There's nothing I can do about it now, so I continue my dish as planned. I gently place the tamales onto the grill, careful to keep the corn casing intact. I cook them just long enough to get beautiful grill marks on each side, and then quickly return to my station. With four minutes left, I want my plates to be perfect. I transfer the dipping sauce into a squirt bottle and squeeze intricate starburst patterns onto the left side of each of my plates. I place the tamales on top of the sauce, careful to leave at least half of them on the dry portion of the plate. I portion the salad into the bowls, and then set them on the right side of the plates. A few moments after I finish drizzling the vinaigrette over the salad, Paul announces that our time is up.
“Leave your plates at your stations.
