The Past 100 Years

"Absence and Death are the same- only in death there is no suffering." --Theodore Roosevelt

To the remnant of my devoted readers;

The amount of time that I have NOT spent on this blog is completely gross, but I won't waste more of your time that I don't deserve with some paper-thin excuse.

The past couple weeks have consisted of completely monotonous jobs that are hardly worth blogging about, but hey, it's all I got.

During our prolonged absence, I've been boxing the rest of our Christmas cookies. This also entails searching every nook and cranny of the entire tech center building (oh, no... not just culinary, the whole building) for any and all of the rest of our Christmas cookies. But to look on the bright side, once they're done, they're done.

HALLELUJAH! THANK YOU, JESUS.

I've also been participating in some other extra credit projects. I worked a party for all of the secretaries in the Wayne/Westland school district.

Probably the easiest party in the history of Modern America.

AND, scored a thirteen dollar tip.

There was another party that I worked the last Friday before Christmas break.

It was a dinner party for the mentally handicapped citizens of Wayne.

WHAT A BLAST.

I'm telling you, they are possibly the sweetest people out there. So much fun.

I was also given a very generous tip for this party. Try $20. Chef Tony's too good to me.

And since then, I've been on break. And hating it.

I've never wanted to go back to school so badly in my life. The first actual day of break, I was so bored, I wasn't quite sure to do with myself.

Like, seriously. I had NO IDEA what to do.

It got better as the week went on, and got busier, but since Christmas is over, I have a feeling that this next week is going to take forever.

Oh, well. I suppose that I should stop complaining, and just enjoy it, but all I ever do is complain on this bog anyway. I'm sure you guys are use to it by now...

Love you all. Thanks for sticking with me, guys... :]

The Case of the Missing Crab.

"An unwatched pot boils immediately." H.F. Ellis

Dear Readers...

Today was rather uneventful, but I thought I'd just give you all a quick update.

I spent my morning battering and frying shrimp. It was considerably messier that I had first imagined that it would be, especially since we were in tighter quarters that usual.

But, as always, we made it work.

After we had finished and cleaned up, Chef Tony had me run around and do some other odd jobs. Then he informed me that he would be leaving, but he wanted me to make crab puffs.

Oh, boy.

I've made them (once) in the past, so I assured him that it would be fine.

So, I went about gathering all of my ingredients, and the first thing that I was worried about was (Obviously) the crab-meat. Chef Tony had told me to ask Chef Dave where he had put it, so I sent one of my toadies to figure out where it was. When Steve (toady) came back, he said that the crab was on the table, and proceeded to walk away.

Ok, that's fine. Just walk away. Whatever.

I looked on every single table in the entire freaking kitchen and finally spotted some.

SCORE.

I went to grab it, and Chef Dave simply told me not to use that crab, and there was some on my rack in the cooler.

Lies.

I searched high and low, practically combed the entire cooler, and couldn't find the dang stuff.

I pretty much gave it up after about a half an hour, and left to get dressed.

...chefs

Dreams.

"Dream no small dreams for they have no power to move the hearts of men" --Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

I love this quote. The kind of love that makes you feel fearless inside. The kind that makes you feel like anything is possible, and that nothing can stop you.

Being the wet blanket that I am, I usually dismiss quotes like this as rubbish. I usually say that they give me an unrealistic view of life as we know it. Sure, there's that occasional underdog that catches his lucky break, but what is that supposed to mean for the rest of us?

Should I continue do this the right way? Finish high school, go on to college, graduate, then what?

Of course I'd like to think that my dreams will move the hearts of men, but often times I view people's hearts as things too far beyond my reach.

...Ok, that's enough of that mess.

Oh, joy of joys! Holiday bake, in addition to baking for the holidays, has taken on a bit of a hot foods flavor. No pun intended.

This week, I've rolled meatballs, battered coconut chicken, whipped mashed potatoes, chopped vegetables, and today, made crab puffs.

To borrow the words from a Christmas song,

"Oh, what fun..."

