Final Days

Days 118-119

The last day of class has arrived.

I'm feeling every kind of emotion right now: excitement, exhaustion, sadness, happiness, nervousness, anxiousness... the list goes on. Just about the only emotion I'm not yet feeling is relief, but I'm hoping that will come at 3 p.m. Tuesday when my two plates are judged and I get the green flag for graduation.

The final works like this: Students pull a piece of paper from a hat, and on it is their fate for the day. It lists two dishes that must be completed in an allotted time. Every dish has multiple components—some more difficult than others—but each is challenging in its own way.

There are four possible combinations of the eight total dishes. Chefs and students agree the seared pork chop paired with the lobster consomme is the hardest combo; I'm counting on my lucky stars to not get that deadly duo. Either way, I'm preparing as much as I can this weekend for the final. I plan on cooking multiple dishes to jog my memory in terms of what I need to accomplish come Tuesday.

Besides it being the final week of culinary school, this week was just like any other in the kitchen. I finished the last couple days on entremetier, creating sandwiches and canapes for the restaurant. My contributions included a turducken sandwich (yes, you heard that right), roasted bone marrow with shallot confit on crostini, and chilled pear soup with a blue cheese crisp and amaretto "caviar."

No time for being inventive this weekend; I'll be replicating Level 6 dishes. Preparation for the final starts now.