Yum, today is July 1st. It’s BlackBerry® season. The following Next Food Network Star report comes from Lisa’s wireless device:
Episode 5 and counting. I found this to be the most dramatic episode. I’m trying to get food on the plates, without loosing it, and deal with the kitchen going down in flames around me. I use a “veloute.” It’s one of the 5 mother sauces. The building blocks of every sauce. 101 for any chef in training. At this point in the process I’m really starting to feel the pressure. I know I’m intense, I always have been. I try to balance myself with a whole foods diet, exercise, adequate rest, and meditation. All of which, I have not had for weeks now.
The first challenge was exactly what I hoped for, an opportunity to work with the camera. The more practice you get, the more natural it becomes. Uncovering pork was a bit of a challenge since I restrain from it for religious reasons. So, I had a choice. Stop production or just suck it up and do it.I decided to just deal with it.I was happy with my dish and Cat[Cora] enjoyed it.She is incredible, tough, skilled and beautiful.Meeting her made me feel like I could be all those things and still succeed.She’s no softy,and up to this point I was feeling pressure to be something I’m not.Cat gave me a sense of self and I regained my confidence after this episode.
The final challenge was CRAZY. We were up at about 4:00am the day of the Cafe Gray challenge. People who know me well, know I’m not a morning person, without copious amounts of coffee.I rolled around in the bed all night trying to figure out how we would execute production in 45 minutes,all along wishing I had the coq au vin.All I could think about was Bon Apetit and plating everything perfectly.In the end, I did get a bit emotional, as I’m exhausted from putting my heart and soul into every challenge.