Speaking of fun, I got to work a party last night.

Invite only.

The event was the Tastefest.

We got the the Hellenic Cultural Center at about 4:30, and set up our tables with a vast array of gorgeous French pastries. The star of which as a French Cocubush(

Every single person who came through the line had something to say about it.

We won the award for best table, and some of our students went up and danced.

I, however didn't.

1. I was in uniform

2. I don't dance.

But it was still fun. :]

Thanks for reading.

Postage... or the lack thereof.

"Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together." --Vincent van Gough

Patient Readers--

As you can probably tell, this blog has left some to be desired as of the last week.

Allow me to explain.

I have been keeping VERY busy with school (core subjects, that is) and other projects that consume pretty much all of my free time as of late.

Plus, with the holidays upon us, (Happy Channakah!:)) there is very little time that I have to update you all on what has been going on at Culinary.

In holiday bake, we haven't been doing much more than boxing countless dozens of Christmas cookies that are to be sold to the masses, and I am sure that this will continue for some time to come.

I haven't forgotten you.

Au revior mes amoures.

God Help Me.

"Action is the foundational key to all success." --Pablo Picasso

Well, I've officially made the decision to participate in Skills USA.

I'll be doing hot foods.

There's only one thing that I'm legitimately nervous about at this point.

My fear of taking action and/or messing up. This particular facet of my personality will not serve me well in the kitchen [or life, for that matter], so I'm going to need to shake it off sooner or later.

I guess that I've chosen sooner.

I'd ask you all to be in prayer with me about this. The actual training only lasts 2 weeks, so I'm a little nervous about that as well.

Thank you all for reading, and I hope you all had a great holiday!

*kisses*

Change of Face

Hey Everyone.

I'm sure that most of you have realized the changes that I've been making on my blog.

Some of them subtle, some not.

This is one of those not subtle ones, but I have hopes of keeping it this way.

And about the name, it's a joke between my uncle and I, and if I was going to change the title, I figured that the background needed to be a little more dramatic as well.

So just so you all know, it's still me! Don't worry. :]

MORE PUMPKIN.

"Monday's are the potholes of life." --Tom Wilson

Seeing as it's been a week since the "Day of Defeat", I have sufficiently recovered, and throughly embraced this Monday.

My day in itself was fine, but I observed other people who looked like me last week.

I was assigned to make more--yes, more--pumpkin rolls.

Seriously.

I've seen, smelled, and eaten enough pumpkin to last me till next year. Thanks, though.

I gathered all of my ingredients, and then realized that the kitchen was in a mad frenzy over the 20-quart mixer bowls. Apparently every last culinary student was after one, and I found myself at the end of a very long line.

"Well, screw that."

I went to Chef Tony to tell him of my dilemma, and to explain why I couldn't start for a while.

On Friday, he gave me this long lecture about how even though he wasn't always watching me, he was always tracking my "time on task". I wanted to let him know, so I wasn't accused of dawdling.

When I went to tell him, he immediately assigned me to help Kim make pumpkin cheesecake. She then reported that Chef Tony had been yelling at her all day, and she was glad that I had come to help her.

When A-shift left, there was a sudden clearing in the air. I looked at the pot sink, and there, shining, was a whole mess of 20 quart mixing bowls!!!

HALLELUJAH!

I picked back up where I had left off with the pumpkin rolls. I threw it all into my freshly washed bowl (IN THE RIGHT ORDER, might I add.), buzzed it around, and before I knew it, I had a lovely, silky batter.

I went to go and prepare my pans for the batter, and left my batter in the mixer. I didn't really think much of it.

I finished up with my pans, and made my way back to the mixer. But when I got there, I was confused.

Standing in front of the mixer that I had been using, was Kyle.

I will describe Kyle to you as the "class clown, sixteen-year-old, doesn't-really-know-when-to-shut-up" type.

Anyway, he was standing in front of my mixer... with a bowl of cake mix in his hand.

