Day 5 and 6

Day 5

Kitchen was not as bad as I thought since I had Sumi, Ute and Steffi’s company most of the time with minimal contact with the head chefs. So, in chronological order, here is what I did: Pick 3 medium gastro’s full of herbs, carried some 50+ litres of juices up the stairs to the dry room (including few kilos of tomato paste and some other boxes of things), made some salmon cylinders, sliced scallops, picked more herbs and peas, made dumplings, made more dumplings, and left around 7.30pm. Got home, had ice cream with Steffi (we had 2 magnums each!) over the family guy movie. The guys came home and we had a long session of gossip right till midnight. What did I learn today? Well, I learnt that trainees are extremely useful when it comes to boring tough work in kitchens, I can very well tell the difference between parsley and coriander, salmon dries up into an orange-pink version of the thing(s) that comes out of your nose on a dry day, language and use of tones (and I mean in English!) is vital as you may portray a very bad image of yourself, chefs do have feelings behind all that “show” and that some people just cant keep things to themselves- worse, they twist what they hear. The biggest lesson I re-learnt today is that criticism is good and that it helps a great deal to improve. It’s a pity that some people don’t read my blog- they could use the “black and white” criticism since words in English doesn’t seem to go across clearly. Today is the triumph fashion show event rehearsals, and the guys are excited as some big names are expected to attend. I for one can’t be bothered since the fashion industry (to me at least) is as boring as football (as many of you know how I feel about the sport of kicking inflated rubber between two poles)- okay, fashion is not as bad as football since I do occasionally watch America’s Next Top Model. Anyhow, today’s Trivia Roll:

• Salmon is very sticky
• Dumplings never seem to be the right size no matter how much you try
• “She is DEFINITELY coming according to so-and-so”
• I got my B-permit back today
• Those who look like turtles might actually work as fast as one
• Those who look like dodos might actually be one
• Poor Fluffy(s), we have 5 of them in the freezer now according to Paul- big dinner coming up
• There are many ways to keep someone out of an apartment (despite not doing anything, the person never came back in the morning!) whoops
• I have 4 open wounds on my hand, bought some plasters and it looks REAL gay!
  

The Injuries- at least they make me more of a MAN!

Making dumplings- You dont see the tears i cry..behind those hazel eyes.. Picture by Mr Konrad

Day 6

The Triumph day! So, we started preparing glasses, polishing, Mis-en-place-ing AND had lunch whilst watching the models (and the flooring) rehearse. At noon, we were briefed of our duties again and we manned our positions. As I believe in Murphy’s law, I need to point out that what can go wrong, WILL go wrong. Originally, we were supposed to only serve everywhere BUT the stage area and to keep out of the bar. The contrary occurred. Serving the stage are was difficult as there was little space, huge crowds and demanding guests. Filippa then came and pulled me aside and told me to do the most unexpected thing (brag brag!), SERVE the Jury’s of the competition. The jury included (source:OTS) : “The Dutch design duo Viktor & Rolf (Viktor Horsting & Rolf Snoeren), Danish Top model Helena Christensen, German Fashion photographer icon Ellen von Unwerth and colettes´chief purchaser and creative director Sarah from colette will join Triumph's Jan Rosenberg in deciding who has presented the most inspired and inspiring lingerie design”.
Now, how awesome is that!? The sad thing is, they are the TOTAL opposite of the stereotype people have about VIPs. They were nice, polite, low maintenance and generally looked satisfied. Then again, they were also busy watching the show. After the whole show (which ended close to 5pm), we cleared up and had dinner before clearing up even more. Those who stayed on later to clear up everything else were rewarded TsingTao beers and since I don’t generally drink alcohol, I was given a bottle of Rivella by Sonja! (big thanks!). Oh, and Heidi Klum (contrary to rumours or “fact” according to some) was no where to be found BUT the singer looked awfully familiar and was real nice as well. The winning lingerie was by a design student from Japan whose lingerie features LIPS over the ladies “down there” and a bra that looked like a pair of glittery eyes over the “up there”. She won the 15,000 Euros and stood a chance for her piece to go commercial. Anyhow, an eventful day, had lots of fun and I suppose I did a great job and grew closer to many colleagues. Oh, and as we cleared up the back stage, an army of Chinese workers got into the HoS and started tearing down everything Triumph. The speed is fast and the noise too much, the air smelt of an orchestra of odours with dust and the amount of crap that went out was just so much. Tomorrow, the fun begins. Swiss national day and oh boy will it be packed! 50 guests at noon and 450 at night. Fingers crossed once again!

Today’s trivia roll:

• Heidi Klum was missing
• The flooring was a great view
• Malaysia lost L the competition, but it was obvious the lingerie was very “malay” as it had lots of light colours and glitter.
• Singapore’s lingerie looked as though it was inspired by the national service- it was slightly army themed
• Fabian is ungrateful for all my “presents”, all he gave back to me was an empty beer box!
• To you people who do not work in the hospitality industry, USE YOUR BRAINS! Do not give us your dirty glasses/ rubbish/ lychee peelings/ tissues on a CLEAN tray of drinks.
• The only thing you SHOULD put there are tips or business cards!
• RIVELLA ROX!
• Filippa wore DKNY’s Be Delicious. My favourite!
• I will miss the flooring.
• The HoS had a guest celebrity chef in the kitchen today! Mr Konrad!
• On the way home at night, Steffi was carrying a bin bag full of linen, she reminded me of a garbage collector- mwhahaha
  

Rivella!

Garbage woman on the left

2-3 days to build..15 hours to clear

Guest chef- Chef Konrad and Hakon