Week Two - Poultry

Reflection

1.

Successes:

I feel like I did a good job fabricating the chicken in a new way. Day 2, the sous chef assigned me to make the demi-glace for the class and I think it turned out pretty good. I was able to answer some of my teammate’s questions and direct them through recipes, so I’m glad I had read through them and prepared ahead of time.

Stumbles:

Even though the sauce came out alright, I feel like it took too long. As far at team recipes go, I didn’t contribute hands-on enough because I was distracted with the demi-glace.

What I would do differently:

My team has some strong personalities. I need to speak out more confidently to be heard. We received several corrections on our finished dishes about details I had pointed out earlier but had been disregarded. What is the team for if not to learn together and learn from each other?

I would also like to work on my focus so that I can complete tasks a little quicker.

*Always assume there is a second potato hiding under the shelf.

2.

What went right:

The chicken I cooked both days turned out juicy, which I was really worried about. The fabrication went okay, no major errors, just took longer than I had planned.

What went wrong:

We got a late start in the kitchen. No team had their dishes ready in time for plating. We were half hour late, but we were still the first team ready. Even so, late is late. Because we were hurried, some careless errors were made. Sauce meant for the stuffed chicken was ladled onto the roulade plate. I sliced the chicken but failed to cut all the way through.

Areas for improvement:

We need better communication as a team, and agreement on plating. One team member knew Chef didn’t like molded rice but failed to speak up, so we molded the rice.

*How to tell a team member that her licking of fingers and double dipping the tasting spoon is grossing me out? She already doesn’t like me very much so I guess it couldn’t hurt to just say it.