it's here. what i've been waiting five years for. the make or break, do or die, fight or flight critical moment.
ok, perhaps it's not that serious, but it is FINALLY here. or was, a few hours ago.
at the orientation on wednesday, we were briefed (VERY briefly i might add) on what to expect, what to bring, how to study, and most importantly, what on earth we'd be doing in class today. we were sent off with a duffel bag filled with uniforms, a gigantic binder of recipes and other information, the visual food lover's guide, and homework. yes, i had homework for the first time in just under a year. and i was excited for it.
one of the "appealing factors" of this program is that right from day one, we're already baking-getting a full, hands-on immersion into the pastry playland that is our program. and right from day one, that is exactly what we did. or at least, what we set out to do.
we had a few lectures on kitchen policies, safety, where to find different tools, and took a tour of the entire building--which is something that we did when we came to visit, but now that it actually meant something to us, our chef instructors felt it would be beneficial to offer the reminder. all i remember of the tour from october was that there were so many winding floors and too many people whose names i forgot, and it was all so exciting i hardly could remember where the closest bathroom was (around the corner) let alone where any of the different kitchens were. luckily, this time around, i managed to not only retain the information, but recalled bits and pieces from that hazy tour that made sense in hindsight.
and finally after all of that talking and listening and walking and other such busy work, we got to business.
the first thing that we did was go through our pastry tools, which include not only whisks and piping tips and offset spatulas, but a wonderful knife set, and more. the first thing i thought of when i opened up my pastry bag was that from today forward, someone could actually tell me to pack my knives and go, and it would mean something. it was one of those "you're thinking too far ahead but it's too exciting to stop" moments. (side note: top chef: just desserts IS casting now...)
once all of that fun was through, we set up our mise en place for our apple compote, which would be going into our tarte aux pommes (apple tart)--the very first thing we'd ever bake. i managed to be the champ of the classroom to get a cut BEFORE we even started doing anything. i think i got a papercut during the lecture and only noticed when we went to wash our hands. other students managed to give themselves a few small nicks here and there, as we were using vegetable peelers, 8" chef's knives, and paring knives--all of which were brand new and therefore very, very sharp. not to be outdone, i managed to give myself two other cuts, one from the chef's knife on the inside of my left index finger (not sure how that happened, i was never running the knife over my open palm...) and one just underneath the fingernail on my right ring finger. luckily enough none of those injuries hurt more than my ego, and the band-aids and finger cots did the trick so i could keep working. i am also happy to note that even with all of my injury induced pauses, i was able to finish everything on time, unlike a few other students who did not have the stop-and-start halted process i did.
and now, after all of that excitement, it is time for bed. i find it amusing that friday night is now going to mean a good night's sleep after class, instead of the first night of the weekend to enjoy myself. while walking back to the subway stop, i only realized that it was a friday night in the city because of all of the people going out. while it looked like they were about to have a wonderful time, i simply changed how i was carrying my duffel bag and tool kit, and i didn't regret a second of it.
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