Mock exam
Today we had our mock exam. 4 straight hours in the kitchen. 2 recipes. 4 servings. Full exam conditions. The mandatory saddle of rabbit starter and my own red mullet main course. It went reasonably well and serves as great preparation for the actual exam next week. I feel a lot more confident right now. It was an absolute killer though. Full-on push, push, push from the outset. So much so it’s easy to lose yourself and lose track of time. What kept me grounded was my time plan. I served 2 starters 30 minutes before the end—that’s the earliest we’re permitted to serve them. And my 2 mains followed 31 minutes later. 1 minute late. I’m happy with that for a practice run.
I felt physically sick just after serving the starters. It felt like I’d been running around the playground for a few hours in the sun. But I pushed on. Once it was all over and I’d cleaned down I felt weirdly high. Others remarked on having the same feeling. Maybe that’s what the pro chefs are referring to when they speak about the buzz of service.
One of my starters wasn’t perfect. The rabbit needed a few minutes resting on a jay cloth to prevent the juices bleeding onto the plate. And the kidney had slipped from the centre of the spinach during rolling. The courgette flower leaned drunkenly against the rabbit rather than standing straight. All in all, these are minor errors that can be rectified for the real exam.
Saddle of rabbit ballotine, courgette flower filled with chicken and rabbit liver mousse, served with crispy belly and a ravigote dressing
I’ve been quietly improving my red mullet dish in recent weeks. I’ve perfected baking of the fish. My original sauce has developed into a saffron and fennel velouté with a little heat of ginger in the background. The salsa verde was replaced with a vibrant basil oil, which works so well with the red pepper fondue. The panisse is much lighter now with a refreshing lemon zest hit. The hardest thing was to come up with a presentation design that I was happy with. I got there in the end. It’s good enough for the exam.
Baked red mullet with saffron and fennel velouté, red paper fondue with basil oil, pickled fennel and a lemon and coriander panisse
The mock was the last opportunity to get feedback from chef and make final adjustments.
My fondue was cold despite a flash in the oven. I’d served it inside the bottom half of a baby red pepper, which means I’d stuffed it early ready for service. I’m going to ditch this for the actual exam and simply present the fondue as a quenelle. Chef advised serving a slightly larger panisse. I’ll increase the width by half. Also, to warm the tomato buttons. I’ll warm them in a resealable bag containing tomato water and plop that inside a pan of hot water. I feel almost ready—I think. I’ll give myself 2 more home practices over the weekend with Sunday off to visit Meatopia. Looking forward to that!