FINALS

I just spent 3 hours preparing, from scratch, the 3 dishes for my cooking finals. I was brave (or stupid rather) enough to make a guesstimate of finishing under 2 hours, I could not be more wrong. The 'mise en place' took almost 1.5 hours despite all the mental planning and studying last night. What I forgot was the sharing of work with a cooking partner during class, verses doing everything myself. It was a serious morning as I was working all alone, I was not to ask questions, and the kitchen felt almost desolate for a moment.

It went well, except for a couple of presentation hiccups. The instructors seem to agree but Professor Wandee has to give her definitive blessing, yet. The Red Curry with the Roast Duck was beautifully red, the Deep Fried Catfish crispy with a powerful dipping sauce because I crushed the green chilies, and the Pad Thai was restaurant class ... so I think. Joking aside I am happy with what I did, now I wait for the verdict.