FYI, there are no photos in this post so feel free to skip it if you want to see food.
Cooking shows
I just started watching a show called "My Kitchen Rules". For people who don't live in Australia and/or don't know what it is, it's a show where couples from the different states (and New Zealand) cook for each other and a couple of judges (I think they're both chefs). At the end of the night, the contestants give each other scores, then the judges give their scores. The couple with the lowest score gets eliminated - I'm not sure how many rounds there are.
I can't remember how much time they have to prepare - I think it's 8 hours to shop and prepare, then they have to serve people at the dinner - I think it's 12 people. Anyway - sometimes hearing them talk about the food and what they're thinking is great and sometimes not so great. There was a cringe when a couple of the guys said they were aiming for medium rare eye fillets (beef) and aiming for 66C. Um, except that's closer to well done and will be well done once you take the steaks out of the oven and they rest up. Oops. Then the chefs told them that - and they ended up throwing away the meat thermometer. I'm not sure if it was a case of they decided not to trust it or whether they blamed it for overdone steak.
Some of the judges' comments - reminded me of days in the kitchen when I felt bad for inflicting bad food on the chefs. They make some of the same mistakes we've made (although I don't think the contestants are professional chefs) and of course it's good to be reminded that sometimes a bit of bitchiness is entertaining. There's a girl they call Princess and she and her partner say the following lines:
"I don't like [insert the main ingredient of at least one of the courses here]"
"I'm expecting a lot from [contestants of the week]."
Then something to the effect that they didn't like the food with a sneer - how could it not be funny?
Watching various people's work in the kitchen was also a learning experience - messy kitchens with stuff everwhere, things not prepped (a lot of things which could have been done in advance hadn't been done. I didn't see the beginning of tonight's episode so I don't know where all the time went). Tonight's contestants said they were aiming for an hour between the starter and the main. Even though they are feeding 12 people, it makes me feel pretty good about the dinner I did for my parents (served 6). The main course hadn't been served after 2 hours...is it bad to see their meltdowns and feel better that my screwups in the kitchen weren't as bad?
Apparently there are a couple of guys who say they can cook and there are some bitchy comments in the trailers - of course the anticipation of hearing those comments makes me question the basis of such glee. Misery loves company or snotty arrogance?
Settling back in
Getting back into the regular routine has been a bit of a challenge. There's a lot of unpacking (still!) to do and the bits and pieces from London haven't arrived yet because I didn't finish one of the pieces of paperwork I needed to do - but like so many other things, is on the growing To-Do list.
Trying to get ready to cook
Some of the ingredients are difficult to get here so there has also been a certain amount of research. Chocolate is heavy! Anyway - I haven't cooked in the last few nights, but I think the first things to make will be the brioche, truffles and sable biscuits. Time to try the butter puff pastry as well - it would be nice not to have to make my own.
Photos to be provided once I start cooking again - which will be after the kitchen is organized again.
The sabbatical would be over except that I have gotten the all clear for my hand from the doctor! There's some paperwork to be done before I can take my final exams, but the end of cooking school is in sight and confirmation that I can cook under pressure. The range of movement in my hand is almost completely back and the nerves are getting better. The real test will be tempering chocolate for the truffles in the next couple of weeks.
So until next time - may everything be in its place and all things right with the world.
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