The Taste

Yes...I auditioned! And here's what went down..

I had applied a few weeks before the auditions and wasn't planning on attending because A) they were in Austin and B) I never got a confirmation.

WELL...the Thursday before the auditions I get a call. They asked if I was planning on coming. Of course I said yes (while thinking to myself "oh crap!"). I hung up. They called back and said I was getting a "front of the line" pass and to bring my BIG personality!

Friday, I called into work. NO WAY was I going to be able to prepare something and go to work that day. The plan? To make pulled pork tacos with a chilled corn salad and leave at 6:30 am Saturday morning in order to be there by 11:30.

NOTE: You had to bring your dish ready to plate. NO heating anything up. Nothing. So, I had to think of something that traveled well and was edible at room temperature.

I literally spent ALL day in the kitchen. First, I started the pork butt. I seasoned it with lime zest, cilantro, garlic, salt, and pepper. Then, roasted it low and slow for about 9 hours until it was like butter! For the corn salad (original recipe here), I changed it up and grilled the corn. Delicious! I decided the taco needed a little something spicy. So, I made an avocado and sriracha crema with lime juice. To garnish, I did pickled red onions that were pickled with sliced jalapeños and garlic. I also added a sprig of cilantro (which I hunted for all day Friday...there was no fresh cilantro to be found!), some lime juice, and a dash of fleur de sel ;)

Now, the important part (so I thought) were the tortillas! Normally, I would serve these with corn tortillas and warm them up. But remember...no warming! So...I decided to just go with the corn tortillas and forget it.

Friday morning, everything was ready and my mom and I set out on our adventure! Oh wait...I forgot the cilantro! So, we stopped at HEB in Waco. Then...my mom spots it...."HOT TORTILLAS". We race to the counter. They have WARM tortillas that are half corn and half flour. PERFECT.

We get to the audition in time. There were maybe 10 people lined up. I get my front of the line pass and wait for them to call me in.

We were called in in groups of 8. They said "take everything out of your coolers but don't start plating". Then, "take the lids off but don't start plating". Finally, "Ok 3 minutes to plate starting now". Don't panic. I'm not sure how they liked it...I keep replaying it all in my head. Who knows?

At any rate, it was a good experience and a lot of fun! Especially the lunch and cocktails post audition at Elizabeth Street Cafe (definitely recommend!).

So, suffice it to say, even if I don't get cast, it was a great experience!