I have a lot of Russian friends, and there are a lot of jokes that start like this when we hang out: “In Mother Russia, car drives you!”

Photo courtesy of Farmison & Co (crazy days mean few to zero pictures)

Well, in class today, “Duck butchered me!” I had four birds to break down into breasts and legs, and it took me way. too. long. I get really frustrated with the task at hand if it takes me longer than an hour. This kept me busy for almost two hours. And I know I was moving slowly because Chef Henri kept coming by every 10 minutes to remind me he needed these duck parts for his Level 6 students. Bah. No pressure, Chef!

When the last breast was quadrillaged (crisscrossed pattern scored on the breast), I did a mental victory dance. That is, until Chef Henri came back to tell me he needed the carcasses–cleaned of all the fat. Luckily it only took me five minutes to do that. Then I was able to tackle the rest of the long prep list I had waiting for me, with only an hour before service. At least we had an extra hand today. Three out of four teammates ain’t bad.

TIP OF THE DAY: Remove the wishbone of a duck or chicken. That way, it’ll be easier to remove the breast once it’s cooked.