nervous anticipation

The day is almost here.

Chef K received a nomination from Star Chefs for their upcoming Rising Star Chefs of South Florida.  There is a strict set of guidelines to follow, and they must be adhered because the judges are doing up to 8 tastings a day at different locations.  Loosely speaking, we must demo 3 dishes from our existing menu plus 2 of our own choice (basically, whatever 2 creations we choose to present).  Fabian is doing a separate tasting earlier in the day, and his criteria is to present 3 dishes of his choosing.

Admittedly, this is probably the most anxiety-producing undertaking we have ever experienced.  It seems relatively easy on the surface, but we have had to put an excessive amount of though into it.  That leads us to another fear... overanalyzing.  Doing a tasting for Star Chefs means that there can be no mimicking of any other idea.  Everything must be a true representation of what we do everyday...  but beyond our everyday efforts.  Being chefs in a hotel make that more difficult than most cases.  Star Chefs has posted more and more ariticles lately on hotel food and hotel chefs.  The stigmas associated with these still exist.  We have also come to realize lately that we are not sure where we fit in here.  What is unique about us?  What is our message?  How do we present ourselves through our food.  It has always seemed so easy, but now so difficult.

Now with just one day left for prep, Chef K and I have narrowed our presentations down to the salmon, the wagyu shortrib, and the lobster dishes from our dinner menu plus a shrimp and causa dish and a seasonally-influenced pork belly plate from our own improvisation.  This is a well rounded choice of offerings.  Either Antoinette Bruno or Will Blunt will be doing the actual tasting. 

The only remaining task is to make sure every element on every plate is perfect... and then the presentations themselves.

Comments

[Ed]

Don't stress too much guys, or overwork it...better to be natural than over reach, take a deep breath and just cook like you always do, not like you think you should for Antoinette. Easier said than done, I know....but in the end she is just another opinion. An influential one, but its not like Food and Wine or something, the average person doesn't even have them on their radar. I respect her alot, don't get me wrong...just don't let the stress and hype bleed into your food. Good luck.

[Ken N]

Congrats! Enjoy the ride.

[Richie]

Antoinette is a really cool lady....dont sweat it. You guys will do great.

[Chicken Fried Gourmet]

Congratulations, I am sure you all will do fine.

[H.Alexander Talbot]

Good luck and make sure you cook for yourselves.

A