Anatomy Of A Stupid.

If from the title your perception was that I, the innocent one had begun smoking cigarettes then you are absolutely wrong! I’ve actually just started smoking meats and am kinda getting the hang of it with fish as the lazy Sunday began with me and WK prepping the smoker for the earlier cured fillet of Norwegian Salmon. Exquisite!

I’ve always been a curious cat in the kitchen. From discovering Espumas, to the use of different acids to coagulate soy milk, to simply trying to replicate a simple cendol recipe. But I never mentioned that they all worked. Even so, today we took on a challenge that was going to prove harder to replicate than it is to talk about.

We began with the coal box and smoke pouch. The coal thankfully was of high grade and started with no problems, you can get it for RM10 a kilo at BBQ King in Ikano. Figuring out the science to ensuring smoke, and not heat is what the salmon will get took us a good 10 minutes. After setting up the box with the strategic holes (you like wan) to ensure the heat isn’t too intense, we made the smoke pouch. For this fish, we chose a simple bag of Mesquite wood chips available from Ace Hardware for only RM10.90 a bag and should get you smoking for a good half a year if you’re even that active. It is important that you soak some wood chips 30 minutes prior to the smoking process to give the smoking procedure some momentum. Wet wood chips smoke more and give more flavour.

After a good 2 hours, we were greeted with a meaty smoke scent that was already filling up the air until upstairs. A good sign that the fish is done.

Certainly was! The flavour of smoke would have been more obvious if we had controlled the coal more and let it sit for an extra hour or two, but I can’t be more satisfied for a first attempt. The meaty aroma and salty flavour gave the salmon so much more body. Even though it’s rather flaky it was very succulent, perfect timing for this amount of heat. My overall opinion? Not going to be my last time smoking meats!

Spot the two obsessions in this pic. Clue : it’s not the restaurant!

Started the day late waking up at a shocking 9.20am when clearly I was supposed be present before the VIPs (read: Nasal Ones) arrived at 9.30am. “Yeah right.” I scoffed at myself. Took a comfortable yet redundant shower and brushed my teeth while looking at the person in the mirror. I remember a discreet thought going through my mind at then.. Actually on second thought it was more of a worry, worry about what mention would I get for my grades. At the time it was an orthodox pass.

Arrived and waited for Sam to lend me her spare chef’s jacket (would you get that, on graduation day and no jacket!) and went into the almost full multi purpose hall. At first glance, it looked like people were yearning to click on Pause to the blabbering rendering the air toxic. It was Pierre Rouillon, president of the board of examiners from Toulouse. A thick accented and distorted speech was delivered and the ceremony begun with the other batch first.

Even the ceremony for the BTH (Hotel Management) batch was making me break cold sweat. Perhaps that earlier thought was revisiting again. Name after name was called, slowly many inhabitants of the hall started analyzing and recognizing the patterns of the award giving ceremony. First we figured out the mentions given which are:

Pass

Honorable Pass

Very Honorable Pass

Very Honorable Pass with Congratulations From The Jury

Then we figured out that the names were called in alphabetical order. By the time our batch was up, we finally figured out that the names were called in alphabetical order according to mentions, starting from Pass and ending with VHP Congrats. Digesting the system also made me tremble a little, since knowing that anywhere around G, H, K and L my name could be up next. Category after category passed by, we cheered giddily as Mr Neethia, the emcee at the time opens the line for the next category of mentions.

Honorable Pass goes by and we jump for joy. Many names were mentioned in the VHP list, most of it being from Groups 2, 3 and 4. It finally boiled down to one last name before what I thought would be mine and amazingly it went by right under my nose. Didn’t even realize it and next thing I knew the lines going through my eardrums were akin to a symphony.

“The following students Pass with a Very Honorable mention with Congratulations From The Jury”

Holy Smokes! This was the highest category! I turned to Hadi and we both can’t help but be conxited (confused and excited) and puzzled. So it did happen without any spelling or filing mistakes, Hadi and I walked back to our seats with a VHP, Congratulations AND as a last minute add on the Les Palmes Du Directeur award, one given to those who pass with Congratulations for achieving the highest mention given.

Then finally, the show started for real. The announcement for the Marc Combes Award for Top Student. There was no question about the speculation of the recipients for this award and I can tell you it came down to a number half a hand can count. Despite all the presumptions, pessimism and reverse psychology, I’m very proud to say that Group 2’s very own in house pianist leng lui, Mischa Chong Li Shuang received the prestigious award! The award came together with two trophies and needless to say, a lifetime’s supply of bragging rights.. which she loves.

At the end of it, everyone proceeded upstairs for an unmentioned cocktail function, or what Hadi would call an After Party, had some drinks and a bite or two. Until many of the DC family turned rowdy and began dumping random people into the famous LCS pond in an effort to break the world record for most amount of people in the pond at any one time. Plunges were made..

Followed with more plunges..

.. and even more plunges.

.. Some stopped it in the name of love.. (internal joke)

.. and some even jumped in intentionally *hint hint*Jyn Weii*cough cough*. After a long while we finally got a hold of ourselves. Either that or everyone already went in. Hmm. Incase you’re wondering then yes, I did “contribute” myself to the pond. NOT! Thanks to that idiot of a mob riot started by Tommy, my seats now reek of fresh eggs and floor detergent mixed with cat feces. Thanks!

While most of us were getting soaked, a source reported heavy camwhoring activity coming from the kitchen. I could only handle the one photograph below and was too terrified to view the others. To the reader, find something to hang onto..

LOL! Told you so xP

At the end of the day, this was going to be an afternoon to remember always. It could just be one of those moments forgotten until a reunion dinner is help some decades later, or it could be a moment worth placing in a frame on someone’s desk, but no matter what I know these people will forever stay in my heart for as long as I’ll be facing raw chickens, pots and cranky executive chefs.

