Practice makes perfect. Perfection's what Julie has been working on since Monday. She will compete on Friday and she needs to smooth out some rough edges in her execution of the contest recipes like - maintaining smoothness in her pastry cream and chocolate sauce, keeping the chicken's juiciness and balancing the flavors in her meat sauce. Oh, yes, and making sure she has seven equal and smooth sides to her tourne, precision in slicing her meat, perfecting her plating and to top it all maintaining her work station as neatly and orderly as she possibly could. Quite a top order, yeah? I had written one of her teachers for permission to excuse Julie from attending that particular class tomorrow so she will have time to tie up any loose ends. She needs to double check her utensils, uniform, and that she has enough stock and glace to bring. She also has to learn to relax. She can not afford to get rattled and forget things if something doesn't go her way. Tomorrow, it will still be: practice, practice, practice! If I may add: prayer, prayer, prayer, too!