What was this heinous act? None other than smashing (accidentally, I might add) into the floor the two apple tarts Cason had worked so furiously to make today during his final exam. Did I do this after it had been presented to the judges or in enough time to crank out another quick version? No. Absolutely not. I did it only minutes before he was to present the dish.
How did this happen? Well, I was there as a commis (a helper) today for the group that had the exam. The commis is supposed to essentially just be a runner, but time was running out for the group today and the tension in the room was running a bit high. So, I just wanted to help as much as I could. When Cason finished taking the tarts out of their rings, I offered to take them back to the oven for him since he wanted to brown the bottoms more. I kid you not - the split second after I turned to take the rack to the oven, both tarts flew in opposite directions. The crazy thing is that it wasn't in slow motion like so many things like that are. In fact, I never saw them falling. There was zero chance to try to save them. They went from on the rack to on the floor in a millisecond. I should have known that off their baking sheet those two tarts were primed to fly off a greasy rack faster than Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt can add to their family.
As soon as Chef found out, I could hear him yelling from across the room: how did this happen; I should not have been helping; it was not my job. He was right. I never should have asked to help.
Despite the fact that I was so upset, no apology was sufficient in my opinion. I had just ruined his work and potentially could have made him fail the exam. I felt like I should be wearing a scarlet TS (Tart Smasher) on my chest. Luckily, Cason took it all in stride and reassured me that he was not mad. The jury had seen his tart pre-smashing and thus would grade him based on that. I could, therefore, continue just wearing my scarlet TS and not have to add CSDS (Culinary Student Dream Murderer) to my chest.
After everything was finished for the morning, Cason and I went to have a much needed glass(es) of wine. I still can't believe he's even speaking to me, but he is. So, here's to learning how to take things gracefully and to knowing that you should always hold on tight to your apple tart when transporting it to the oven.
Today after the test. Still smiling after all that! Can you believe it?
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3 comments:
I think it's Cason's fault. Do you remember when chef dropped his quiches on the floor too? That's to much coincidence to happen with one person. Maybe he puts some special greasy oil on the bottom so they slip, or little invisible wings that think they can fly, but don't, on his pate brisé. Go figure...
Leo - You are absolutely right. It's a bit fishy that both his quiche and his apple tarts have hit the floor. It's a conspiracy.
hold your head up :)
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