Day 9 - Hangover Hero

January 1, 2011 (1-1-11)

After having to be at the restaurant at 10 am, and not getting there till 10:30, we already began the day on a wrong foot. Let alone Tyler and Franchesco being way hungover, and me thinking that any smell may make me hurl. Actually, Tyler was still drunk when he woke up. Turns out, as he was crusing down this ‘path’ on the mountain, he sat down in a pricker/thorn bush patch and fell asleep, only to be awoken and driven home by the police in an ambulance. In America, he would have gone straight to jail or the drunk tank. Here, they dropped him off at his front door and wished him luck. I held it together most of the day, trying to be the older,wiser of the bunch and be the harder worker, I succeeded.

We did get a 2 hour siesta in the middle of the day, which was nice so that we could catch up with family and friends via wifi. We went to the Blue Bar across the way from Zepellin and I took down a coca-cola, tuna sandwich, chips, and a steamed milk. Best idea ever, I forget how hungry being a little hungover can make you and in Italy, there is no Taco Bell for this fix.

In the evening, we were slower, so with chef, we started the last prep items for a 75 person party on Domenica. We made a classic sponge cake, and the whole time chef was asking us all about baking and such. Like we were in the classroom, and thanks to Chef Beckwith, I had all of the answers needed. It was a classic recipe, which I have included below. Then we prepared gnocchi for the a la carte service. Thanks to Fuel, I was aware of the process and cutting. However, chef Lorenzo does not use the cool wood paddle and the dumpling is much smaller.

While we were finishing up the last bit of gnocchi rolling/cutting, chef said “Everything we make is shit”. I immediately was like “no it’s not, blah, blah blah” and he responds, “No it is, everything these people order and eat turns into shit” an interesting way of looking at our profession I suppose. Interesting in deed.

Classic Italian Sponge

36 Eggs

1 Kilo of Sugar

1 Kilo of Flour

36 grams of Baking Powder

Mix the eggs and sugar until the ribbon stage. Sift flour and powder into large bowl. Fold in the egg mixture. Pour in pans and cook at 350 degrees for 30 - 40 minutes.