He was pouring HIS cake mix into MY batter.

I looked at him, and he looked at me... a pause, and then, the moment of dreadful realization.

After shock had set in, he asked:

"Oh, my Gosh. Is this your's?"

"Yup."

Now, I have to let you all know that I was NOT mad. At all. Merely surprised. I just really didn't know what to say, until I looked at Chef Tony.

"I'm not gonna tell him." I said.

Seriously, I don't think that I've ever seen a more anxiously distraught expression in my life than what was on his face at that moment. He was frantically muttering to himself, unable to process what he was going to do in the next few moments of his life. For all we knew, they could be his last.

I felt so bad for him, that I almost said "Never mind, I will tell him." but I didn't.

Well, he did tell Chef Tony, and then he (Chef) called me over.

"Are you ready to kick someone's *censored*?" He asked.

"No." I answered.

"You realize that he just ruined your batter, right?"

"Yup."

"OK, go make another."

Kyle made a mistake today.

Just like I did last week.

Anise Biscotti

"When a man's stomach is full, it makes no difference whether he is rich or poor." --Euripides

I know that you all are sitting on the edge of your seats, wondering if I did go through with the lethal injection or not.

Well, fear not.

I have resolved to press on, and have emerged, enlightened.

Good cooks have bad days.

Thank you all for you kind comments, I appreciate them all.

The past couple days have been a little bumpy, but mere nothings in comparison.

And also, I have witnessed others having difficulty as well. Not that I enjoyed their struggles, but they helped me to realise that I'm not the only one.

I'll give you the last week (since Monday, at least) in a nutshell.

I've probably made enough sweets to give a full-grown man a heart attack, or two.

Hey, it's the Holidays, whaddya want?

I made about two doubled recipes of sugar cookie dough, which equals out to an UNGODLY amount of cookies. Also several large pumpkin rolls with a luscious cream cheese icing inside, and dusted with powdered sugar. Sublime

On Wednesday, Chef Tony asked Lydia and I if we would stay with C-shift, and help out with a fundraiser at the school. When we had finished with our own B-shift obligations, Chef Dave asked us to work the Front Line.

Dumb question.

"Actually, Chef Dave, I think that I'd rather sit in dish tank, and wash dishes until 2:00."

I think not.

I did work the front line, and throughly enjoyed it.

It was nice to see all of the "fruits of my labor", if you will. A and B-shifts do all of the food prep, and we were able to serve it.

Kind of awesome.

Thank you, everyone who has taken time to read. It really does make my day to see all of your supportive comments. :]

The Day of Defeat

"If you live on doughnuts, rest assured, you will not do well."-- C. Din

Well, just so everyone knows, the culinary honeymoon is officially over.

I still love it, of course, but yesterday was probably the worst day that I've had for a very long time.

Yesterday was the day that I started with Chef Tony.

The day began with taking a cookie inventory.

If I had to decide the worst job ever, it would be inventory. Any inventory. It is the single most torturous job that anyone one person can endure. Within Culinary, I suppose.

I should've known then that the rest of the day wasn't going to get much better.

After I had counted 1,519 thumb-print, jam-filled, cookies, Chef Tony told me to find a recipe for Raspberry Swirl Brownies. I then searched his clandestine-labeled index, and combed through the entire folder, twice, I told him I couldn't find it.

Of course.

Five minutes later, he came out into the kitchen, and hands me a recipe, and told me to get started.

I took the recipe, and looked down at it.

There wasn't a word of direction.

So I started by gathering my ingredients, which took way longer than expected. I guess you can't really ask much of a kitchen full of students, who half the time don't even know what they're doing.

Whatever.

Finally got started, and Chef Tony came over to see where I was at.

So we were talking, and I went to grab the flour, and poured it into my mixer... before I finished with my liquid ingredients.

The product was the stickiest, chocolatiest, gooiest, lumpiest, mess that I had ever seen.

Aubry Gross was not a happy cook.

Chef Tony told me to still use it, and that it would be ok.

