Of course I am referring to shower beers, that magical combination of a hot cleansing shower and delicious fermented hop juice. How did I earn such a treat you ask? I had just gotten home from my first experience of working "on the line". Now granted it was only for our class and I only really fired three entrees of Mac-n-Cheese, but still! Ala Carte Cookery has easily been the class I have stressed about the most so getting through that first day on the line was a big deal for me, plus it was St. Patrick's Day.
Unlike most people in the Culinary Arts program I don't plan on working in a restaurant or owning my own restaurant AND I have never worked in a restaurant. I have no delusions of being some hugely talented chef, I know my place isn't in the kitchen but in the lab. So having to prepare high quality food in an extremely timely manner for people who have actually spent money on what you are about to feed them was a little nerve wracking.
It was cramped and it was hot and we only worked for about 30 minutes but we all made it and I think it went pretty smoothly for our first time. Dare I say it was even kinda fun? Of course there are things to work on, like cooking a hamburger properly which no one seems able to do (myself included) but I also think a lot of things will fall into place once we break into our breakfast/lunch crews and we become increasingly familiar with the menu. I think it took some of the stress off when I learned that first day would be the only day I would have to be there at 6:30am as well.
My quarter got slightly less hectic today with my decision to drop my chemistry class. I went through several hoops to get in that class without taking the prerequisites, apparently a bachelors in Biology means nothing when it comes to 0900 science classes. It's not that it was too hard, it certainly wasn't, I just didn't see room in my days for 3 culinary classes, working 40 hours a week, including 8 hours on Saturday and Sunday, plus a 3 hour chemistry class 3 nights a week. I'm sure I could do it but it would put me in the same position I have been in every other time I've had chemistry; just struggling through it and immediately forgetting it.
Day 2 of Protein Fabrication tomorrow night and I think we're tackling fish of some sort. That class fascinates me, I just wish they could get the temperature in the protein lab down like it is supposed to be.
Also a note on my shower beer of choice: that is no ordinary skunky can of Schlitz, oh no no, that is a bottle which contains the "original 1960's recipe". Call it Schlitz Throwback if you will, the farthest west I have ever seen them is Des Moines but last weekend when my dad was in Illinois (wow that website is hilariously terrible) he brought back two 12 packs.
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