The mood was noticeably altered at Liaison last week,
charging the afternoon ambiance with a tension that was almost tangible. After
fifteen weeks of culinary classes, the students were put through the rigours of
exams, in the kitchen and in the classroom.
Cook Basic students did all their prep work on Tuesday for their
hands-on exam the following day. On a set schedule Wednesday afternoon, they turned
out their dishes for the chef-instructors to mark on timing, presentation and
taste. The tension subsided as one-by-one they learned how they fared, then headed
home to cram for just a few more hours.
The ever-active kitchen was hauntingly silent on Thursday as
the students bowed their heads over exam papers, challenged to remember the
theory they learned more than ten weeks ago. Though they applied their book knowledge
almost daily in the kitchen, they were reserved until after their papers were
marked.
Waiting to exhale, three young men checked the job board,
shifted and paced, their nervousness disguised in jocular humour. The women
made notes, quick calls to family, or chatted in low tones about future plans.
That collective sigh, when it came, was worth the wait. Hugs,
laughter, whoops of excitement: they’ll be back for an official graduation, but
this was their crowning moment when the air cleared, the mood lifted and they prolonged
their goodbyes for one more minute of camaraderie.
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