Today I Graduated From Culinary School...

WITH HONORS!

The medal around my neck is the honors award, the bottom certificate is my culinary diploma, and the top one is the President's Award for perfect attendance.

I did it! I did it! I did it! 

I'm so damn proud! Excuse me while I glow for a few more minutes. LOL! =)

I'm Done!

I did it! I did it! I did it!

Monday was my last class and final cooking exam... and I did it! I went in terribly distressed and just disillusioned. Nothing seemed to feel right. But I cooked my little heart out and completed my portions of the 6 course menu each team had to present. 

The gazpacho was considered bland and needed something to make it POP. That and they wanted it more refined. I agree on all counts. The yellow tomato sorbet we did turned out pale in color and didn't have the flavor we were hoping for. I wish we'd have stayed with the original recipe rather than changed it to what was suggested. I know now that to make it "refined" I should have peeled the tomatoes and roasted the peppers (then peeled). This would have given the mouth feel some smoothness and added a bit of extra flavor.  Live and learn. Another team had also done a kind of gazpacho and added a ceviche to it. The judging chef's thought that the ceviche would have been better in our version of the gazpacho. Something to think about for the future. Idea alert!

As for my graded dish (the one that really counted), the Potato Wrapped Cod with Creole Remoulade. THEY LOVED IT! One of the chef's went so far as to say that it was her favorite of the competition and that she'd definitely order it at a restaurant! Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh, oh, oh yeah! They did give some suggestions on how to really take it to the next level which I much appreciated. I had to laugh because it was the original idea that I wanted to present but couldn't figure out how to make work. The answer was very simple and I'll definitely give it a shot at home. I also should have asked my chef at work because he had another suggestion (also super simple) that would have worked just as nicely. Ah well. I PASSED! I ROCKED! THEY LOVED IT! I kept it simple and went with what I knew and I DID IT!!!

Happy girl!

So Friday is graduation day and I am too pleased to see straight. Bryan hasn't stopped beaming at me and I'm just so proud. I did it! I was determined and I did it!

Thank you for all hanging in there and giving such wonderful support! YAY!!!