Day Five - Test Prep and Wine

This was a pretty eventful day.  We went over the quiz from yesterday which was on the floorplans.  There was a tiebreaker that was pretty impossible to anyone who was not a sommelier.  That's exactly who won. First Grade Sommelier. I can't be bitter, he knew the answers.  Besides, I will have more chances to win my very own Michael Mina cookbook soon. We then broke up into groups and had some roleplays that would give us a chance to talk about some situations which would admittedly fall into the grey area of what we can do to make the guests happy.  We talked about dry cleaning (which we can probably do on site, being a hotel), handling a celebrity's privacy, helping a bachelorette party into the private, awesome club in the casino, and so on. By this time, it was lunch.  When we came back, it was review and more. We went over: Sequence of Service           -- All 33 steps of service that we do at each and every table in great detail. Staging the Experience           -- Setting your mood and actions to be successful and make the guest happy. Handling VIPs           -- VIP treatment, literally.  VIP sheets, special things we do, and more. Ending the Experience           -- How to make the finish of the meal memorable and keep them smiling. During this time, Patric (VP of Operations) had a few good quotes: "If you didn't bring Paris with you on the plane, it won't be there when you arrive."  Meaning that state of mind is key, you will only be as happy as you set yourself up to be. "Find pride in your work.  If you can't, it is better to take alms on the street."  This is pretty self explanatory. "You've gotta clean up your on back yard before you knock on your neighbor's door."  Don't go flitting about the restaurant and intrude on another server's section when you have your own things to look at. We also had more wine today.  We went over whites.  I will mention the two Rieslings we reviewed and a few notes I have that are of interest. White Burgundy is Chardonnay. Red Burgundy is Pinot Noir. Chablis is Chardonnay. White Bordeaux is a Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon blend. Sauternes is a Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc blend. Riesling is the King of all Grapes.  It is straightforward, transparent, unoaked, and takes its flavor from the soil.  It is very simple in the processing of this grape: pick, press, neutrally ferment, bottle, and release.  That being said, it can age well up to 150 years, at least. Wines we talked about specifically: (How to read:) (Vintage, Winemaker) (Grape) ("Wine name") (Region, Country) 2005 Domaine Wachau Riesling Federspiel "Terrassen" Wachau, Austria 2006 Leitz Riesling Rüdesheimer Drachenstein Rheingau, Germany They are both Rieslings, but worlds apart.  The Austrian is bone-dry with characteristics of minerality and applewhich would pair well with food.  It should be paired with the Lobster Corn Dog (yes, you read that right), Tuna Sashimi, or Tempura Shrimp. The German, on the other hand, had some residual sugars.  It has a honey-weight richness and should be easy to drink, even without food.  This one would pair well with the Ahi Tuna Tartare, Hamachi Parfait, or Crab Cakes. With more discussion on whites, we concluded the day. On another note, yesterday was Kelly's birthday, and I was sad that I couldn't do anything spectacular and special for her, what with not being home, having time to cook a nice meal, et cetera.  She assured me that she had a nice, relaxing evening with the spaghetti, sparkling wine, strawberry shortcake, and dozen roses.  She deserves more, but I guess it will have to wait.