CCC

Some of the best learning experiences I had while in college were the ones where we volunteered to be a part of some event or other. I carved beef at the Juno's once rubbing shoulders with Erica Ehm and Rod Stewart...OK fine, not rubbing shoulders as much as say, handing over bits of mangled beef, I helped cater more dinners than I care to count and managed to land a job for two days making Grand Marnier crepes at a food show. We were a favourite booth which we parlayed into free booze from neighbouring booths...$15 an hour and a buzz for the afternoon. Good times my friends.

One such event though had a lot of prestige and responsibility to go with it. Our school was chosen to host the very first CCC practical exam. The Certified Chef de Cuisine designation was the industries attempt to set standards and by extension more legitimacy all around. I think it's a good idea but I also think it makes not a wick of difference as to the qualities that a person may have to be chef, but that's for another day. As I was saying, our school was hosting the first eight chefs who were attempting to get their CCC designation. They would have all passed their theoretical and written modules, all that was left was an eight hour day preparing a three course meal and shepherding a young apprentice through the day. That's where I come in, along with seven classmates. What an opportunity to see master chefs at work and being a part of something important in our world.

First, let me say that it was a privilege to participate. After that, what a shit show. We were all less than impressed with the organization and the menu that had to be prepared. I know it was the very first one and growing pains are to be expected, but really...Chicken Mikado as an entree? What the fuck. As luck would have it I was randomly selected to be the apprentice for Chef Bobby...yes, that chef, "Chef I'll rip your fuckin arms off" Bobby. I don't recall all the other chefs there but I do recall one guy ended up failing...and that was my fear going in, don't be the reason that Chef Bobby screws up. Which under normal circumstances wouldn't have been a thing....but as you might guess, this wasn't normal and it was all of our faults. We got loaded the night before...all the students hanging out somewhere and drinking our faces off. Not the smartest move but par for the course in this thing of ours.

We were all rather unsteady and the practised eye of Chef Bobby saw it right away with me...in his Irish lilt I can still hear him "Did you go and get yourself pissed last night?" "Yes chef" "Jesus Christ...all of you right?" "Yes chef" "Jesus Christ make sure you don't fall down and don't breathe on the open flames" I was about to reply that I could handle what ever kind of hangover I might have had and still perform well, hell, I'd been doing that for a few years at the Good Ole Golden Griddle anyway but instead..."yes chef" So let the day begin....it seemed to me that Chef Bobby either had bad recipes or he was beyond nervous in what was going on. Everything he touched seemed to require extra effort to succeed...and a little cheating. He got me to sneak in some cornstarch to thicken a pastry cream he had made that was kind of runny, and we all know that you can't have runny pastry cream in your cornofuckingcopia...yep, old school. So I was an accomplice to cheating but I figured he was the one doing it and who am I to question the chef in the middle of a competition...hell, I still had classes with this guy.

As we worked away we could see the other chefs and apprentices doing the same, nervous looks and head scratches were followed by staring at recipe sheets which was followed by scurrying. Much scurrying...I'm not a fan of scurrying, I stroll and or saunter, scurrying seems wrong to me. I'm not sure why but the day seemed to drag on until the last hour or so when time sped up at seemingly twice the pace...crunch time was upon us, would the pastry cream hold? Did the Mikado have enough or too much soy sauce? Was our almond cake up to snuff? Tick, tick, tick...did they capture me on closed circuit TV sneaking the cornstarch into the hands of Chef?

As it turned out, all was good. Chef Bobby passed and was part of the first ever graduates of the CCC program. I was glad I didn't cause him to fail in humiliation and I was glad I could go home to sleep...by the way, this sleep deprivation caused either by over work or over indulgence will be a running theme for many years...I fell asleep on a toilet once, forewarned. But wait, what was that you say? We're going out for a drink to celebrate...OK, I guess...giddy up!

Ciao
D