I had never been that far into the south before, much less been picked up by a hired car. I had never even flown with my knife kit. My days leading up to the trip I was frantically taking notes on my recipes, practicing my chocolate tempering, and wondering just what was in season down there. To my coworkers, I must have been acting a little crazier than usual.
When I arrived, it was marvelous. The property was just as beautiful as the website had promised. The staff was courteous and everyone called me "M'am". My agenda was ambitious: a pre dessert, three plated desserts, petit fours, an
d a chocolate - all for a service of six people.My room was a sweet little cottage called "Ruffed Grouse". 
It was decorated so well and I had a great time perusing all the information in the guest book.
I got to have dinner on the property two nights, once in the main house, once in the Barn (the restaurant I was interviewing to work in). The service staff were all kind and knowledgeable.
I did notice a few things that made me recognize the place is not without flaws:
1. There was quite a bit of lint on the wine glasses on my table.
2. There was a hairline crack in my amuse plate
3. The butter cream on the top of the cake I was served for dessert was cold and therefore hard.
I was feeling pretty good. If this was what this place was all about, I was about to know everyone's socks off. It had been a while since I had been able to cook my own food, and I was chomping at the bit to get back to it.
The next two days were a whirlwind. I can't say exactly what I did when, but I felt good about my food - despite the fact that I changed my mind about a million times.
My final menu consisted of:
Pre dessert: "Sugar on Snow": Maple syrup cooked and poured over a lemon scented vanilla bean granita.
Reason: It was the start of sugaring season here in NH, and I thought it would be a cute tongue in cheek of a palate cleansing course.
Plated 1- Chocolate Caramel Pave with braised apricots and Jack Daniel's Caramel
Reason: This was a best selling dessert of mine when I was working at the inn. It has good flavors and it is a nice dark wintery chocolate dessert.
Plated 2- Sheep's yogurt panna cotta with Blackberry Farm Honey, buttermilk cake, and roasted rhubarb
Reason: Peter had given me the yogurt to use, and I liked the tanginess so much I thought it should shine through.. The rhubarb they had was fresh and pink. I like to roast it with vanilla bean, sugar, and butter. That's it. The honey was light and had a nice mouth feel. I thought it was a nice balance of textures
Plated 3 - Steamed apple, Marconas almond dacqoise, saigon cinnamon ice cream, and apple butter.
Reason: Again, the apple butter was something Peter had given me to use. I love marconas. The steamed apple was a trick I learned in a class in Chicago a few years back. I liked it, but I think it could have been better.
Petit Fours - Canneles, Mini Buttermilk pies, Milk Chocolate orange fudge
Reason: I ran out of time. Canneles are kind a signature of mine here in NH because no one really makes them.
Chocolate - Chocolate Caramel Lemon Truffles
Reason: They were rustic and my timing was tight. I had the ganache left over from my pave, and I could easily add lemon to it to make the flavor brighter.
All in all, it was a good experience. It was amazing food and amazing people.
I don't think I will be offered the job. I sent out a thank you and emailed Peter to a limited response. I know he will not make the final decision on the hire, but it is hard to put your heart out there and here nothing. My only lament is that I would like to know how to improve my skills for the next place.
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