Diploma Lunch Update...

We are now well into the second week of diploma lunches, with every one to date going well. For those people still to go this may be seen as reassuring, or if it were me, putting extra pressure on! Today is Stepan's turn. We was fairly relaxed about it on Monday when we met up for our Monday night pint, but having helped out Butcher yesterday (behind a little on time, but a sensational looking lunch) I think he's now starting to get a little bit concerned. The major triumphs were Alex, on Tuesday, who apparently delivered the full monty, and Kate the day before, who managed to keep reasonably calm and even made her big brother the airline pilot cry: "I'm so proud of my little sister". And yes, as is traditional, he brought his very attractive stewardess partner with him.

Today I have my 'creative fish' assessment. There is a bit of a row going on because when everyone else did it they were given at least 3 hours, so I planned my menu accordingly, only to be told yesterday we were to be given 2 hours. Mind you, it only took me 2 hours when I practiced it at home last week, so I should be fine. Watch this space...

Later The Same Day...

Well, it went pretty well. At least it did for me. Meanwhile Stepan was cooking his fantastic diploma lunch, and Boston Kate was having her third major crisis of the week. She was also doing her fish assessment, having missed it the same as I did (but very probably for different reasons). I have mentioned to her once or twice that she needs to prioritise better, but when I saw her slowly sharpening her knives 10 minutes after kick-off on our non-negotiable 2 hour time limit, I realised my advice had not been taken. Anyway, we both managed to produce dishes, and scored reasonably good marks (or, in my case, ahem, very good marks).

Photo above: cod on saffron mash, with an orange and chilli sauce, black olive tapenade and a tomato garnish

I also learned whilst giving Kate a much needed lift home that Alex's lunch, whilst going well, had an interesting dessert of toasted Morrison's Brioche topped with tinned Morrison's peaches. The only authentic element was a fresh blackberry on the top which he had deigned to cover with a little melted honey. When asked by one of the "food experts" who had been invited to Alex's lunch (he has no relatives in the country so reservists had to be drafted in) whether the brioche had been cooked in the Aga, Kate managed to keep a straight face whilst saying "No, actually it was cooked in a commercial oven". The scandal of it all.

Sophie's sister turned up today, for the weekend. She looks about 12. You might think this is perfectly acceptable, but she is with her "partner", who also looks about 12, and they are all staying in Sophie's room (Kylie is still away on holiday). I'm too old for this...