Hey peoples,
So its been an interesting 2 weeks so far. I hav`nt seen the inside of a college in 18 years!! Which is a little daunting but exciting at the same time. Sometimes a little over-whelming but i know in the future i will reap the rewards of coming back to college.
The first week was easy enough,getting to know people on the course and the guidelines for modules. Some classes i have never done before and that kind of puts me in a bit of a panic! Eventually i will get the grasp of things though.
I have been working in the industry for the last 20 years. Spending the majority of that time (13 years) in the 5 star Dromoland Castle hotel. This has been the basis for my training over the years. Which i have worked in every section of the kitchen. Starting on breakfast as a commis chef when i was 19 and fresh out of college, thinking i was quite a good chef. I was not long put in my place. This taught me discipline and a more efficient way of working. To which i have the utmost gratitude to certain people back then who helped me along my journey to where i am today.
I then moved to the larder section after 6 months,followed by fish(which i struggled on the first time around) and then to the meat section. I spent 2 1/2 years there and grafted hard and put my head down.I seemed to find my feet on the meat section and it felt like there was a flow to my work. Almost like i could do it with my eyes closed.
This boosted my confidence and when i was finally moved back to the fish section it seemed easier. I was finally happy in my job when it was like second nature to me.
So then came pastry. The hardest but also the easiest section to work. Follow a recipie and you cant go wrong. NEVER deviate from the recipie or you risk going down a slippery slope to disaster. And belive me i have been there..! It is not fun times..
But i liked pastry and the creativity it has, so much so that i have been doing it for the last 9 years. My bakery was always good, but the pastry side of it was very basic. Over the years i have fine tuned my flavour pairings and my plating skills. So much that i got a promotion to pastry sous chef. Which again i have to thank my extremely talented head pastry chef.
So here i am today, taking my career to a different level and so far loving it. Fingers crossed it all works out, which i`m sure it will. That`s a little bit about me over the last few years, so its onward and upward from here..!!!
Adios people.
Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton
Kev`s blog 