor going around, and that is the type of kitchen I like to work in. The people are great and I feel that I will fit in (unlike some of my past jobs).

Move-in Day to Newport, RI

So I moved to Newport today. Pretty crappy day though cuz it was raining the whole drive down and while I was moving in. The rain has subsided though, its just misting now, but even still, weather sucks. My apartment is actually quite large. I am the only one in it for the first 2 or 3 weeks, which will make it quite lonely. There is a living room, eating area, kitchen, bathroom, and three bedrooms that hold 5 people total. There is no internet, no cable, and no roommates as of now, so its boring there. I moved all my stuff in and headed out (in the car, not the bike) and wandered around, trying to find my way to and from the restaurant and trying to find an internet cafe. I found a Panera and was able to find a parking space (free parking until April 30th, sweet!!).
As i was walking to Panera though, I looked at all the shops, and its very dangerous here! So many cute shops but I'm sure they are expensive.
I brought my bike too, so tomorrow I'll be riding around to get used to the town (its also much easier to get around that way because there are lots of one way roads and traffic gets pretty bad come summertime).
As for move in day, my chef told me to just hang around and he wanted me to stop into the restaurant tonight (he's gonna feed me, haha).
Tomorrow I am going in to the restaurant around noon to fill out papers, do orientation, and just chat with the chef (probably about goals and stuff). After that, I have the whole rest of the day.
Tuesday I have off, which is excellent. I'll be using that to bike around and go window shopping, read, cut out recipes from magazines, most likely come to Panera (my internet source).

I am SOOO excited to be here!!! Im gonna try to write pretty frequently.

My visit to Newport, RI

I am home now from school. I am home until March 30th, then I go down to Newport, RI for my externship at the Mooring Restaurant where I will work in the kitchen until August 3rd. This is a required piece of the school's curriculum. I met the chef when i went in for my interview back in January. I scheduled to go down to the restaurant to check it out and so that Chef Adi could meet my parents. It is about a 2 1/2 hour drive to Newport from NH, not bad.
The restaurant is located RIGHT on the water, no joke. The view is amazing, even though we went when it was snowing, the view was still incredible. I can just imagine it on a summer day when the marina is LOADED with yachts of all sizes. I am excited to see the town of Newport come to life.
Before we went to lunch, we drove around the town to see the mansions. They are just breathtaking. My mom kept commenting on how I would be better off bringing a bike to get from point A to point B because it is so busy there with cars. It is also healthier and nothing is really that far away in Newport. Biking is going to be my means of transportation, even though I will have a car down there.
As for the restaurant itself, they just completed a renovation. It is very nice inside and they have deck seating in the summer. We were sat in a separate room from the main dining room to allow for a view of the water. Chef came out almost immediately and all four of us (my parents, me and Chef Adi) talked about working at the restaurant, the accomodations, and about how Chef ended up at the Mooring Restaurant. My parents took an instant liking to him because they could tell he enjoyed working and enjoyed taking externs. I am very excited to work for him. He even said himself he is not a screamer, not a yeller, or a pot thrower, or a throat grabber, but he pushes you. People respect him because of his warm personality.
Chef brought out two complimentary appetizers, which coincidentally, where the two that I wanted to order the most. Duck confit tacos with white bean salsa and seafood fritters. Those appetizers were soooo delicious!! I am so excited to work there!!
After our meal, chef drove us to the apartment that I would be staying in, which is only 2-ish miles from the restaurant, so I will be riding my bike to work every day, most likely. I cannot wait to start working. I will also be getting two days off a week, which is excellent because then I can tour the town, ride around, and even take trips to Block Island and Providence. I am going to be spending a lot of time outside.

BYE-BYE CIA.....Done with my first year

IM DONE!! I have officially finished my first year of school here at CIA. It went sooo quickly. But the amount of stuff I have learned is overwhelming. I regret not taking pictures of what I did in class, but I guess I was just too busy having fun! I am excited to go home so I can practice what I have learned and maybe do some more experimentation. I am home until march 30th, then I go down to Newport, RI for my externship at the Mooring Restaurant and Seafood Bar.

PASSING the PRACTICAL!!!

