I just finished week 10 of my stage and I am now on my final week. I wish this week would just drag on as long as possible. I really do not want to go to the restaurant this weekend. I can't believe I am saying this, but I don't want it to end. Maybe I am getting 'cold feet' about leaving. I am thinking back to my experience in the restaurant, and at the moment I can't think of any negative thoughts (well except for those damn Jerusalem Artichokes, I hate those damn things with such fury!), perhaps I am blinded by emotions. The thought of potentially never again seeing my fellow cooks has me feeling melancholy.
I tried to savor every single moment possible this past weekend. I knew my time was coming to an end so I tried to show up to work with a positive and cheerful attitude. I spent most of Saturday killing lobsters and then breaking them down. It was a weird feeling killing those lobsters. It was as if the lobsters knew their impending doom. As soon as I would grab one, it would struggle furiously in a futile effort. I had to drape my towel over the lobster so I didn't see myself tearing the poor thing in half, and then breaking off its claws. I felt kind of bad at first, but after a few lobsters in, I was a one-man slaughterhouse. I would still get freaked out from time to time, whenever the lobster would "kick."
During dinner service I worked with Ms. KP/ZD on pastry. I haven't worked with her in a few weeks, so it was good to be back on pastry. I always feel like we're the A-Team when I work with her, because it is only the 2 of us on the pastry line. KP/ZD does most of the work though, she's more of a 1-man army and I'm the water boy. We were getting slammed at one point in the evening, so she had me plate most of the components for one of the desserts. She told me to take the plates to the back and that she "trusted" me to plate them. I recall thinking that she must be insane for putting so much faith into me. I didn't know how to plate the dish HAHA! but I did watch Ms. Stars plate it an hour or so beforehand. I tried to re-create the dish to the best of my recollection. I was expecting to get yelled at, but she didn't scold me! High Five!
On Sunday, I had to the opportunity to work with Mr. Hasselhoff again. This was a special night for me because Hasselhoff would be moving to a new restaurant after this evening. He has been a great friend and teacher to me. There is no need to reiterate all the praise and appreciation I have for this chef. I just want to express my deepest gratitude for everything.
I spent the evening cooking the pasta dish Hasselhoff taught me last weekend. It was an amazing experience. I pretty much had full control of the dish, from execution to plating. I did get some assistance during crunch time though. It is hard to describe the pressure of the dinner rush to someone who hasn't been on the line. Orders come in slowly and then all of a sudden you have a monsoon in your hands. Here is a scenario:
The chef yells out "Order 1 fish," you toss the fish into your pan leisurely, as if you have all the time in the world. "Order 2 fish," now things are starting to pick up, but 3 fish isn't a problem to you. You're the champ right? "Order 5 fish," Whoa, now its crunch time! you toss your fish into the pan, but before they even hit the oil, Chef yells out "ORDER 7 FISH." Your adrenaline starts pumping, you're getting nervous. You have 14 orders of fish in the span of 5 minutes, the stove is cluttered with pans and there is no room for yours. Your fish needs to be done and timed to perfection so that you and the grill man down the line, can plate your dishes simultaneously and send it out to the customer. Oh, by the way, orders are still coming in and stacking up. You DO NOT fall behind. That option is not even permissible. Fall behind? Go kill yourself!
At the end of the rush, when you have survived the onslaught, a feeling comes over you. You feel like, like you're the ne plus ultra of anything and everything. You're more than the king of the world. The gravity of how God-like you are makes universes orbit you. Ok maybe that not amazing, but you do feel extremely superior.
