And this is how we learn

Saturday night at the restaurant, I was alone in the kitchen for the first time through dinner (I was on from 4pm until closing). It started easy enough, and then a party of 5 came in. All different things, including something I'd not made before: scallop risotto. It's one thing to have the pressure to make something you haven't done before, but then to do it while being pulled in 4 other directions was...interesting. In the midst of trying to prioritise those 4 other things, I overcooked the risotto and had to start over. It did all come together in the end with a plate of nachos perhaps spending a little bit too long in oven, the scallops a little over-seared, and the risotto a little too saucy, but nothing was sent back and everything was eaten.

Fast forward to yesterday, when I was on with one of the main guys. An order for the scallop risotto came in, and he talked me through it. So it turns out that while the one I made on Saturday was entirely edible, I made it completely wrong. And now I know. I just hope another order comes in soon so I can reinforce what I learned and continue to make it correctly.

There's one remaining dish on the menu (salmon) that I haven't made, and it's so infrequently ordered, I've never even seen it prepared. Here's hoping I'm not alone when that order comes in.