I’m beat. I’ve been picked up by this whirlwind this week, and it’s really taking its toll. In a good way, mind you. Whatever doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger. I feel stronger. This week really taught me a lot, and It’s still only Thursday night.

Today started bright and early at 5:28am, and here it is at 10:58 pm. I’ve had a grand total of one 10minutes nap. That’s it.

Normally that’s not really that big of a deal, but for some reason today I just feel like I worked myself to the bone. School was long. We made two dishes of food, and they honestly came out great. Fried calamari with a homemade garlic aioli (french garlic mayo) served with a grilled portabello mushroom was the appetizer. A poached striped bass over a bed of sauteed spinach served with a beautiful sauce (really no name for it, it was a fish veloute with pan drippings, finished off with some cream, egg yolk and seasoning) and a side of sauteed potatoes with a parsley butter.

The pictures are a little blurry because it’s both on my phone, and I really don’t have the time to even take the time to take a picture, no less a good one.

My entree was so good that Chefs Amy and Rob basically didn’t have a single word of criticism. When asked what I could do better, they kinda looked it over once more, looked at eachother, and said…well, that’s an excellent plate of food. Good presentation, seasoned properly, cooked to the right consistency, everything was great.

I worked myself to the bone today. My legs are sore, I’m burned in a couple places, my hand hurts, my knee hurts, and my thumb is really sore, not really sure why.

Went to the bar today after school, because, well…I’ve been drinking after school lately. Have you ever felt so spent that it was like, you finally take a deep breath in and out and realize you can relax and it’s like wow holy shit I need a fucking beer. That’s basically my week in a nutshell.

The bartender was having a horrible day, and I helped her out a little – moving boxes from the downstairs walk-in fridge up through the kitchen and into the bar. Did that for a little while, and later tonight my back and arms are a little sore. On the bright side, I’m probably drinking for free tomorrow.

This week has been really challenging. Learning to manage my time and not really fuck around, staying on point and focused – it’s great. To say I learned to cook in skills1 is just a giant understatement. It got me used to COOKING but like, I just followed recipes. I really had no concept as to how or why things did what they did. I couldn’t really design or fix a dish. In this class we don’t really measure, we don’t have any definite answers when it comes to temperature or cooking time, full ingredient lists. We get to learn lots of techniques and theory, and then apply it at our own wish. If it fucks up, fix it. Learn to fix it. If it doesn’t taste right, fix it. Find out what it’s missing and fix it. Period.

It’s great. The whole thing is great, and I can’t wait to wakeup in …six hours. Ok, sleep time. Peace