I thought I had escaped the death trap of math. Surely a chef simply needs to know how to throw ingredients together and make it taste good, right? Wrong. We were sidelined Wednesday with a short course in calculating costs, and it made me want to poke my eyes out. It felt like that time my parents told me we were going to the circus, yet we really went to the dentist…the ‘ole switcheroo. It didn’t help that I had been getting about 2 hours less of sleep per night the entire week – I found myself playing those silly mind games and finding ways to give in to my drooping eyelids. Oh, I’ll just close my eyes while I scratch my head - 30 seconds tops. No, I’m not spacing out I’m thinking deeply, It’s no problem, I’ll rub my eyes again so I can get a 15 second power nap. Bottom line: it was boring, but Chef couldn’t help it. The lecture was actually a very important one that will make or break those of my classmates who have considered opening their own restaurants. Knowing how to calculate the cost of your ingredients and how to properly price out menu items is essential, and has been the sole downfall of many famous restaurants in the city. You could have a full house every night of the week, but if you’re undercharging and overpaying you will fail. Another essential lesson involved the importance of knowing your vendors and how to properly receive food at the restaurant. Chef told horror stories of beautiful, glossy boxes of tomatoes whose bottom layer was completely rotten; or fish that sat on the loading dock in the sun for 2 hours, were sent to your restaurant and spoiled the next day. If you signed for it, it’s yours. Paying for $400 worth of spoiled flounder will not help your business.
We completed a yummy and classic roasted chicken with vegetables and jus and were tasked with pricing out the entire recipe and calculating the yield on each of our vegetables (i.e. paying for a whole carrot yet only using 90% of it). I was on autopilot most of the time, but eventually was able to grasp some of the simpler equations and concepts. I guess I’ll have to practice the math…unfortunately.
In addition to a lack of sleep added onto my consistent yet endearingly foggy brain, I also had Spring Break on my mind. Friday’s class was cancelled to simulate some sort of non-denominational spring/Easter vacation, so Steve and I hopped on a bus to Washington, D.C.! We were fortunate enough to stay with one of my sorority sisters in Bethesda, Maryland, a very quaint yet urban town about 30 minutes northwest of the city, and had an absolute blast following our full itinerary of site-seeing, hanging out in parks and generally doing all things that warranted the excuse, “Hey, we’re on vacation!” This weekend was the height of the Cherry Blossom Festival and the weather was incredible, so the city was full of fresh blooms, green grass and cold beer. We took in a Washington Nationals game, hung out on the waterfront for evening fireworks, walked a million miles and visited almost every single monument or destination on our list. D.C. holds so much of the nation’s fascinating history, and three days is simply not enough time to absorb everything there is to see.
In front of the White House
We took a nice walk in front of the White House and the surrounding area, where they were setting up for the annual Easter Egg hunt. I wonder if the Secret Service was listening in on our conversation...
A beautiful day at Arlington National Cemetery
The cemetery is just beautiful, and it is quite an experience to see the thousands and thousands of graves of our servicemen and women. We stuck around for the changing of the guard ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers, and took a nice walk through the different areas, usually arranged by war and starting all the way back to the Civil War!
Tourist Central at the Washington Monument
Being so close to the cherry blossoms, the National Mall was packed with tourists like us visiting for the nice weather and beautiful scenery. Due to the high volume of visitors, the only vendor on the mall was kind enough to charge $5 for a hot dog...
Representin'
View from the Top - Overlooking D.C. from Arlington
Julia Child's Kitchen at the Smithsonian
I got to see Julia Child's kitchen!! In real life!! It was so exciting, seeing her organization, gadgets and personal style. She is the queen of my kingdom, and although I am just a little too young to remember her TV show and the height of her celebrity, she'll always be special to me.
We had such a great trip, thanks to Jess, Dan, Ashley and James. The city of D.C. is clean, friendly and organized, unlike the chaos and stress of our city. I was lucky enough to get one last Spring Break, a privilege I thought was long gone, so we ate, drank, laughed and visited - just perfect.
It was so nice to spend time in a different, peaceful world, but the minute we crossed through the Holland Tunnel, got caught in a traffic jam, watched police chase a perpetrator and smelled the sweet stench of human refuse, we looked at each other and said, "It's good to be home."
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