2011

This year I'm proud of...

...MJW, for kicking butt at work and getting to travel all over the world.

...Reddick, for (almost) learning how not to tackle people as they walk in the door and steal socks and for learning how to catch a frisbee and give a high five.

...Shanra, for being the best, and most patient, Maid of Honor for our almost existent wedding.

...my cousins, for graduating high school, making hockey headlines, being born, starting kindergarten and tackling through one of the worst broken arms in history.

                             

...myself, for making the decision to put my passion first and starting culinary school.

and most importantly...

...my parents, who you may not know, but accomplished one life's biggest achievements - retirement! As of January, they no longer own our family business and will be starting a new chapter in their life. It took a very long time and lots of hard work to get here and my sister and I could not be more proud. Cheers to them! 

Here's to 2012 which will hopefully be filled with lots of other achievements!

Phase Two Memories: Market Basket

One thing that is hard to work on in culinary school is creativity. We are there to learn classic techniques and recipes and not really how to expand with our own culinary creations. Once we got into Phase Two there was a little room to work with our creativity, but with kind guidelines and restrictions, of course. 

Every Friday we participated in Market Basket. Our teams would be given three ingredients, one for each course, and one day to create three dishes. Some of the ingredients included pears, salmon, monkfish, chocolate and mushrooms. The ingredients were usually something that we had worked with during the week so that we were somewhat familiar with it. While we were free to do whatever we wanted, we were highly encouraged to only attempt things that we have done before. The most successful dishes were often the ones that took a new spin on a classic French technique.

Thursday afternoons we were given the ingredients and free reign of the commissary. We had time to brainstorm with our team and order any items that we might need. As soon as it turned 8am on Friday morning we could get to work. We would have four hours to see if the recipes work, attempt plating and get ready for service.

Once the time came for service we would go back into the classroom where our judges were waiting: Chef Francois, Chef Patrice and a guest "celebrity" judge. This was the most nerve-wracking and exciting part. We had some really great judges come in for this exercise including L'Academie Alums and a chef from the White House. The teams were selected to go in random order. The first and second courses were served first and then we took a break before dessert. While each judge tasted the dishes we would wait patiently (and usually with sweaty palms and fast beating heart) for the judges reactions. Sometimes they were good...sometimes they were not so good. The most memorable reactions had to have been when food was spit out, food couldn't even get on to the fork and food couldn't be eaten because it was too hot. The last one actually was a very good thing. 

This was a really great exercise to prepare us for the honesty that is the kitchen. It also let someone else (professionals) taste our food and get a sense of where our seasoning levels were at. In school, seasoning is everything. We're taught to heavily season our food. This was something I'm still not adjusted to, but have gotten much better at. It's amazing to see one dish and have three different reactions: perfectly seasoned, not enough and too much.

Here are some pictures from the first Market Basket using our secret ingredients chocolate...

There was never really a "winner" but the judges were invited to tell us their favorite dishes. I kind of like hearing brutal honesty, even if it sucks sometimes, so this helped me develop a thicker skin when it comes to someone criticizing my food. I remember in Phase One thinking that I was going to be a nervous wreck over Market Baskets, but at the end, I think it's one of the things I am going to miss the most from Phase Two. 

 

Day 49: The Beginning of Phase Two

Three months ago we started Phase Two, meaning we're halfway through our time in the classroom. There are a few significant differences between Phase One and Phase Two:

• Our teams are set for four weeks. In Phase One we had different teams every day, now we work with the same people every day for a month.
• We start an hour earlier (but I've actually found myself getting there earlier than before).
• We have service. Meaning, instead of all of the courses being put on the table at once, we serve the front of the house (the staff) all three courses, one at a time.
• There is a heavier focus on plating, temperature and portion size. 

Instead of going day by day for you guys, I'm going to break down Phase Two into some of my favorite and not so favorite moments. I will say that I was a nervous wreck the first day. I found myself intimidated by the new teachers, system and ways of going about our day. In the end though, I had nothing to be scared of. Phase Two was a complete blast and I can't wait to relive it all with you guys as I tell you about it. For now, here are some pictures to kick it off!

December 12, 2011

Crap. It's been awhile, hasn't it? Hello December 12! Where has the time gone? 

The last month (well six months really) have been insane. Most of you know, and understand, and I'm really grateful for that. I feel awful that I haven't even told you guys one thing about Phase Two, or where I'm going for my externship...I didn't even blog about the biggest food holiday of the year. I'm awful like that. 

I'll leave it at this, all of the lack of blogging, sleep, working out and traveling is all worth it. I may be exhausted, out of shape and stressed most of the time, but when I look back at this year I know that's not what I'm going to think about. 

I'm going to think about making one of the craziest decisions of my life.

I'm going to be proud of myself for making this decision.

I'm going to think about the friends I've made at culinary school.

I'm going to think about the famous people I met this year. Tyler Florence, Anthony Bourdain, Ted Allen to name a few. I know, I haven't even told you guys about any of that yet!

I'm going to think about how nuts it was to squeeze an entire culinary education in in just six months because guess what, guys?!

I'm done with classes.

Weird, right?

In one week I'm going to start my six month externship. I'm nervous as all hell, but it's going to be really fun. 

So, you might be wondering where I'm going for my externship? It was a long and hard process finding a place to work. I'll share more about the process later, but for now, click here to find out where I'm going! And if you're in the DC area, come and check it out! 

I missed you guys...I promise I'll try and be a better blogger.