The day has come

SO, this is it... the big "how am i adjusting" post. Well, to say it shorly....

Ummm....

Ok, so it looks like I can't. I'll tell ya, living on a ship is an odd experience. Essentially you wake up everyday in a floating bubble. You spend all day working your ass off, scrounging for that oh-so-elusive mid-day 2 hour break. At the end of the shift, you stumble into the shower to recoup, refresh, and energize. A couple minutes in your cabin later you're relaxed and in fresh clothes. Off to the Crew (or more likely Officer's) Bar to catch a drink with some of the more social people on the ship. Of course you happen to run into your boss and ALL your co-workers so it's slightly obligating to then say hello, and maybe even offer to get them a drink. Good thing they're good people... 'Round 1:00 or 1:30AM it's off to bed. Repeat for 4 months. (omitting the bar as necessary)

Kinda crazy eh? (And that's about as short as I can possibly describe it) As far as my job specifically has gone, the first few days had me ALL over the place. Trying to find my way around the ship was somewhat tough, but after a few hours things started to make sense. On my first day of work, my boss had me follow one of the current Pastry Cooks through his shift. I saw a tiny bit of production, and a few plates from one of our restaurants. All in all, a pretty light day. The next day however, my boss decided it would be a good idea to see where my "Skill Level" is, so he concocted an all-day baking exam. Here's the rundown: (all items after the hyphen are what I produced)

1 sorbet - Green Apple Celery Sorbet
1 ice cream - Cinnamon Toast Ice Cream
1 product using Pate A Choux - Eclair's, filled w/ Chocolate Buttercream & glazed
1 chocolate cake - Chocolate Chiffon Sponge w/ Chocolate Buttercream & glazed, then garnished with shaved chocolate
1 classic dessert - Almond & Apricot Tart w/ Greek Yogurt and a brulee Apricot
1 modern dessert - Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, the Cinnamon Toast I.C., Calvados Caramel Apples, and Cinnamon Toast
10 cookies (1 type, just 10 good ones) - Oatmeal Raisin
1 Confection - Grand Mariner Marshmallows
and if time, a small show piece. - didn't do

At 8:15PM I presented all the items to my boss, to which he added "Oh, we should get the Exec Chef, the head of Food & Beverage, and the rest of the executive F&B team to see them." I'm fairly certain my blood pressure jumped 10 points. Not only did I produce items to show a basic level of skill, I kept them fairly simple and conservative to start. I wasn't out to impress as much as I was getting my bearings, and demonstrating a good grasp of the essential skills to produce the HUGE range of products our job requires. Oh man, was I wrong. It was put up or shut up, and that's what I had to offer. Not gunna lie, I really wanted to jazz things up a bit...

Still though, I got a basic critique of everything i produced and (after having ran UP AND DOWN that kitchen) I finally had a decent understanding on where to find everything. I'd say I put a decent foot forward, and i'm sure i'm FAR harder on myself than any of them could possibly be.... I just can't wait to show them where I go once I've been here for a bit.

The next day it was work as "normal" (meaning, as it SHOULD be... production, learning, and assisting my boss with all his new dessert ideas). He and I have definitely broken the ice, and I think now we're kinda hitting our stride.

Anywho, remember that break I was telling you about before? Well, I just started mine so i'm gunna go try and get some fresh air.

I'll let you guys know more about the Swine Flu Craziness (being that we're supposed to be in Mexico all month), crazy lifeboat drills, my trip to the Spa, & all the randomness that comes with living on a ship next time....

Stay tuned...

CIAO!

(Also, I promise i'll try and take more pics & post them... things have been so crazy it's totally slipped my mind!)