#prepareforglory

I firmly believe that fate favours the prepared and that its ones choice to either prepare for success or allow themselves to suffer failure. Why am I talking about fate & glory & success & failure? Because I have a skills challenge to face today :)

I’m not an extremely competitive person but I can’t deny that I get a certain thrill from competing in culinary skills challenges. Whether its recreating a dish or using a specific ingredient to its fullest. I love the rush that comes with.

And today I get to face the aptly named “Mystery Box”. For those who don’t know, a mystery box challenge contains ingredients unknown to the challenger that they then have to use in a variety of ways. What makes it so challenging is that you have no idea what’s in the box, so its not easy to prepare for. It could be anything from Abalone to Mopani worms, from Nutella to Zucchini, the possibilities are endless!

You can feel the excitement building before the challenge. Chefs getting dressed in the changing rooms, talking about what they hope is in the box, what they’re prepared for or not, all while hoping for something challenging in the box to prove themselves and achieve glory.

The kitchen becomes unnaturally quiet as each chef prepares in their own way. Some mutter prayers to their Gods, others bounce around nervously (or excitedly in my case) and others talk shit to mask their fear. The most prominent sound being the sound of steel on steel as knives get sharpened to deadly precision. The air is almost electric with anticipation!