Thursday, September 24, 2009

Practical Exam, The End of Block 2, and My Grades!

We do school in six week blocks. Today was the last day of Block 2. We had our culinary math final, which was easy; I got an A in the class. Foundations II is the class I was nervous about.

These aren't 0-4 grades; our practical exams are graded out of 100.
Fish en Papillote, Green Beans with Peppers and Bacon, Rice Pilaf, and Citrus Beurre Blanc sauce (90!)
I freaked out when I got my assignment; it was exactly what I wanted: the fish, a rice dish, an easy side, and a fairly simple sauce. The fish was perfect last time I made it, but I was rushing. I didn't have to rush since I finished with an hour and a half to spare, but I was so glad to be done with it that it didn't bother me. Both the fish and the rice pilaf take 20 minutes in the oven. The fish and vegetables could have been cooked more, but I'm guessing it's because I kept opening the oven to check on them, which was dumb. Anyway, I said I'd be thrilled if I got a 90, and I am! I got 140 right out of 150 on the written final today, and was one of the few that ended up with an A. I still have straight As in school, go me!

I felt really bad for some people; five people (we work solo on practicals) each had to make a roasted chicken, ratatouille, risotto, and a sauce that I forget- something kinda simple, but after those three all on one person, that's rough! I didn't feel that the assignments everybody got were of equal difficulty, so I feel bad for them, but hey, I lucked out. I'm impressed the people who got that set of dishes didn't complain, but I guess I would have held back too. No one wants to hear that.

Everyone passed both classes, which makes me really happy, because we're all a team at this point.

After the practical, and I can't believe I agreed to this, I went straight to the event downtown to volunteer. I ended up working with Chef Vincent, the Executive Chef at Aureole, which is a Charlie Palmer restaurant. I prepared appetizers and talked to people at their booth. It was fun, and Chef Megan, who is actually the head pastry chef for all Charlie Palmer restaurants, asked me to work with them at another event next Friday! When we left (I was with Robert and Tim from my class) after five and a half hours of work, they gave us all Charlie Palmer hats and cookbooks!

It was a long day. I haven't worked a 12 hour day in a very long time. We get three day weekends in between blocks, so here we go!

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