I finished making them, and set the pans aside to be baked. I then realized what a mess I had made. My uniform was trashed, my station was in complete tumult, and the bell was ringing.

What the heck.

I cleaned up my station, and got dressed, and left in a foul mood.

It didn't help that that ridiculous Christmas song "Feliz Navidad" was on the radio when I got into the car. For the second time that day.

Really?

When I got home, I attempted to write a quick blog to all of you, but I was in such emotional duress, that I didn't get much done before I had to go and get a ROOT CANAL.

By the time that we finally got to the doctor's office, I was asking for the lethal injection.

Ugh, it pains me to even think about it...

Thanks for reading.

Rolling...

"If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world." --J. R. R. Tolkien

On the whole, a good day.

It started out with putting chicken on a stick, which is harder than it sounds.

What I had to do was to take pieces of sliced chicken breast and thread them through a long bamboo skewer. Now if they had been chicken tenders, it would've been easier, because they're thicker. But hey, you work with what you've got.

After I did a couple, though, I got the hang of it, and just started banging 'em out.

Between four of us, we did about 200.

When we finished, I put them in the cooler, and did some other odd jobs, and cleaned up. Chef Dave then had me help another student bag sliced ham.

After I finished ( the other kid had to leave), I kind of just stood around until one of my buddies needed some help on a recipe. He needed me to strain some sauce, and while I was doing this, Chef Dave came over to talk to me.

He asked if Chef Tony was talking to me about Skills USA, and he told me a little more about the competition, and told me about when he had done it in high school. He said that he thought I did really good work. He also said that he wanted to teach me how to cut up a whole chicken (a second year student assignment), and sort of "see whatcha got," type of deal.

"Sounds great!" I said.

I finished straining the sauce, and Chef Dave came over and gave Josh and I some concentrated actual teaching with the recipe we were doing. It was really cool and fun.

Yeah, It was a really great day.

Thanks for reading.

"Like a G"

"Man is born to eat." -- Craig Claiborne

Sorry it's been a while. Most of what I have to write about happened on Friday, but I neglected to blog.

What the heck kind of logic is that?!

Anyway. Not much happened on Friday until about 20 minutes before I left school. Chef Tony approached me and asked if I would like to join a team that he was organizing to work directly under his direction. He said that we would be doing a lot of baking for Thanksgiving and other holidays.

He also wanted me to compete in a nationwide competition called Skills USA, which is kind of a big deal.

On Monday, I told him that I would like to accept.

I thought he would've wanted me to start immediately, but he told me that he wanted to wait for a little bit. "Maybe next week,"

"Great," I thought. I was pretty sure that I had blown my chances. Maybe if I had accepted right away, I would've had better luck.

I can pretty much only trust that he really does want me to join him, and that he'll come for me when the time is right.

Until then, I'm with Chef Dave. Today I made mushroom pilaf, and helped with making the twice-baked potatoes. I also washed pots and pans as well.

Maybe hoping for a little extra credit?

Maybe?

Please?

For anyone who hasn't had twice-baked potatoes, you have no idea what you are missing.

DEE-LISH.

So now, there's just the wait....

I don't exactly know when it is that I'll be starting with Chef Tony, but you guys will certainly get an earful when I do.

Thanks for reading. :]

For the Love of Coconut.

"...cassoulette, like life itself, is not so easy as it seems." --Paula Wolfert.

Day one in Hot Foods.
Hooraayyy!!!
What I've been waiting for the ENTIRE TIMMEE!!!

I came into the kitchen, and practically skipped to Chef Dave, and asked what he wanted me to do.
He then assigned me to collect 25 carrots. To peel, and slice. Most of you are probably like "Wow, this girl is nuts." or "What a fruitcake." but I love it.

After I had taken care of the carrots, I helped one of the other students assemble Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches.
GOOD STUFF.

After I had done this, A-shift was gone.
Nothing against A-shift.
Heck I think they're great, but after they leave, there's much more room in the kitchen, and it's easier to figure out from the teachers what they need.

