It's just eggs rights?

Before I get in on today's antics, yesterday we made 3 great salads based on grains.
The first was quinoa (seed-like grain) related to beets and spinach. It is mostly found in the Andean region in South America and it has great nutrients in it and can act as a protein on its own. The second was blé (wheat) with Chef's signature Caesar dressing. The third was couscous which was marinated (and not steamed) in tomato and grapefruit juice then laid to rest until serving with different ingredients.


All salads added many vegetables including spring onions, tomatoes, avocado, red bell peppers and lots of different herbs including parsley, coriander and mint but also the juices of pomelo/grapefruit and lemon. 

Making the dressing

Final presentation: (from left to right): Quinoa salad with grapefruit, Wheat salad with pomelo and Taboule of Couscous

Unfortunately, that was the end of cold hors d'oeuvres and today we moved onto eggs. Specifically, today was about cooking eggs in their shells. We did 2 recipes today. The first was Oeufs Farcis Chimay using hard-boiled eggs where the yolks are taken out and replaced with a mixture of mushrooms, parsley and sifted yolks, topped with Sauce Mornay (creamy Bechamel with milk and egg yolks) before going under the salamander to be reheated.

I already knew when I served it that it was not good. The eggs had been undercooked (I left the eggs for 10 mins as what is prescribed but the eggs were not in room temperature so still cold inside and needed longer time in the boiling water). I was even tempted to not serve it because to be honest, I never would, but a task is a task and I'll do what I'm told. Obviously the feedback hit me hard and for a minute, Chef was not happy and I wasn't even happy with myself, I was pissed at myself to *ck up such a thing because it's simple, it's just eggs, but you never know in the kitchen, something so simple is in fact complicated (especially with timing as it can screw everything that comes after it, any duties or tasks that might follow) but you live and you learn and in this kind of industry, you have to remain confident, don't put yourself down and worry, and basically chin up and move on to the next dish/task.

I even mashed it I was angry:

The second dish was Oeufs Mollets Florentine which is soft-boiled eggs dressed with spinach, sauce Mornay and covered with gruyere cheese before going through the salamander as well. As I told myself to get myself together, I put in even more effort (and more time) into the second dish. In the end, presentation was good and I was proud enough to present it to Chef who even gave me positive feedback. I tried one egg before tossing it and it tasted good. Thank god, I thought to myself, I can do something right today! 

So there is light at the end of the tunnel. It's really all about being confident in yourself, not dwelling on the past and just doing your best the next time. It wasn't the greatest day but it was one where I learned from my mistakes and move on. Tomorrow is another task, another challenge and guess what...I'm up for it, so bring it on! Cooking is what I love to do and despite the mistakes, the burns, the cuts and all that - it's all worth it in the end :)