'Bond Street is closed'

My bus stop is closed...awesome way to start off my morning of being soux chef for my class. We rotate being soux chef in my class every week. On soux chef-ing mornings we have to get to class early and get all of our ingredients from the production kitchen in the basement. My bus stop was closed for 'repairs' this morning and I was dropped off at another bus stop quite a way away. I finally got off the bus at 7:30...which is when I needed to be in the kitchen. I ran all the way to school with my blackberry in one hand to check the time and cake box in the other, all the while acting like a marathon runner making sure that I could get to the finish line by 7:42 am. I later realized that I had run down Oxford street in my chef whites and uggs for about 5 blocks, that must have given one of the suits a laugh this morning on their way to work. Frazzled and out of breath I got changed, grabbed all the ingredients from the kitchen, and made it upstairs by 8:00am.

I sadly missed my demonstration class on Tuesday due to looking at my schedule wrong and I showed up for my 12:00 class that actually was at 8:00. If we miss the demonstration class we are not allowed to get credit for our practical session, basically as it is like we are not even present at all. Keep in mind that I am only allowed to miss 4 sessions...only one more left, needless to say I will be strictly checking my schedule until the end of the term. My chef gave me several little lectures this morning, even thought I felt I deserved an award for showing up to a class I get no credit to attend and I am at least the 4th person in my class who has shown up for the wrong class due to the fact that our schedule is crazy and changes every week...Monday 8:00-12:00, Tuesday 8:00-3:00, Wednesday 6:00, Thursday 8:00-11:00, Friday 4:00-8:00. On top of all of that, I had even gotten notes from other people in my class and had rewritten them in my own words on my recipe, come-on chef cut me a break! Thank you for letting me rant!

Today we made a Chestnut Cake (Gateau Marron) with marzipan decoration. Honestly the only real thing I messed up this morning is that I did not let my gelatin dissolve completely in my chestnut puree before I added it to the cream. As a result, my chestnut mousse had a few small lumps...which of course I was lectured on as well. By this point I just didn't really care. My final comments of the day "your piping looks nice" I mean can I get an 'amen!' up in here! Finally!!! "Its a shame you are not getting credit for today, because I would have given you a really high mark"...classic. The cake looks beautiful and even though today was not my favorite day thus far, I am glad I went to class. If nothing else to taste a candied chestnut. Oh the things we foodies go through to try something new.

What did I learn today?
1. Bad days are inevitable, but good days are more frequent.
2. A teacher with a critical eye challenges you, makes you search for the good in yourself, and find pride in your small failures and little victories.
3. Always leave 5 minutes early when taking public transportation.