School midterm Part 1: Running around like a mouse

A tsunami of gray bubbles rose and fell in the pot, forming a raft of ground beef, egg whites and julienned vegetables in a beef stock. Impurities in the stock would naturally stick to the gray mass, leaving a clear soup called consommé.

Monday, I had to make consommé and pork chops with a green peppercorn sauce for my midterm. The midterm is a test French Culinary Institute students have to take to pass Level 3. We had to present two dishes at staggered times. If we were late, points would be taken off. If we failed the practical, we could be held back a level.

Level 3 was all about timing, turning in one dish in roughly three hours and then turning in a second dish 50 minutes later. Out of all the six levels, instructors and students said Level 3 was the hardest.

At home, I was used to taking my time, peeling and cutting an onion and then peeling and cutting another vegetable.

Being a professional cook means having a sense of urgency. We heard that phrase so much that I internalized it. I did my laundry as if I had an appointment later. I made chocolate chip cookies as if I were late for a party.

At school, I would turn in the first dish at the deadline. But for the second dish, I would smush all the steps together and the dish would be crappy. I was slow at cutting vegetables into perfect cubes. I was slow at plating. I would forget the pearl onions for the roast chicken, or I would forget the croutons for the fish.

The weekend before the midterm, I practiced my knife skills. I cut carrots and turnips into cubes. I julienned carrots, celery and leeks. I diced mushrooms and tomatoes. Chef V told us we could either get the consommé and the pork, or fish and the apple tart. I hoped for the consommé and pork.

When I practiced cutting carrots and turnips, I suddenly was fast. Why did it take me so long to cut them in class? What had I been doing?

I drew “A3” just before we began the midterm. I looked at the board. I had consommé and pork. I smiled. My deadlines were 8:59 p.m. and 9:48 p.m. I was in the last appetizer/meat group to present.

Chefs V and A told us we could only gather the equipment we needed. We couldn’t hoard bowls or pans. If we were done using a pot, we had to get rid of it, give it to the dishwasher and keep our station clean.

I felt like a mouse, scurrying around to get things I needed—a saute pan from that shelf, a bowl from the dishwashing station, a pot from the cabinet. Then I hurried to the dishwasher’s station to get rid of a dirty pot. I walked briskly to the compost bin to throw out onion peels.

“You were everywhere,” Christopher said. “I’d turn around and there you were.”

Stay tuned for Part 2...