1. For my Independent Component 1, I plan to host a series of dinner parties (serving between 6 and 8 people at each). I will plan three parties total, spending 10+ hours preparing and cooking for each one. My goal will be to create a four course meal (appetizer, entree, main course, and dessert) using in season ingredients for each dinner party. Each party should show an increase of skill based off of the recipes I prepare. I will be following the intense steps outlined in Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook, which includes proper preparation and selection techniques, as well as what Bourdain calls the "Three Stages of Wisdom." My goal will be to treat each party almost as if I were a cook in a restaurant. Even though my guests will not be selecting the menu, everything else should work similarly. I aim to have the food between 80% and 90% done before anyone walks through the door, but not finish any part until immediately before serving. There should be no more than 10 minutes between the finish of one course and the service of the next. These last points, especially, should help me answer my essential question, "What is the best way to deliver a meal to a guest in a timely manner," as I will be working on a similar time crunch as that of a kitchen chef during this time. In theory, I will be having a mini-dinner service within my own home during these dinner parties.
*Note: This is a "draft" plan that I may alter after further research and after my first party.
2. To show evidence of the time I take during the Independent Component, I will be keeping track of all lists I make before shopping trips, save receipts and take pictures at markets, during preparation, and of the finished results. Some pictures will also be taken of the physical party. At the conclusion of each party, I will ask each guest to fill out a short survey about their meal and experience. These surveys will be kept as both evidence and resources.
3. Choosing this as my Independent Component will help me understand my topic more thoroughly by allowing me to explore different recipes among the four courses I am preparing. It will help me break down meals into various stages, as far back as research into what is in season in Southern California this time of year up to the actual cooking itself. The setting, a dinner party, will also force me to work under a time crunch that restaurant chefs deal with on a daily basis. The fact that I am planning three parties, each of which will end with a survey, will help me recall what went well and what didn't at each previous party and work to improve for the following one. My skill should increase through the four months I have to complete the project and therefore be present with each party I plan.
4. I have updated my Mentorship Log so that it is now Senior Project Hours, located on the top right of this blog or right here. This link contains the log for my Summer Mentorship Hours, my Mentorship Hours, and my Independent Component 1 and 2 Hours.
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