Here’s to DC27, the best people I’ve ever worked with and what I believe, is the best batch of DC students Taylor’s College will ever see. Cheers!

To DC27,

Greetings from myself, hope everyone is doing fine and coping well with exams. It’s only a mere number of days more until we get our license to step into the real world as the men and women of an industry. Whether you as an individual choose to exercise that privilege or opt to continue in Option B, I’d like to wish all of us the best of luck with life and may we always be in contact the least if not close.

I’d also like to apologize to those whom I have wronged in the near or far past. The many mistakes I’ve made should be known to those affected that meant it, I never did. Let’s put it in a way where instead of a successful attempt at socialization, a terrible execution was performed thus leading to the innocence that I am here trying to reimburse in myself.

To those who have personality differences, I am going to tell you all honestly that I appreciate and am glad that we are such a diverse culture that can get along so well. No matter what any bald, French or short man wrathed on us, I am still surprised at how we gather ourselves in all that unparalleled ego in our minds. Our pride may have gotten the best of us at certain times, but I feel that it is our right to bask in our what some prefer to call hypocrisy, but I would like to refer to as friendliness knowing that we did things that we had to do, and having unfortunate circumstances is a conventional act that should be embraced, not insulted.

Let’s face it, we are just being hospitable. We’re not punishing every wrong alphabet per se, yet we maintain enough maturity to rid of the stains and continue using the plate. With the occasional ramblings of remnants which are also acceptable. Please forgive any trust which I have offered that is not worthy of honoring, but know that I only brought it forward because a spirit of companionship existed and it only felt right to be more personal to continuing carrying this spirit forward. Please forgive any trust that was betrayed on your behalf by me for once again it is an innocent mistake that I personally assure is most of the time not done on purpose. Most of the time.

For all those times spent outside the kitchen, restaurant and classrooms. A big applaud is the least that we deserve because I have yet to see any other community of students from the likes of colleges near and far away sacrifice so much time for the sake of having some fun, good old style. We may not be hitting clubs every Thursday or cooking up a (free) storm for one another often, but the hours put into just spending time together after class were nothing short of great.

Thank you for being there for me, others, whomever applicable because you have taught me to be stronger and less of a pessimist when it comes to failure. At the end of the day, no matter how good or bad we treat each other, always take minutes to calculate what we teach someone else when we buy them a drink for being a good friend, or yell at them for being such a wad. It’s not all distress every time and we must upkeep this sincere attitude of teaching and learning no matter how far we go in the industry.

Respect was exchanged, titles tossed around and some people idolized. Everything from the Ivy league to the creative ones. Though at times I’ve envied others for these very reasons, I suppose I shouldn’t be greedy for perceptions of others towards me any greater than on a friends basis, and be thankful if ever it exceeded simple friendship level.

The lessons I’ve learned in DC27 is priceless. Everything from friendship to love to extra benefits and how to not be the social outcast with the runaway Tamiya car at the playground, thank you all for building me to not take any shit from anyone while still be a reasonable human being at the same time. For those who taught and shared me precious lessons and tips of the culinaristas, I bow to you for your gratitude. For those who opted to walk in the other direction of generosity, I wish you good luck.

For those who are not mentioned, thank you for filling up the classes and laughing to jokes, sighing to assignment due dates and supporting each other in presentations. Thank you for lending someone your extra flour or butter in the kitchen. Thank you for helping me spot that I was a nervous wreck doing the Orange Coffee at Chapitre 1. Thank you for everything.

I won’t forget all the good and bad deeds, that I will repay with at least amicable acts.

“Chefs, as a whole, say yes to any project, fundraiser, or tasting because they have such a generous spirit.” - Charlie Trotter

As I looked at my wristwatch the last time before hastily spooning my a la minute chocolate ganache across the shiny glass plate, I knew this was going to be the day that I can finally exhale the breath filled with burden, frustration and lack of sleep for the last time.

The puff now on the narrow end of the ganache, and the spun sugar just hit the plate. Time is passing by slowly as I am being observed cluttering my plate with more distractions.

Throughout the whole experience with a total stranger as an assistant, I find it hard to believe that it’s just a pinch of the real world. It could just be scary to forever meet new people that you may or may not be able to work with. I felt the tinge of anger every time an order was not executed the way I thought it would, especially when the results varied too much from that perfect photograph in my mind.

The last dust of icing sugar snows the puff and contrasts the caramel colored sugar. An almost wilted and pimpled leaf of mint arrives just in time to sit itself conveniently on the hay ball like garnish.

Not to mention when I ended screwing something up myself . Walls of confidence and self esteem were broken down so easily on that fateful day. Almost predicted but not close enough to be avoided. I felt sad, depressed and angry at everyone nearby. But wasn’t angry at anyone more than myself, knowing that at the end of the day, it is my fault and I could have made it better. Was this the event that I am going to face time and time again in the future?

The runner just picked up the puff. I take off my apron and hand in my knives for washing, while I settled the pots and pans. All the time while slowly cleaning up, so much peril flashing through my mind. The past, present and future was so dark. I can’t yield enough forgiveness to discard something from my mind.

That dry main course was all I could think of until now.

Since there is a (n ivy) league of extraordinary gentlemen and and women in my class that seem to despise anyone taking the finals exams next week to be anywhere close to MSN, blogging or filling in personality quizzes (padahal buat jugak :P), I shall now use this as an excuse to take yet another hiatus from blogging and evidently reduce my reader count from 1 to zero.

See you all in 2 weeks time after I return from Redang with these very people I mentioned above!