plated dessert tasting, may 2007

I've decided that doing a plated dessert tasting is like playing bridge.

At first you're really excited to have found three people to play a riveting, intellectually challenging, addictive card game. You've got your bridge mix and various other snacks laid out. It's gonna be a great night/afternoon. People, jokes, concentration, competition, partnership, skill, rules, gambling, guessing, nibbling, losing, taking breaks, winning, learning, and some tricks-- the kind you pull from your sleeve and the kind you stack.

But then, in the first round, your partner shoots you a deadly look and poof! you're the dummy. The night has just begun and already you're sitting there, nothing to do. You're supposed to be watching the game, trying to learn from your partner. But instead you're filling up on incongruent snacks.

Bridge is not a game for just anyone. You have to both understand all the rules and be highly intuitive. You can't be a cowboy: you must be able to play with a partner. The ability to receive criticism is necessary. Sometimes 3 people gang up on you, all at once. While playing bridge you need to be thinking all the time about tactic-- not merely your next move, but almost all the possible moves that may follow. You need to remember what was said before your team won the bid.

Do you remember what your opposition said? How closely were you paying attention? What was their strong suit? Where are you vulnerable?

There's a lot of guessing, whether informed or not, in devising, planning, creating and assembling a plated dessert tasting. Remember-- a tasting is a chef's main interview. All that talking and dressing up and saying the right thing in the right way with the right tone, is barely first base. When you're a cook, it's all about the "trail," but when you're interviewing for a chef position, it's all about the menu you execute.

Those in your tasting are critiquing you on every level.

How does the food look? Taste? Were you completely freaked out as you were plating it? Are your plates messy or neat? How do you present? Are you prepared or in the weeds? Can you explain your food, your dishes? Your ideas? Dies it matter? Does it match the style of the restaurant/chef/owners? Are you thinking about costs? Labor? Do you understand numbers and percentages? Are your dishes too simple? Too complicated? Is your food balanced in flavor, texture, temperature, aesthetic? Are you taking the customer into consideration or does your ego run the show? Can you take criticism? What battles do you choose to fight? Which flavors do you go to bat for?

Where do you display your humility? How far do you step out onto the diving board and show a little cockiness?

Your tasting audience wants to see You in your food. But they also want you to look like you've been listening to them.

How much of each? What are the exact proportions to guarantee you the job offer?

That is the mystery recipe. The one you can't find on the Internet. Even Google doesn't know. (I've seen a lot of people Googling the phrase "Plated Dessert Recipes" lately. Can anyone explain this? The way I see it-- if you're asking Google, you shouldn't be calling yourself a chef.)

As I've said, this is the most extensive plated dessert tasting I've been asked to make. It's a lot of desserts, all with 3 or more components each, to make in a kitchen I've never worked in. I've been waking at 5, arriving at 6:30 and leaving between 9:30-10:30 am so as not to be in the way of the pastry staff there.

I started with 8 desserts, but now I'm down to 6.

This is what I'm trying to think about. To consider.

:: tart/sweet/warm :: crunchy/soft :: custard/cake/fruit/ice cream/tart=pastry/sorbet/room temperature :: molded :: nuts/chocolate/dairy/fruit :: plate/bowl/ parfait=glass

I started last Monday to give myself plenty of leeway for error. Or disaster. Plenty of time to get to know the equipment, dairy, sugar, flour.

Plenty of time to worry. I have everything down on paper. Hand-drawn pictures of plating ideas. Possible wording for a menu.

{You know what? I posted this without finishing it-- I'm sorry! But I imagine more will need to be said at a later date anyways...}

Comments

[Kalyn]

Shuna, reading these posts is giving me a whole new appreciation for the kind of pressure a chef is under to produce those masterpieces that come out of restaurant kitchens. It sounds exciting, but also very intense.

[Jason]

I Recognize that kitchen...

[Aaron]

To win a card game, or a dessert tasting, it is true that you need to be thinking all the time. You also need a little bit of luck, a dash of magic. After having gotten to know you Shuna, it seems obvious that you are pure magic. Keep you eye on the prize, let your hands do the rest.

[jennywenny]

Good luck with it, dont get too tired to think and make sure that at least one of them is nice and safe for the boring people!

[shuna fish lydon]

Kalyn,

Your comment is great news for people all over the world who toil away to make the foods and produce we put in our mouths, mostly without thinking. Thank you for speaking out.

Aaron. I'm blushing. But you always make me do so! Thank you sweet person!

Jennywenny,

Yes, don't worry. My menu reflects many aspects of me and those people I'm feeding on May 14 and beyond!

*It's all about finesse...*

[Anita]

Hmm, it's not the place I was thinking, which is good... 'cause I don't like that place :D

If you need tasters, let me know :D

[Anita]

PS: malt ice cream base? drool.

[Tommy]

You are way too young to be playing Bridge. Good luck on your tasting.