I'd be first to finish my dishes and plate. That was a relief. I hate waiting around watching all the entries. I got straight to work and started making my dessert topping, the zabaione, to have it ready to go at the end. Chef had suggested I make it early and hold it through service. It came out well, nice and thick, pale yellow and marshmellowy flavored. I would have to whip it occasionally to ensure it didn't separate.
I checked grocery stores all over the city to get peaches, but I finally got some. Of course they were hard as rocks. Thus I cut them into large pieces and slow roasted them in the oven the prior evening, a suggestion from Chef Paul Luna. I thought they turned out well also.
Next I blanched my peas. I had to use frozen this time because the farmer's market was out of the fresh ones. I thought this was better than being out of the red mullet though and tried to look at the bright side.
I blanched my broccoli rapini (or broccoli rabe). I'd tried this the night before and the blanche step nicely removed some of the overly bitter notes. Draining this however was somewhat of a pain. Any water left remaining would pop and snap in my sauté pan. This can lead to hot oil on an arm, a less than pleasant experience.
My risotto was on the stove. As it cooked, I puréed some of the peas creating a nice green color. The plating time neared for the first course; I had plenty of extra time. I knew I shouldn't cook the risotto any more, but I also didn't want to run out of time so I started putting together the rise i bisi adding the pureed peas and some fresh also. The risotto I knew was overcooking but I couldn't resist the urge to get ahead. Out it finally went.
Next was my fish with the sautéed rapini. I had several pans going to ensure all finished at the correct time. They came out well and I was pleased with that dish.
Last was the dessert. My few decent peaches were stretched to make four small dessert glasses with zabaione. Chef had recommended I splash some prosecco at the end which I did. The zabaione at this point was nearly destroyed. I'd whipped it occasionally, but each time more stuck to the whip. What was left in volume was nearly nothing. The dessert looked awful. I knew at this point I had no chance in winning. I presented the poor quality dishes in primi and dolce, but I was pleased to be finished and glad to have the experience.
None of the contestants from my class believed they had a chance of winning anyway. We were all aware that two of the contestants were employees at the Chef's restaurant and receiving detailed hands-on training and menu consultation. The rest of us were flying solo. The Chef at one point was even mixing some of the dough for one contestant's dolce. Our only question was which of the two would win. We decided that it must be the more senior student since he'd have much more experience with which to compete and cook in a competitive environment.
I guess the judges were closely analyzing the dishes because the next competitors were pushed back progressively, ultimately delaying the last contestant over an hour. Thank goodness that wasn't me.
Chef asked me at some point about my peaches and I explained that finding some ripe ones did not materialize so I slow roasted them upon suggestion. Chef told me that was a stupid approach. He didn't use the word stupid, but he may as well have with the attitude in which he communicated.
When all competitors finished, we were all summoned before the judges. They gave some commentary that they termed as general and not directed towards anyone specific, but it was obvious where some thoughts were aimed. "Italian food uses herbs lightly, just a hint to provide a touch of flavor, not gobs of branches." Hmm... sounds familiar. I guess they didn't like the fresh herb flavor of the fish's flesh. I supposed I'm not Italian however. I don't recall hearing any comments that shouted "Hey this was some good food!"
After the general commentary, we all moved to a room with our dishes displayed on a table with labeling cards beside them. Mine read as follows:
risi e bisi
------------------
secondi
interi gamberi con verdi
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dolci
pesche al prosecco
I didn't serve interi gamberi con verdi. I served triglia rosso con rapini, but Chef had failed to communicate my change in menu. I couldn't believe this. Chef had told us to send in a menu and we would review it. If needed we could make changes and submit those changes. Long story short... there was no review until practice and there was no communication to the judges of my new menu. Thank you Chef.
One judge critiqued each menu, mine being the first. My risotto was overcooked, not surprising. One judge particularly liked this dish however and stated it was excellent-- interestingly opposite opinions. My rapini was nicely prepared. Why did I serve the mullet? The shrimp would have been a much better selection. Thank you Chef. My dessert was drenched in prosecco and the zabaione needed work. This was not enjoyable. I felt like saying Thank you Chef again there, but in reality I should have known better as I had the overdrenching issue during practice of my menus. I did partially blame him for my poor zabaione. Maybe that's just being bitter however.
The judge went through and critiqued all the menus. At the end the winners were announced. There wouldn't be just one winner; there would be two. While I was sure one of Chef's restaurant pupils would be selected, I wondered about the second winner.
Of course! I should have known! The second winner was the Chef's other apprentice. We all felt slighted, asked to participate in an event and then left to hang dry. We subjected ourselves to demeaning and less than professionally presented criticism for nothing. I felt like I should have the word "SUCKER" tatooed to my forehead.
There were no second or third winners selected. We couldn't even compete against each other. Those of us left remaining promptly left the venue and went to the parking lot to toast the leftover processco. We had hoped that being yelled at during practice and asked to register for the contest at the last minute wouldn't result in such an obvious dismissal of our efforts. Oh well. The experience I suppose was worth it for the next time.
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