Taking the sous chef practical exam for the American Culinary Federation was one of the best things I have done in my life. I took the test along with several other accomplished chefs back in January and was the only one who passed. The exam is meant to hold those in the commercial kitchen to a certain level of competency. In order to move up eventually to Master Chef you must be proficient at each level in the art of food. Knowing what is expected makes me respect the chefs who want to not only gain a title but to excel at everything they do.

I was lucky in my food career to be able to participate on a culinary team. I believe all the experience with attempting perfection in order to compete helped me.  To julienne a carrot where it will be measured exactly 1/16″ x 1/16″ x 2″ straight cuts as fast as you can is difficult. I can still feel the chef walking the room eyes on me to make sure I didn’t break any sanitation issue. As you are cutting the carrot it wants to curl naturally which makes the cut not perfect. Anything not perfect costs points on the team.

After you are done with everything you get a critique of your work. Where the untrained eye sees only beauty the chef sees flaws and points them all out. This criticism is meant for you to think about how to get better. Many cannot handle the criticism so they go away. It is sad that a person cannot just take it as a non personal thing. I soaked up everything the chef offered and tried to correct my mistakes the next time. I practiced every day without fail. Remember the saying practice makes perfect? It really does!