WHAT A DAY!!!!!!! I started out working at the Crawford Gallery Café, which was okay. I didn't really feel like I learned much from it, but the woman I worked with in the back was nice. I had hoped to get a feel for how café life is behind the scenes, however today didn't reveal much. I was able to make a big batch of shortcrust pastry at least! I also peeled carrots, took brown bread out of the oven, mashed potatoes, and did dishes. They let me have a bit of brown bread with their raspberry jam during the break, which was delicious! Someone also made me a latte, which was the best coffee I have had in awhile!! For the past couple of months I haven't been loving coffee, but this latte today might've converted me back :). I had a nice chat with the woman I was working with in the prep kitchen (not taking orders). I always love talking to different people working in the food industry and hearing their stories. These are some of the things I learned...
After my work experience, I meandered around Cork for awhile before catching a bus to Midleton. I stopped in a chocolate shop where someone makes chocolate (not bean to bar, but still better than generic!) and got a hot chocolate: white and dark chocolate with cayenne and cinnamon. :). Delicious! Then I also stopped at a quirky spot called "Rocket Man," which makes different salads every day from grains and beans. They had some really great stuff in their store too!! The feel of the place reminded me a little of Lamplighter, a coffee shop in Richmond. I got a bed of mixed greens with a chickpea and roasted sweet potato salad and a spiced potato salad, topped with a beet and ginger pickle. YUM!! :D
- If you want to make things from scratch (like the mayonnaise and jams), you need to be prepared to have more hands and put in a lot more time.
- It's important to have an order of work in a professional setting as well, not just here at school. The woman I was working with told me that at the end of every day, the cooks sit together and determine what everyone's going to make the next day. It helps with them knowing what they need to order, and who will be doing what so there's no chaos. This is even more crucial to do when the menu changes every day (like it does here).
- If you want to run a café or restaurant, it becomes your life!
After my work experience, I meandered around Cork for awhile before catching a bus to Midleton. I stopped in a chocolate shop where someone makes chocolate (not bean to bar, but still better than generic!) and got a hot chocolate: white and dark chocolate with cayenne and cinnamon. :). Delicious! Then I also stopped at a quirky spot called "Rocket Man," which makes different salads every day from grains and beans. They had some really great stuff in their store too!! The feel of the place reminded me a little of Lamplighter, a coffee shop in Richmond. I got a bed of mixed greens with a chickpea and roasted sweet potato salad and a spiced potato salad, topped with a beet and ginger pickle. YUM!! :D
I thought the Cork part of my day was the adventure, but little did I know what was in store in Midleton and beyond! I managed to catch the bus, which dropped me off pretty close to where Bren and I had left his bike while he drove me to Cork this morning (he was catching a flight so I had to figure out another way to get back). I had a chance to stop in a chocolate shop where Shanna Wilkie (the first bean to bar chocolate maker in Ireland who had a chocolate tasting for us last week!) sells her chocolates. The shop was probably 10 feet deep and 5 feet wide, so it was pretty cozy. I really enjoyed talking with the older woman working there about chocolate! I really hope I get a chance to shadow Shanna at some point!
After tasting a hazelnut praline truffle, I hopped on the bike and embarked on one of the best bike rides I think I've ever been on. At times it was a little stressful because the country roads are so narrow, but once I got on the shortcut road it became much more enjoyable. I was able to completely immerse myself in appreciating every new sight more so than when I run, so that was nice! I loved identifying various plants growing on the side of the road - lots of rosehips, blackberries, and haws. I also found a big patch of watercress (a type of salad green) growing by a stream. I think my favorite part was riding past all of the various cow pastures ^_^. Every single time, I'd stop and call out to them, then the ones closer to me look at me like I was crazy and amble over. Sometimes I get freaked out when they come really close to me because the tiny barbed wire fence seems so weak compared to their strength. I don't think a cow would think to charge me (well, hopefully not!).
By the time my ride was coming to an end, the sun was starting to go down (at 4:40 or so!!!!!! It's so early! UGH!). The light was absolutely stunning.
