October 11, 2008
10:51 pm - It would be very quiet but for the constant whirring of the hood fans in the N.A.I.T. culinary arts labs. I'm exhausted, but not tired enough yet to head home in the hope that something might still be accomplished if I should linger longer still. The day began like many others before it.
Earlier that day(being today) - An alarm too early for comfort rings, slowly growing in intensity. As usual, I hit snooze twice before getting up and begining the day. I'm already behind schedule as I drive to school to find Jake waiting anxiously to start get things rolling. We hit the market and get breakfast before going to school. Its a pretty light mood, we still have time to go looking for more produce before we need to really get to work. When we arive, all the usual suspects are already working, slowly driving towards our shared goal. It's another day in the life of Culinary Team N.A.I.T., a group of former students, mixed with Chef instructors and support personel working towards what will be a career highlight for all five competitors: a chance at a gold medal at one of the most prestigeous culinary competitions in the world, the Culinary Olympics in Erfurt, Germany.
11:33 pm(now) - It has been a gruelling and tough year of practices, competitions and preparation leading to this day, and the pressure and intensity of the moment is not lost on anyone. Every cut must be precise, every slice must be measured, every item must be scrutinzed, checked, and double checked. Anything less than perfect is thrown by the wayside, never to be eaten, or looked upon again. It is an excercise in acheiving perfection through repitition and patience. We work, through lunch and dinner, taking breaks when necessary but trying to stay on the task of preparing our food. It is late now and most everyone has gone home to family and loved ones to enjoy some rest before the coming storm of travel and sleepless nights in a foreign country days before the competition. Yet there are some, Jake and myself, who think there is yet something to be done. Some aspect of our entries that needs rechecking. Some task better done now rather than later. I take my last break to write, and return to my tasklists and go over them again. In 4 days, we leave the country for the competition and to experience the world for a year. I'll be lucky to get much sleep tonight.....
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