Let me start off by stating the obvious I go to culinary school. In Norway, the grading system ranges from the lowest, a one the highest a six. This is already a stressful morning for me since I woke up late and didn’t have enough time to prep we were using gas plates since the main kitchen was occupied by another class and we had to use another kitchen which didn’t have induction plates. I also had multiple pots and pans that I needed to watch over simultaneously and things in the oven. I wanted to impress my family and I really needed this great because this is what I want to do as a profession. not only did I forget about the oil and it overheated and started burning but I also forgot parts of my dish in the oven and forgot about my mousse that ended up turning into a pulp because I overbeat it I had no dessert to present and my dish was ruined. Our teacher was watching over us, but we also had an examiner and for the brief moment that they were gone a fire broke out. I had to abandon my station and run into another room to get some help. Luckily my teacher save the day and stopped the fire but this caused me to serve my food late which reduced a couple of points I could’ve gotten. I was really afraid and started hyperventilating and almost broke out in tears in front of everyone. This was a really embarrassing moment for me. When they gave me my grades they said I got a four which I am very satisfied with, but also disappointed because I know that if I didn’t make these mistakes, I could’ve easily gotten the five or six, which could help be get an apprenticeship at a good restaurant. At the end of the day we all laughed it off because, you learn from your mistakes and nobody got harmed, still though this bothers me, and I feel bad because I couldn’t show my full potential.
TLDR ; I started a grease fire during my exam and it was my own fault because I overworked myself. This moment will never be forgotten and teachers and future students will joke about it in the future.
Comments
Congratulations on passing.
Now go set the world on fire , superstar!
You messed up this badly but still got a fairly good grade, they probably graded you on how well you dealt with the situation. There’s hope for you yet 🙂
20 years in the industry here. It isn’t gonna get better, per se. This is a very high stress industry. Mistakes are going to happen. You will burn things and people. You will slice a finger open. You will get into the weeds with no light at the end of the tunnel, both because of your own actions and because of things out of your control.
I do not say these things to scare you off, but rather to hammer home the advice I have to give: we cook food, not save lives.
You and those you interact with for the job will make mistakes. What separates the greats from the rest is your response to it. From putting out your own fires (both literally and figuratively) to resolving issues with customers (if that is part of your responsibilities) and employees to navigating a late or partial delivery to many many other things, how you respond will affect others perception of you more than your best plate on your best day.
You still have a lot to learn. One of the hardest things to learn is how to keep a calm head during a crisis. Unfortunately, that only comes with experience.
One last thing: it is mousse, not moose.
After you get out in the field, no one is going to ask what your final grade was. It doesn’t matter what field, this is normally true.
“Let me start off by stating the obvious I go to culinary school in Norway”
You’re right. That is so obvious. Why did you bother wasting our time by telling us? Of course you go to culinary school in Norway. What do you think we are, idiots?
At least you did not set a møøse on fire!
Gratulerer med brukbare karakterer på tross av alt, neste gang går det bedre! 😄
Accident. 😁