It's 4:45am. After a total of 8 hours of actual work spread out over 3 nights, I have a competition entry I'm satisfied with. After a icing emergency and 24 hours of mulling, I managed to solve a major problem (no, I won't tell you what it was).

It was really refreshing to get back into working with fondant, though very much out of practice I was. However, I think the final product turned out "good enough". I'm nervous about the competition because I know there will be master chefs adjudicating, and I know they will be scrutinzing every single little error, and questioning every single little technical aspect, none of which I feel is up to par. However, I just have to tell myself, "I'm not competing against master chefs." And that makes me feel a little better. A little. Only a little. I'll be ecstatic if I place, but I know this is good experience for me no matter how it goes.

You're probably wanting to see pictures. Your patience has rewarded you.

It started with a clean canvas:



Then eventually evolved into:



But I coudln't figure out what to do with the middle tier. Then all of a sudden, "Farfalle!"



Well, I should get some sleep. Three hours should be enough (yeah, right). I'll let you know how it goes.

¶ 4:45 AM