Tomorrow is my practical exam for AM A La Carte (fancy words for “feed people lunch.”) I’m not too worried about it, I just hope I am able to find the time to do it. It’ll probably take me about 2 hours start to finish, but most of that time is spent waiting for it to bake off. Barring any catastrophes, I should do fine. I’ll just cross my fingers that the person putting together our final report gets it done.
Last few days I’ve worked prep by myself (okay there was one other person there, but he was useless) despite being extremely sick due to low blood sugar. Somehow I managed it though, and the Chef was very vocal about what a great job we’re all doing. Today for example, it poured and no one expected a lot of business, but the opposite happened – we got slammed nonstop for most of lunch. We usually get out of there by 2:15, but today we were barely out of there by 2:30. The next class came in and we worked on top of each other so they could get orders out while we cleaned up. I have no idea how many covers we did but I’m betting it’s a lot. I was going to run prep again today but the person on the sandwich station slipped this morning and hurt her ankle, so I switched stations with her. I did fine, got everything out quickly, but man was I ever busy! I’m glad I got off prep though – the useless guy I was with yesterday was there again today, and even though he didn’t slice his finger again (which requires a trip to the hospital for stitches) he didn’t help much. People were constantly yelling at him because he wasn’t listening, the Chef yelled at him four times for not plating desserts correctly… sheesh. Talk about not getting it. I’d be very shocked if he passes the class. He is NOT ready for the line, despite his boasts to the contrary. Most of the time I don’t think I am ready, but the Chef keeps telling me that I am, and today I think I did a lot to show that I am getting the hang of it.
I’m also trying to pursue my internship. Originally I was going to do it at the Colby Hill Inn in Henniker, but it doesn’t look like they will need anyone over the winter. So I’ll probably work for Fitz Vogt up here in the Montpelier area. I might also give a call to The Common Man, which is maybe 10 minutes from my apartment.