Cooking With "Harold" Under Pressure

Did you hear the one about the two Irish men trying to change a light bulb? Well it is as funny as the two Italians chef trying to make pasta.

Today Sandy is again in the kitchen and the staff here at the Villa have setup a special kitchen area away from the main kitchen and let's just say there seems to be  a bit of pressure to impress the two Aussie celebrity chefs!!! Who us?? Sometimes things get lost in translation and it's better to just go with it, so we did. At another place we had a ranch in Australia but thats a funny story for later.

Not a lot of English is spoken or understood even with the help of a translator. Poor chef "Harold" is so stressed to be cooking and teaching us. Not sure what he has been told by his bosses but he is sweating more than I do under pleasure.

Anyway we are here for 3 days or perhaps just 1!!! so hoping we can get him to relax for all our sakes. The owners of the agrotourisum don't live on site and all the staff here are under strict instruction to look after the Two Aussies Chefs, nice but were aren't the Aussie version of Gordon Ramsay, so relax "Harold".... Chill....
Having the words nonimated in the world Luxury Hotel Award on your email address does and had opened some amazing doors but it also puts some people under pressure. So we try to set them straight and and let them know we are just the same as them and actually work in the business as cook and waiter, not just own it.

Today we have 2 chefs, 2 wait staff and a translator of sorts, come photographer so she can report back to her bosses, but even with all good plans sometimes it just doesn't come together. But the to boys persist with a dodgy "very squeekie" pasta roller and very dry hard pasta, knowing that we can tell they are pushing .... up hill.

But in true chef style and I'm thinking maybe his first one on one cooking class the pressure is on and it's also in the middle of lunch service. We both feel for him and try to let him know it's fine we are in no hurry do what you have to do first.
We are ever so grateful for this opportunity but I can tell by the look on his face that he is wishing he was at the beach!!
So once the disaster of the pasta is over and let's just say his recipe sucks so much I'm not even going to write it down let alone post it. Maybe it's would be good in a recipe book called "what not to do with pasta"..... Then its over to the gnocchi which also gives him so much grief, you know somedays you just shouldn't get out of bed well today was that day for "Harold". But again let's put it into that recipe book " what not to do with gnocchi"
So today we are learning a lot of "what not to do's" which looking on the positive side is a good thing...  I'm ever the optimist.... Thanks mum find good in everything.

So after having such soft pillows with Danilo I could see Sandy wanted to save the poor man from drowning, but how to do that with tact!!!!! I think the first picture shows the look on Sandy's face that the pasta was just too hard. Then there's my second picture to finish on a good note is of a beautiful church that we came across, isn't it grand and stands out against the blue sky.