Okay, yeah... you're probably thinking of the same two things that I was. That someone would forget the lid and that someone might stick a wooden spoon into a moving blender. Close...
Our first demo was the exciting one (because I learned where my assistant was liable to goof up). My calm, responsible, assistant chef was a little nervous in front of her peers, and eager to do a good job, she moved a little too quickly. When the smoothie appeared finished, she started to pour, and found a large, frozen strawberry marring the perfection of her work. She quickly popped the blender jar back on the base and... the workstation and the front row were immediately speckled in strawberry smoothie! Lesson One: always put the lid on the blender.
Since I'd uttered many dire warnings about unplugging the blender before sticking anything in it, I was relieved that I only had to unplug a few while students were digging for those stubborn strawberries, but no damage was done. (Maybe next time, I'll let the fruit thaw out instead of using it frozen.)
Much like our recent episode with the exploding oven door (Popcorn and 10,000 Shards of Glass) it was the unpredictable element that caught up with us.
One group returned to the supply table, dismayed. "It spilled", they said. A few minutes later, their cries of anguish rang out, as it developed into "It spilled again!" "Spilled" wasn't quite accurate though. The blade mechanism became dislodged and the base separated. The smoothie headed south. We were able to contain the mess, more or less, and salvage enough of the product that they could have called the operation a success. Until one of their group decided that since his hands were covered anyway, he should just play in the smoothie. The rest of the group, disgusted, declined to sample their product. I don't blame them, actually.
The misbehaving blender was closely supervised during the next two labs, leading to a diagnosis of "Operator Error", and the teacher learned that she should probably check all the blenders after washing to make sure they got put back together properly. I don't recall anyone telling me that I needed a degree in electrical engineering for this job, but being handy certainly IS a prerequisite!
A few more days left in the term now, and we'll be dealing with some sustainability issues before they move onto Tech Ed. and I get a new batch from Performing Arts... and then I get to do it all over again.
Damage summary - the summer camp reported that my hand mixers "lights on fire". We've blown the fuses (more than once) using the microwaves. We've lost an oven due to catastrophic failure of the front panel and it looked like we'd ruined a blender, but I think we can extend its life into Term Two.
Supplies needed - besides consumables, I need mixing bowls, medium saucepans, spatulas, drinking glasses and oven mitts. And yarn. Lots and lots of yarn.
And next term - I'm hiding the knives until cooking lab days.
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