Gutted.

Today was the Semi-final of the 2010 Craft Guild Of Chefs National chef of the year, I cooked my 'carrot and onions' off, but was gutted to find out that I didn't make it through to the final. Really gutted, I put 4 months work into today, worked really hard, trying to get the right menu, then working on the dishes.
I can't really complain, the 4 guys that got through cooked really well, I think that my dishes were probably not 'cheffie' enough, I tried the less is more approach, it was a bit of a risk, but I stuck to what I believed in, keeping it simple and making the most of the main ingredients, Chicken and Lemons, maybe it wasn't enough, maybe I should have used a few foams, jellies, micro cresses, etc, but that isn't really my style, I have learned throughout my carear that adding something to a dish doesn't always make it better. I was also pushed for time, 2 hours to prepare 3 different canapes, a main course, veg dish, starch and a dessert, is not a long time, well we were all in the same boat I suppose.
So a big thanks to Dobbie for helping me (even if he did loose a plate), but without his help I wouldn't have even served the food, he was at my house at 5.30 this morning and really, really helped alot, so thanks mate.
And good luck to the guys in the Final, I envy you guys cooking live at the Restaurant show.
But, I have learned alot from today and in a few days will pick myself up and start planning for the next competition in 2012.