OMG! Y'all will never believe this! (Indulge me just a moment while I immerse my normally semi-rational self into squealing fan girl mode...) We had a volunteer opportunity this afternoon for an event at the Georgia Aquarium. It was Taste of the Nation, which benefits foodbanks and shelters. Some 40-odd best of the best ATL chefs converged to create nummies and yummies for the monied masses (tickets were not cheap, but it does go to a good cause), who will wander the aquarium ballroom drinking and nibbling in their swankiest duds and staring at things in tanks that look amazingly like what is on their plates.
Anyhoooooo, a bunch of us from class volunteered to help out (service points! which I so desperately need), so we went to the big fish tank and helped the chefs unload their food and set up their booths. Wolfgang Puck Catering runs the catering concession for the aquarium, so it was rumored that the man himself would be there...AND HE WAS!! AND, I GOT TO MEET HIM AND GET MY PICTURE TAKEN WITH HIM!! Okay, I'll stop squealing now and return you to your normally level-headed blog hostess.
Unfortunately, I don't have the picture yet, because it wasn't with my camera, so I'll have to wait until Monday to get a copy from the Resident Mother Hen. Chef Puck really was the nicest guy. He greeted everyone as he went by them, smiled, and was extremely gracious about all the picture taking that went on...and on... Honestly, we tried not to monopolize him, but we couldn't let that opportunity go by, could we?
It was fun, but tiring. All the chefs and their people were very nice and very grateful to have help hauling their stuff into the venue. Some of them were amazed that they had unloading assistance period, and it was kinda funny to see their reactions when 3 or 4 of us with carts would mob their vehicles when they drove up to the door.
In class today (whew! I'm back to reality now.), we did braising. We made a Yankee Pot Roast, Chicken Fricassee, a Veal Blanquette (veal in a white cream sauce with mushrooms and peal onions--yum!), Swiss steak, and a brown beef stew. The Chicken Fricassee was the hands down winner of favorite food item today, followed by the Veal Blanquette. The fric is on our practical, so I'm going to try and practice it this weekend and see if I can make a passable example.
Chef did take me aside and paid me a nice compliment about having a good positive attitude and that would take me far in this business...this was after he offered to remove my injured eye for me...such a caring man, our Chef. I think he really likes the fact that when he makes an golden oldie pop culture reference that I'm the one that always gets the joke. Validation of humor is a good thing, yes?
Oh, and we also had our mid-term today. I'm feeling pretty good about it, and not too worried about my grade on it, unless that bump on my head really did scramble my brains. My eye does look better today, and I didn't even get a black eye...which would have looked really good in that picture with Wolfgang, don't you think? Goes right along with that eyepatch = sex goddess thing.
1 comment:
That. Is. AWESOME. I am consumed with jealousy.
And I nearly killed my entire family with a beef loin roast the other night. Actually, I think it was the carrots, because that meat was well-done.
Then again, Bella has a fever TONIGHT, so it might have been an actual virus after all.
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