harvest dinner, crepes, and the bummer of breakfast

this last week i was in the 2nd quarter kitchen. past 1st quarter students have gotten to break down chickens and trim meat. last week was 2Q's breakfsat rotation. it wasa a lame week to be in there since so much of breakfast is a la minute, so prep is pretty minimal. the fist day, i peeled some cooked potatoes, shredded them and then sat around for hours - huge drag. after the first day, jenny joined me in 2Q kitchen, which always adds to my enjoyment. we got to make crepes on thursday - all day. it was so fun. we (jenny, josephine (whose "real" name is beth - only people in culinary school know her as josephine - how odd is that?) kerry, kim and i) all got to make crepes for friday's blintzes. what a blast. my first opportunity to cook!! despite only being able to flip a few perfectly, it was the fastest 3+ hours of school yet.

last night was harvest dinner - it's a huge fundraiser for the program and i volunteered to help. along with about half of the class. it was about 90 degrees in the atrium as we were setting up - didn't it occur to anyone (after 14 years of doing this) to make sure the h-vac system wasn't shut off for the weekend? (no, actually, it didn't.) so it was hot, and we were all clad in miserably unflattering tuxedo shirts and bowties. and i thought the chef's uniform was a lesson in humility. the most annoying part of the night (aside from the mutterer sitting behind me during the debrief) was the 5th Q students. they're all in charge of stations and generally tasked with making sure everything runs smoothly. my lead was very sweet - and only 20. she did fine, but planning isn't yet natural to her. our station gear was set up in the hall between the atrium and the room where the guests had appetizers and learned about our sustainability program. since it was exposed, mr. dillard (duke of dining) asked us to set up on the fly between the mingle and dinner. as such, we didn't really have a chance to make sure we were properly stocked. when we took inventory of our wine, glasses, etc - it became clear that we were missing more than 50% of what we needed. i trotted around to the other stations to pillage what i could. the other 5Q students were *(overly) protective of their bounty and i found i had to beg, borrow and steal from them just to get what we needed. it was annoying and unnecessary. don't they all work in restaurants? do sauciers horde plates from entremetiers? seriously - do they? it just all seemed terribly small picture.

once service began there were far too many rules (serve from left, ladies first, use a guard while pouring, etc) and too many people directing traffic. fortunately the bevy of bodies became a boon (sorry - wine makes me alliterative) at the end when we all got the room clean in less than 30 minutes. all the students (and most of the chefs) headed to Bill's Off Broadway - a dive bar - for the after party. i got to spend some quality time with some of my classmates. nothing like a little bud to loosen the lips of strangers - it was very fun.

next week i start back in 2Q kitchen and then spend a week in the dining room bussing tables. someday i bet i'll use my knives. they're sharp and ready.