Culinary School Day Six-Serve Safe

Sometimes your energy gets the best of you. It could have been the relief of finishing my first week, the sheer joy of getting through the Serve Safe Book, excitement from chef Charles' presentation or the inspiration that I felt after watching some of my fellow students perform in the kitchen.

Or maybe it was the three margaritas I had that night at my favorite Mexican restaurant in celebration of my first week. I do remember continuing the celebration at home, dancing around the house to "White Bird". I was happy.

I knew I was in trouble around three in the morning when I woke up with a throat that hurt to move or swallow.

Needless to say, I spent the rest of my weekend in bed. When I wasn't sleeping I was studying. It didn't feel like a beautiful day at Carnegie Hall anymore. I did manage to get to the competition, however. The "Duck 3 Ways" (below) took best in show; and the petit fours (above) were a beautiful finale.

One good thing about me getting sick is that I felt too awful to worry about the test. I just slept, drank tea, took Tylenol, and studied. I woke up this morning still feeling awful but somehow managed to get to class. Armed with my number 2 pencil and a box of Kleenex I took my first final in 20 years. Our instructor graded our tests for us before we left. (We had to know if we were "safe" to enter the kitchen tomorrow)

A 98%! I was happy. For a minute.

Chef popped in just before we left to give us our reading assignments for the next day: Four Chapters in "On Cooking." Professionalism. Tools and Equipment. Knife Skills. Mise en Place.

Here I go again.

Goodnight.