After tasting a hazelnut praline truffle, I hopped on the bike and embarked on one of the best bike rides I think I've ever been on. At times it was a little stressful because the country roads are so narrow, but once I got on the shortcut road it became much more enjoyable. I was able to completely immerse myself in appreciating every new sight more so than when I run, so that was nice! I loved identifying various plants growing on the side of the road - lots of rosehips, blackberries, and haws. I also found a big patch of watercress (a type of salad green) growing by a stream. I think my favorite part was riding past all of the various cow pastures ^_^. Every single time, I'd stop and call out to them, then the ones closer to me look at me like I was crazy and amble over. Sometimes I get freaked out when they come really close to me because the tiny barbed wire fence seems so weak compared to their strength. I don't think a cow would think to charge me (well, hopefully not!).
By the time my ride was coming to an end, the sun was starting to go down (at 4:40 or so!!!!!! It's so early! UGH!). The light was absolutely stunning.
This is what a lot of the fields look like around us right now. A week or so ago everything (other than cow pastures) was dirt. Now I think it might be a crop of winter wheat growing, maybe? I love how you can still distinguish the individual rows! :)
This was the first lovely lady I met on my ride :D
And then I met more cows...
....and MORE COWS!!!! :D
Before my cow friends near the school were out of sight, I noticed something beautiful in the sunlight - if you look at the grass right below the sun, you can see the hundreds of spiderwebs in the grass reflecting the light. They are more defined in person, but I think the picture picked up on at least a little bit! :)
Here's a shot of the shoreline of Ballycotton :). This point is exactly a mile away from the cookery school, after you do a steep downhill and then a steep uphill. Either way, it's a tough way to start and end a run haha. I love how you can see the various progressions of crops growing! There are a couple of brown plots, and budding green ones too :).
This was my lasting impression of the day before I made it back. I think I biked for an hour and a half today :) What fun! I am so happy that I decided to go for it. It's piqued my adventurous spirit!! I haven't been able to run as much because of the early sunsets, so today made me realize just how much I miss getting out and about in the countryside!! It also made me realize that I haven't been completely alone in awhile. Nothing like a long bike ride to help you reconnect with yourself and your surroundings :).
Now the big question (which requires more time than a long bike ride can suffice) is, WHAT on earth do I want to do with my life? What world problem can I most effectively combat given my skills? What will make me feel fulfillment and meaning?
Gah. I don't know, and I don't think my poor tired brain can take such heavy questions right now.
One thing I learned today: you can peel off the bitter skins from walnuts when they've soaked for a couple of hours and if you have literally NOTHING better to do. I don't know why, but for some reason I started peeling individual skins off the walnuts I soaked tonight and just couldn't stop doing it! It's almost meditative!
Favorite part of the day: boy, every part of my day could be a favorite part, so choosing is gonna be tough! I think the unlocking the bike at the train station this afternoon had to be the best part. I was a little nervous about being able to navigate back, but I had a gut feeling that everything would work out just fine! I knew there was going to be an adventure!
And now it's really late. Oh well! Tonight's been fun! I didn't really dress up because this afternoon really wiped me out, but I did hang out with people before they went off to the pub!
Happy Halloween everyone!!!
Love,
Livvy
Now the big question (which requires more time than a long bike ride can suffice) is, WHAT on earth do I want to do with my life? What world problem can I most effectively combat given my skills? What will make me feel fulfillment and meaning?
Gah. I don't know, and I don't think my poor tired brain can take such heavy questions right now.
One thing I learned today: you can peel off the bitter skins from walnuts when they've soaked for a couple of hours and if you have literally NOTHING better to do. I don't know why, but for some reason I started peeling individual skins off the walnuts I soaked tonight and just couldn't stop doing it! It's almost meditative!
Favorite part of the day: boy, every part of my day could be a favorite part, so choosing is gonna be tough! I think the unlocking the bike at the train station this afternoon had to be the best part. I was a little nervous about being able to navigate back, but I had a gut feeling that everything would work out just fine! I knew there was going to be an adventure!
And now it's really late. Oh well! Tonight's been fun! I didn't really dress up because this afternoon really wiped me out, but I did hang out with people before they went off to the pub!
Happy Halloween everyone!!!
Love,
Livvy