Not only has it been great for eating with various cheeses, as well as different jams and preserves, but my partner and I actually made caprese sandwiches with it (which included sliced tomatoes, melted mozzarella cheese, fresh basil and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar) It was incredibly delicious. I think part of the fun of creating the various breads is thinking of unique ways to use it. (My partner and I actually gave up meat for Lent, so we've been having to be more creative than usual) Unfortunately, the mother starter that I made was exposed to air in the fridge and I didn't catch it in time - so it's no longer usable. But considering the entire process of creating the starter and making the bread was exciting and worth the wait (about 8 days from start to finish) I look forward to doing it again.
In other news, work has been a rollercoaster once again. I mentioned that the night shift was working tremendously well because I was able to be in control of what I did, manage myself and my time and be able to use my skills in the kitchen more creatively. As a result of that, Mothra nominated me for employee of the month for the hotel and I actually won. In the description on the nomination, she gushed about how I have streamlined productivity for the night crew, how I was a valuable asset in helping the day crew with projects that the night crew normally didn't take care of, and how I took advantage of cross-training opportunities and did them exceptionally well. All wonderful stuff and I was flattered that she would say those things and even more flattered to hear that I had won.
Not even a day later, I was taking my break in the pastry departments office with my fellow coworker and the executive chef came in to ask for some specialty items, so we helped him out and he was on his way. Apparently, he talked with Mothra about how he saw my coworker and I in the office, sitting and taking a break - which she interpreted as, if we are sitting in the office taking breaks, we must not have enough to do. Since then, my coworker and I have had our workload doubled and overtime is not only encouraged, but expected. This past week, I averaged 10-11 hour days - and I don't know what it is about the night shift, but overtime is so much harder than it was during the day. Similarly, I seem to be getting in trouble for the most random things lately. For instance, My coworker (I'll think of a sufficient pseudonym soon enough) wasn't able to finish something on her list before she needed to leave, so I said I'd help her out with the project. When Mothra found out that I helped out, I got in trouble for it, saying that my coworker should've finished her tasks before leaving. As a result of that incident, Mothra felt that, again, I must not have enough to do since I am helping out my co-worker and gave me a list of items that needed to be done for the day crew (which resulted in a 12 hour day for me). Things like this keep happening nearly every other day... it is terribly frustrating, but oddly, I've almost become used to her acting like this.
One of my new tasks is actually quite similar to the restaurant writing tasks that I've had in the past. I'm now required to make at least one new recipe every week for her to sample and have one of these recipes on a menu (whether for the banquet events, the restaurant or coffee shop in the hotel) every month. So be prepared to hear about various recipes that I have tried. I've actually been more inclined to make recipes with dietary restrictions in mind (gluten-free, lactose-free, vegan, diabetic options, etc.) so I will probably be making more of those options as time progresses.
It wasn't my intent to simply vent about Mothra in this entry - but, seriously, this woman is the closest anyone will ever get to the obscene celebrity chefs you see on television - it's hard not to write about these experiences as they happen. That being said, I will try to focus more on the food and experiences in the creation process. Until next time.
