School Update/Competition Update

Hey Everyone! 

So this week was my last week of bistro and let's just say it was bittersweet.  It's been a HUGE learning experience.  Over the past six weeks, I've learned to work quicker, better, and with more passion.  I've cooked things that I've never cooked before, took risks, and have been proud of every dish I've made.   

Here is my Spanish Chicken, my last entree that I cooked for bistro.  It's an airline chicken breast with a roasted tomato sauce.

In other news, this past weekend I participated in the Taste of Elegance Pork Competition.  It was sponsored and judged by the Iowa Pork Producers Association.  I was on a team with one other person from my lab section.  Shoutout to Angie for being an amazing partner!!

This was our first attempt at making the dish.

We had our first practice on Friday.  We mis en placed (got everything prepped) all of the components that we would need for Monday, the actual day of the competition, as well as everything for our practice dish.  We spent about 2 1/2 hours on Friday getting everything ready and plating the dish.  It was exciting seeing the whole dish come together for the first time.

Competition day was finally here!

Our start time was 12:45pm and we had 2 hours to complete and plate our entree.  We had mise en placed so much the days before, that we really didn't have much to do.  We cooked our pork in the pressure cooker, cut and grilled polenta cakes, and fried some polenta strands for a garnish.  We also tweaked the flavor of our pesto just a tad and cooked up our kale, leek, and pancetta mixture.  It was a lot more relaxing that my other competition.  As our two hours came to a close, we began to plate everything.  Plating is personally one of my favorite parts of cooking, because I think that it is the most creative.  

At the end of the day, I was extremely proud of us.  We were the only two person team that competed in the competition.  Our judges said that they could only find two small critiques to give us.  But at the end of day, we didn't place in the top three.  ):  Though it was disappointing, two out of the four DMACC teams placed in the top three!  Overall it was an amazing experience and I wouldn't trade it for anything

Over these past few months, I really feel I've come out of my shell.  A year ago, I would have never thought about putting myself and my skills out for everyone to judge.  But in the long run, it has helped me develop more skills, creativity, and become closer with my classmates as well as meet other very talented chefs.  

Not sure if there will be a post next week, since it is the week of Spring Break and I am off of classes, but we'll see.  Maybe I'll do a surprise post or something. (:

~Abby​

"People who eat are always the best people."
​-Julia Child