Last Dinner at The Art Institute

I cannot even tell you how happy that makes me just to type it out!!

The satisfaction in this statement and this finally being over did not come easily however. I mean, why should it be easy? Its not like after three years at school you should be able to run a basic catered dinner for 28 people...

(lets be honest, it really should have been a breeze)

Between our staffing dramas full of people not showing up, being dropped from the class and not knowing what they were doing in the kitchen, to dishes not working the way we wanted them to and deciding to change it ninety minutes before service and starting from scratch, the day was complete CHAOS!!

I was made sous chef that morning because our sous chef decided not to show up and was kicked out of the class.

They have decided at the school that they will no longer be ordering in mayonnaise and that we have to make it all ourselves. I was in charge of the hors d'oeuvres that needed mayonnaise I had to make it all by hand...easy but time consuming and a bit hard on the arm and shoulder...It was tasty and none of the stuffed tomatoes were left...

The first time our dessert was made, they left out the flour...(read a recipe lately?)...and the second time there was too much cake compared to the custard and it wasn't coming out of the pan in an appetizing looking way, so we scrapped it and had to come up with something else.

Dinner was a success in the fact that no one in the dining room knew that there had even been any problems at all. The food looked beautiful, tasted great and service ran very smoothly. That is really the mark of a successful dinner--flawless service and guest satisfaction.

Menu

Stuffed Poblano Peppers
Sherried Onion Soup
Salmon with Hard Cider
Orange Sangria Sorbet
Roast Pork Tenderloin
Pastel Imposible

















I am really glad it is over now though!