I PASSED!. Not only did I pass, I got a HIGH PASS!!! I got a 95!!!!!!!!! THE FIRST TIME!!! Chef said he was pissed cuz I am one of the few, very few, who get a high pass on their first time. I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!! The second I sat down with my food, he asked how I feel I did. I said good, and he looked over at my station, which was in clear view for him the WHOLE time, and he saw my three pieces of paper with the recipes, timelines, etc, hanging up, and he said, "yea, I can tell you feel good, your timelines and preparation is exceptional!!"

I started cooking at 2:50, but I had from 2:10 until that time to gather everything including pots, pans, utensils, food. I could start measuring, but I could not cut anything. By the time 2:50 rolled around, I was ready to go. I had to present no later than 5:20, but I could give the chef food as early as 5:05.

The menu was this:
Grilled Swordfish with Sauce Bearnaise
Rice Pilaf
Tomato Duxelle
Buttered Green Beans
SOUP: Chicken Consomme

I drew this menu and I was very excited, because I had not heard much hype, so I was not worried. I was very comfortable with this choice. I got rolling on gathering everything.

As for how my station was set up, I was right next to where the Chef sat to grade, so everything I did, he saw. I made sure my station stayed clean and organize, that I washed my hands, did not cross contaminate anything. I washed my cutting board at least 5 times. I knew that he was watching my every move.

The first thing I started on was my consomme. I knew that would take at least an hour, if not longer, to develop both flavor and color. Once that was simmering, I spent a good 10 minutes on my garnish for the consomme because it had to be julienne, and I wanted it perfect. I blanched them off and had them ready to re-heat.

I then made my duxelle, making sure to season the tomatoes. Ahh waht I am talking about, I don't need to go through everything I did.

Anyways, I had my soup ready easily by 4:15, I just had to keep it hot, so by 5:05, I plated it up in hot soup cups and brought it to chef. I then went back to my station to plate everything else, so by 5:15, I was done.

I was very happy with my fish especially because the marks were flawless. I did not have the heat too high on the grill pan and there was not too much oil. I cross hatched it and flipped it, so that there were cross hatches on both sides. This did not cook the fish, I finished it in the oven. I knew that the marks would get too dark if I tried to cook it on the grill, even though it was not that thick of fillets. Around 4:10, everything started to come together. I had my tomatoes stuffed and ready to go in the oven, my consomme was strained and staying hot, my fish was marked, my rice was cooking, and my green beans were blanched off. The timing worked perfectly. Everything was piping hot, pefectly cooked, perfectly seasoned (but the duxelle had a bit too much roasted garlic and the consomme had one too many cloves (the spice, not garlic). Other than that, everytihng was perfect!! The plate looked really nice too, damn, I should have taken a picture. Chef loved everything and I just couldnt wipe the smile off my face! I knew I did well, but did not know how well because I would not know my grade till later that night.

After he sat down with me and my food, I went to wash dishes until everyone else was finished. After the kitchen was clean, we did the oral, which was where he asks us questions about cooking, all of which we learned during Skills 1 and 2. I was the third to go. The way he asks the questions was weird. He would ask a quesiton, then ask a question inside of the question. Example: tell me about stocks....(answer)...okay, now, what's the cooking time for that stock?. It just kept going. But I was getting everything right. The only question I was flustered on was the question about puree vs cream soups. He talked me through it and I surprisingly got it right. I got alll 10 of my questions right!!!! The whole time I could tell he was looking for a way to nail me and take points off. He wrote some numbers down after that, and asked me how I did on my costing practical. I said, I passed. He said, well, with what? I said, i got three wrong, so an 85? and He goes, thats too bad, cuz this is what you got tonight for your cooking practical and he had circled HIGH PASS!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHH. Before I started to cry, I asked if I could leave, and he goes yea, just dont scream. Then he says, "oh, by the way, I'm pretty pissed because very very few people do as well as you do their first time"

I am still in shock about tonight. I feel so good though that I did so well. I never freaked out, there were never any big mistakes, I worked efficiently, stayed calm, knew what I was going. I'm just, I don't know how to react. Maybe a glass of wine to celebrate will calm me down!