The Exam

I did it! I passed the Level 1 exam today, which means I'm one level closer to being a real chef. The exam was relatively simple for all that we've learned in Level 1, it consisted of a written portion, which was very basic and pretty easy and then a practical exam. The practical exam was the more nerve-wracking part of the test because everything was done under such stressful conditions and we knew we were being judged on every little thing we were doing. We were told to arrive at 8:30, 30 minutes earlier than class usually starts. We reported to the downstairs kitchen, a different kitchen than we were used to using. We waited outside, some more nervous than others, while the chefs set up our cutting boards and bowls for us.

Everyone pretty much knew what the exam would be because the upper level students told us and Chef Rogers basically told us everything as well. He told us we'd need to do taillage (julienne, jardiniere, emincer and ciseler), tournage and make something with tomatoes, shallots and garlic (which most of us already knew would be tomatoe fondue). Even so, waiting outside the kitchen for almost 20 minutes made everyone a little more nervous than they should have been.

Finally we were let into the kitchen to get ready and Chef Rogers told us what we would do. First the written, then we would julienne a carrot, jardiniere a turnip, emincer (thinly slice) half an onion and ciseler (dice) the other half. Then we would turn one potato into 8 shapes and turn an artichoke (basically whittling it down to just the artichoke heart). Last, we would make a tomato fondue, a recipe we were all familiar with, having made it a few times during Level 1.

We had 20 minutes for the first portion, and I hastily grabbed a very thick carrot to make my julienne. I cut into it at the exact length it needed to be, but the top portion cracked, so I had to cut further into it, so that the length wouldn't be enough for a julienne. Part of the grading for this portion includes how much waste we have from cutting the vegetable, and unfortunately this faux pas left me with a ton of carrot waste in my bowl that the chefs would undoubtedly notice. But I forged ahead, thinly slicing my julienne, while Chef Rogers and Chef Nick walked around, sometimes hovering over our stations for a minute. Next I moved onto my turnip, cutting it into shorter and thicker jardiniere pieces. As I was cutting, two people ran into the area where my station was (I was located right next to the first aid box) with their fingers dripping blood and their uniforms and towels covered with drops and spatters of blood. Trying not to faint and brushing off my lightheadedness from seeing the blood (ew), I continued with my onion while Chef Rogers bandaged the wounds. "Good thing I'm a doctor," he said jokingly as he pulled on rubber gloves. When he was all finished he said to the girl who had sliced her thumb, "Now don't forget to give me your insurance information so I can bill you." The sarcasm slipped right by her and afterward I heard her telling someone else that she wasn't sure if she had to give Chef Rogers her insurance or not.

After the chefs came by to inspect our carrots, turnip and onions, we moved onto the potato and artichoke. I turned my artichoke into the perfect shape, but getting the choke out of the middle was quite a task. I had forgotten to take out a spoon to scoop it out more easily, so I ended up using my paring knife, going at it while trying not to stab myself by poking my knife out the other end of the artichoke. I gave up when most of the choke was gone and moved on to my potatoes, carefully trimming one potato into 8 oval cocotte shapes, which should be 5 cm in length. I moved slowly so I wouldn't mess any of them up and luckily it worked. I turned out 8 potatoes, even though they may not have been the most beautifully turned potatoes in the world.

Lastly, we moved onto cooking our tomato fondue, first peeling three tomatoes, then finely chopping them and cooking them with shallots and garlic to make a mushy tomato mixture, that should have no moisture left. As we worked, Chef Rogers kept coming into the room and yelling, "I smell that something ees burning" and then ran out with a grin, trying to scare us into running toward the stove to check our pots. Nothing was actually burning, although I did save mine just in time from crisping up a little bit. In the end, I sort of ran out of time...thinking I had more time than I did, I added a little more water to mine so that the tomatoes would get a little softer, but when Chef Nick called times up, the water hadn't completely evaporated, so it ended up being a little too watery. But, imperfections aside, I passed the test and I'm moving on to Level 2 on Monday, which I am very excited for because Level 2 recipes are basically pastry, eggs and pasta...and one day of organ meat, but I'm trying not to think about that.

It's been a long week, and I'm ready to relax! I'm headed to the farmer's market tomorrow so I'll post about some of my weekend cooking tomorrow.