Australian Sticky Date Pudding

I had ups and downs making this dish, but one step that kept going downhill for me was the amount of water I had to use when I boiled the dates and it became too runny. For instance, in the final cooking, I added too much water which resulted in having to add cornstarch to the mixture and then draining it. It didn't come out how I wanted, but I didn't have enough time to restart. I was never too confident making this dessert as it never truly matched my grandmothers or my moms. Chef Gans enjoyed this dish; however, after baking it several times I am not completely satisfied with my final product and I want to keep making it better.I was given tips to making the butterscotch thicker and I tried it; however, I wasn't too happy with the outcome so I went back to the original recipe.

We had plenty of issues with our menu and I believe we spent too much time fixing the small issues rather than looking to make bigger improvements. We also had one of our teammates out with Covid so we stressed a lot not knowing whether or not to keep his dish on the menu. I tried to help each and every person in the team by trying their dishes and giving them tips on how they could have improved their dish. We did not give each other many responsibilities, we did not even know who would introduce our restaurant. That may have been what went wrong, there had not been any communication within the team. Some of the juniors also made changes to their dishes last minute because they weren't satisfied; however, I believe it should've been discussed with the team beforehand.

When I introduced my dish, I gave a thoughtful story; however, I spoke a bit too quickly because I was nervous. I didn't have a plan on what to say, but I just told them truthfully why I chose this dish and how it matched not only my theme but the teams theme as well.

Menu Wars was a very competitive challenge and I enjoyed it greatly. I loved how we all had to base our dishes off of one theme, it really challenged all of us to do our best. We were given a lot of time to work on it so it didn't feel rushed and this was one of my favorite units this semester. I definitely became a better chef this semester exploring dishes that I never thought of making. As a writer, I continued to write more and in a different style which helped my writing style and vocabulary. I can use these writing and cooking tips as I continue to grow as a person. When I began this course, I had some culinary skills; however, the best I could cook was just scrambled eggs, and then I began cooking curry, pork belly, ramen, and more. I will use these new cooking skills as I grow when I leave home and even when I need to cook for other people.