Ready, Set.......!?

Game day is just 24 hours away and I am surprisingly calm. This could be a good thing or I am just oblivious to what lies ahead! I liken the experience, to that of a runner crouched at the starting line waiting for the gun to fire.......

Competition in any form can be exhilarating and extremely rewarding, but it does come at a cost!

Sleepless nights and constantly questioning your decisions. We are our own worst enemies after all!

The competition itself seems simple enough, 24 main courses and desserts served a la carte over a 1hour period, 2 chefs and 1 apprentice with 3 hours to prepare.

The challenges are varied and often appear out of nowhere. This is where experience kicks in - you hope!

What if the vacuum packer dies and most of your ingredients are sous vide?

Will all of your ingredients that you ordered 2 weeks ago rock up?

Even the little things that you take for granted, like spoons, tea towels etc are suddenly not there!

Obviously we have many checklists, recipes, work flow plans and contingencies in place, but.....

Then there is the kitchen itself. Game day will be the first time we set foot in there and we need to adapt quickly. After all, time is our enemy.

Tomorrow will come soon enough and the writing will be on the wall, or in this case, on the plate!