The competition(14th Jan, Sat) is finally OVER!!! I can’t be any gladder. It’s my 1st & seemed a real toughie. It was a good experience for sure but to honest, it was a nerve wrecker. The people there seemed so unfriendly at the start but once it all began…they were very very helpful. Made some friends there: Belinda & Nathanael. There are both students at the Academy studying tourism & Hospitality, helping out at the competition. Belinda was very sweet…she helped distract me & calm me down through the whole process. We chatted about normal stuff & got my mind off the stress & nervousness a lil’.

I stiffened up when Chef Amy came to check my mise en place..felt as if I had smuggled something in & felt so afraid she’d find something that shouldnt’ have been there. But all went well & after her checking, I could start.

There were a million & 1 things I had to keep in check. So many things I had to be conscious of. Killed so many of my brain cells(if there were much in the 1st place!) Some of the many things that Frances told me to do:

1. Always smile

2. Smile & greet the judges & chefs who come to your table.

3. Make sure your cloth is clean & folded in a neat square.

4. Don’t leave anything in the sink. Try to wash dirty stuff immediately.

5. Washed stuff should be dried immediately after.

6. Make sure your table is always neat & tidy.

7. If melting chocolate over the bain marie, make sure it is being stirred occasionally.

8. Try NOT to burn anything!!

9. Don’t panic even if something goes wrong or fails..most importantly, DON’T curse & swear at it!! (something we do prett-ty often at work!! Ha!)

10. I can’t remember anymore right now…

So…as you can imagine..I was smiling like an idiot the whole duration of the competition! Tiring!!

Halfway through plating my soursop dessert, the photographer came & kept snapping away at it!!! And I haven’t even finished!!! Hopefully it was a good thing…& in the midst of that….(which was making me anxious coz they were rushing it out..)a few chefs came & hung around my table!! MAJOR FREAK OUT!!! The chef from Michaelangelos, Kenny Kong, Chef Joyce, I don’t know the rest… I’m clueless! Why in the world did they have to hang around MY table??? There ain’t any gold, fellas!! And last of all…had to saute the semi raw soursop with julienned basil & ground black pepper ala minute. And there they were again!!! Man….

I was more than half an hour slower than when I practised at the shop. Almost had a panic attack. Half an hour left & haven’t even cut my raspberry jelly, pailette feuilettine(royaltine) etc etc…. ARGH!!! & the damn oven was taking longer than usual to bake my caramel tuiles!! AND….when they did come out & I had to roll them into cones…guess what? There was Chef Amy…intent on seeing me through the process of rolling the ouchie hot tuiles…but at that moment…they didn’t seem as hot as in they were in the shop…wierd…& then time seemed to slow down coz I was able to catch up & finish my stuff on time!

I was so nervous that I couldn’t pipe my chocolate mousse properly…my hands were shaking so much!!! Goodness, what an embarassment… All ended well..I guess..but I found out that the desserts that the others made didn’t set so well, plus they didn’t bring any blowtorches - how to unmold the cakes??!!! So, mine went around, even to the culinary side. I was well-packed, thanks to Frances!!! Thank you darling chef!!!

Right after I finished plating, we had to wait till service time(1pm)-that’s when the guests were being served the appetizers, mains & finally, desserts. So we had to play be ear & serve as & when needed. I cleaned up, washed up, scrubbed the table & got ready to plate the last 4 portions of dessert. I was finally, finally at the end of it. My stomach growled right then…real good timing although no crab to eat! Belinda came along & was holding a sandwich - said she stunned it from the fridge & offered me some. So sweet….

I cannot express how relieved I was then… at that time, I turned around & I saw Frances, boss & Jasmine!!! I was really immensely happy to see them!

Here, I really wanna express my utmost gratitude to my dearest boss & Frances. Wouldn’t have made it without their help & support. Sounds cliche but it’s from the ‘heart of my bottom’(bottom of my heart!)- as someone would have said it.

Today is the 16th of Jan…just as soon as I said I would never ever torture myself with that kind of stress & such…guess what stupid thing I did? I joined something - will let you all know what the something is much later when more settled! And so…will have more intense stress & pressure coming straight up. Haven’t even started but I can already feel my heart pumping as fast as when my competition was drawing near!

There are many considerations & worries & fears. It was said that having no experience & knowledge was not a problem as long as I’m fully commited. I guess the biggest obstacle is none other than MYSELF. I guess you’re right, I have to battle my inner fears & concerns. This is a BIG or rather HUGE step for me & I’m afraid. Afraid to step out of the boundary which I’m so comfortable in. Now I’m stepping out of my comfort zone & that terrifies me.

In the recent weeks, there seems to be something thats driving me toward the things that I wish- but only dare to dream about - doing. Feels like a huge current sweeping me away & with no ability at all to resist or stop. So what to do? Best bet & maybe the smartest thing to do is: Go with the flow & not resist the current(change).  Based on the same rules as diving! Resist the current & it’ll tire you, causing you over-exhaustion. Bad choice. We’ll see how it goes…

Boss, Patrick & Frances: Let’s go play with with our new 4-wheeled toys!!!! :)Been waiting too long & getting impatient already!!!

Scooting now!