FCI Midterm

Despite what it looks like around here as of late, I have actually been cooking outside of school, and I have some great things (like, the best brunch dish I've had in a long time, pumpkin whoopie pies and some amazing granola) to share with you really, really soon.  Preparing for my midterm just happened to take precedence over blogging & posting delicious recipes recently.

So, the midterm (otherwise known as the Level 3 final, and 50% of my grade).  It happened this past Saturday.  Instead of getting stressed and feeling anxious, and wracking my brain over the exam, with its tight time limit and panel of judges who would taste my food, I tried to tell myself it would be no different than any other day of class.  That was a nice idea; it didn't work.

We would be preparing either an appetizer & meat dish, or a fish and a dessert, from the 16 recipes we'd worked on over the past 6 weeks.  Some chefs will tell you the recipes on the exam beforehand, ours did not.  And, since Level 3 focuses heavily on speed & timing, you are up against the clock for this exam.  We had 2 hours 45 minutes to produce & deliver the  first dish, with the second dish due exactly 45 minutes later.  As long as you're organized, focused, work clean and of course, know the recipes, this is no problem.  To determine the dishes we'd make and the time we'd be due to present, we picked a folded slip of paper from a bowl.

I walked into the kitchen to see that our four dishes for the evening were Consomme & Beef Bourguinon, and Baramundi Americaine & Pots de Creme.  I crossed my fingers and prayed for the Baramundi.  This dish has a lot of moving parts, but I felt absolutely confident I could nail it.  Not only did I make this 3 times during this level, but I made it well each time and I made it blindly, meaning I never tasted the sauce once when I made this dish.  That pretty much goes against everything I've learned, but I have a serious allergy to crustaceans & this sauce uses both lobster & shrimp.  Instead I knew exactly how the sauce should look, it's ideal consistency, the way it should smell and how to season it. 

I drew my paper from the bowl, but it would only determine my time slot for the evening.  Since I wouldn't be able to taste the sauce for the Baramundi, Chef decided I'd be making the Consomme & Bourguinon.  I felt dread creep into my stomach and up into my throat.  The Bourguinon is the one dish I hoped I wouldn't see on the midterm; it was the one I felt least confident with.  As for my time slot, no extra time here, I was in the first group to present, with my Consomme due at 8:45pm and the Bourguinon to follow at 9:27.

As I gathered my ingredients and set up my station, I felt off kilter and unfocused.  I tried to forget about everyone else around me, and what they were/weren't doing, and I tried to forget about the ticking clock behind me.  I hoped nobody around me noticed how nervous I was, but at the very second that thought crossed my mind, Chef appeared behind me.  I felt his presence before I saw him.  Apparently my nerves were obvious, and he tersely advised I pull my shit together, and fast.

I went through the tasks to be done, toggling back and forth all night between the Consomme and the Beef.  I started with the Beef, as it would take the longest to prepare....I seasoned and seared and singered, added flavoring and marinade and stock, and right on time, my stew went into the oven.  I moved on to the Consomme, and once the raft was formed & with a hole in the center, I prepared the garnish of macedoine vegetables, cut to the size of petite peas.  Next I was on to making pasta dough & preparing the garnish for the Bourguinon...the pearl onions were well on their way to glace, the lardons were sauteeing, the mushrooms were on standby, the croutons were shaped like hearts and the parsley was finely chopped.  Deep breath.  Everything was happening, and I was on schedule but I still felt frazzled.  8:35pm, my bowls were in the oven (hot food, hot plate), the vegetable garnish was reheating and my Consomme had been strained and degreased (over and over and over again).  In my final few minutes, I plated my Consomme, cleaned my station and went through a mental list of the remaining tasks to be done for my second dish.  Just as the clock clicked to 8:45pm I entered the room across with hall, and greeted the judges with 4 bowls of clear, hot Consomme.

In a flash I was back in the kitchen, and back to work.  My sauce for the Bourguinon was reducing (albeit, not quickly enough) and I found an empty space to roll out the dough for the egg noodles that accompany the dish.  All of a sudden it felt like the clock was moving at warp speed.  My dough was so gummy, and would not roll properly!  Nooo, this can't be happening now!  It broke again, and again, and again.  As I started to cut the dough, I looked at the clock to see 9:11pm.  I was due to present in 16 minutes!  I think that was the moment I stopped breathing and went from cursing in my head to cursing out loud.  I moved as fast as I could, but it didn't feel fast enough.  My bowls were in the oven, I seasoned the stew one last time (hoping its flavor would make up for it's slightly less than nappant consistency) I plucked my clumpy noodles from the boiling water & dropped them into a buttery bowl.  9:25pm and I was plating faster than I've ever plated in my life.  Two minutes and I was cutting it close.  All I could think was "not enough time, not enough time!" and "I can't be late, I can't be late!".  In those last minutes I did my best to make sure the bowls were evenly garnished and well sauced.  9:27pm, my presentation time, came and went.  9:28pm, Chef was yelling and I needed to choose the lesser of two evils - serve slightly messy bowls at 1 minute late or clean the bowls and present 2 minutes late.  

As I delivered my tray of Bourguinon, I felt completely & utterly defeated.  I couldn't look at my Chef, and I could barely look at the judges.  This was the first time I'd ever been late to present my food, and I was sure my Beef Bourguinon left something to be desired.  This was not my finest night in the kitchen.

I went back to my station feeling like I wanted to cry.  I received a hug & encouragement from some classmates, a mise cup of unused brandy and a wise reminder that I likely did better than I was giving myself credit.  What a night!

At 2:30am, after commiserating & laughing over cocktails with my classmates, I logged on to the FCI website to check my grade.  I was happy and pleasantly surprised with the number I saw glowing on the screen.  I passed the midterm & Level 3, and in the end did much better than I'd expected.  And, so tomorrow night I will start Level 4 (family meal & buffet).