a change of career?

the scones on the top and the little tarts with raspberries on are what i made

my focaccia. i was given a loaf to take home

Wow what a day. This was possibly the most scariest thing I've done this year, apart from the spider and the calendar. This one was to work in a professional kitchen for a day. Why would I want to work in an environment that is know for its high pressure, bad tempered Chefs and stressful situations? the truth is both my sons work in the industry one as a chef the other front of house. I enjoy eating out and although my sons tell me some about their day I wanted to see for myself what it was like. I wanted to understand a little and appreciate what goes on behind the scenes. I realise one day is not long enough to really get to know what its like but I hoed to get a feel for it. I was very lucky and managed to get a day at Fawsley Hall hotel and spa. I really have to thank my brother Dominic and his connections and Jenny for arranging this for me. To be honest i was so scared of this one I was putting off sorting it. Well the day arrived and Dominic took me over to the hotel. We were early so sat and had a cup of tea wile waiting for the head Chef to arrive. When he came through he took me into the kitchen and introduced me to some of the team then gave me a little tour round the hotel kitchen parts and sorted me some chef whites, yes I got to wear real chef whites, sorry there is no pics of that but i'm no good at selfies. Well in the kitchen and chef was trying to sort something for me to do. Trouble was they are so well organised most of the prep had been done. He decided I was going in the pastry section so while waiting for  Rachel, whom I assumed was the chef de partie I set to polishing some plates. No this is not a typo they really do polish the plate we eat off. Rachel arrived and we set to making scones. Now I don't know about anyone else but scones are the one thing I have real problems with. They never rise and turn out like biscuits! We made the mix rolled out the dough and cut them out. I was given some really good tips, ones I'll be trying at home to see if my scones come out. We set them on a tray waiting to bake later. Next I had to fill some fruit tarts. There was their own made lemon curd to fill them with first them i had to top them with raspberries and some with blackberries. After that it was time to make some bread, focacca to be precise. I've made bread before but never focaccia but under Rachel guidance i did a pretty good job or so I'm told. Believe it or not doing that , picking some rosemary, sorting grapes for cheese boards brought me to the end of my time. Rachel very kindly showed me round other parts of the hotel and we chatted. I had a brilliant time and found the atmosphere not at all what I thought it would be. It was calm and not at all stressful.I know that when service got under way that would probably all change but for my experience I couldn't have had a better time. After I was treated by Dominic and John to afternoon tea to enjoy the things I had made. So if you fancy afternoon tea or a spa weekend/day I would highly recommend Fawsley Hall, its not the cheapest place around but from what I've seen it is worth every penny.