SPEAKING OF WHICH... Chef Dave is officially the absolute hardest person to get directions from. Granted, he does run more than one station, but yeah. That was probably the thing that was the hardest to adapt to today.

ANYWAY, after A-shift left, I was assigned to fry the coconut chicken.

To be completely honest, I ruled the fryer today. Chef Dave told me what they were supposed to look like, and I made them.
Sublime.

Also, I have to tell you all. On Monday night, for Michelle-My-Belle's birthday, we went to Michael Symon's restaurant, Roast, in Detroit. I would highly recommend. I had the Beef Cheek Pierogi and the Roast Chop Salad. Very, Very, Good.

Sorry that I seem kind of like a kid in a candy store, but I pretty much am. XD

Thanks for reading everyone. <3

PTC

'There is no more appealing sight on earth than the sight of a woman making dinner for someone that she loves." --Thomas Wolf

It's that time of year again. The time that every student with s reputation at stake dreads. Parent-teacher conferences.
My mother attended a conference with Chef Tony on Thursday night. She offered to take me with her, but I declined as graciously as I could.
>She was running a little late at work, so she left from there straight to the school, then I met her at Bible study later.
I think it would be safe to say that I was fairly nervous.
When Michelle and I arrived at Bible study, and my mom was already there.
It was a sign. Whether good or bad, I couldn't tell.
As nonchalantly as I could muster, I asked her what he said.
Essentially, Chef Tony said that he really likes my work. He said that I was doing really well. My mom told him that I was really enjoying the class, but I was looking for more of a challenge, and that I had some experience under my belt.
Well, he definitely took those pieces of information under advisement.
When I came in on Friday morning, Chef Tony called me over.
"Aubry, as soon as you wash up, you're with me."
SCORE. Way to put in a good word for me, Mumsy.
What he had me do first was decorate some orange-glazed cookies with white and milk chocolate.I must say, they looked pretty darn good when I was done. Just sayin'.
After I finished this, he taught me how to make his signature pumpkin cheesecake.DEELISH!!! Not to mention, gorgeous.
Hope I'm ready for whatever's in store for Tuesday!!! Thanks for reading. <3

Creme de la Creme

"I am not a glutton, I am an explorer of food." --Julia Child

Well, as you can probably tell from my lack of bloggage, I haven't been at school for the past two days. I was stuck at home with a harrowing toothache. It started over the weekend, and carried over the beginning of the week. I was able to get to the dentist yesterday, and got some answers.

I was happy to be at school again today, though. I was getting pretty bored at home, so I was ready for some pastry ballgame.

Chef Mary was also glad that I was back, and put me to work pretty much at once.
She had me whip a quart of cream and then fold it into some Bavarian cream.

Just a clarifier.

Bavarian cream is pretty much the butter of the gods. And once it's mixed with whipped cream... GAME OVER.

After the creams were combined, Ashley piped it onto eclaires that I had cut. To be completely honest, they were pretty gorgeous. I envied those who were going to eat them.

Ashley and I went on break to stew about the coveted pastries.

We came back to find MORE cream.

Coconut cream.

Like a balmy island getaway.

PLEASE.

This cream was left over from coconut cream pies that Chef Tony made, and Chef Mary decided that we needed to get rid of it.

Someday, I hope that I'm as objective about as she is about food. *sigh*

We paired the left-over cream with a pineapple up-side-down cake.

Can you say divine.

All you need is a beautiful Hawaiian in a grass skirt to come and deliver it to you. It'd be a done deal.

By the time I was done piping the coconut onto the cakes, it was past time for me to go and get dressed. I farewelled the cakes and eclaires, and left.

Thanks everyone, for reading. :]

Love you.

Endless Boxes...

"A cookbook is only as good as it's worst recipe." --Julia Child

I'm sure it would be safe to say that I have spent a considerable amount of time in the back store room at school.

Some days it's rotating stock, today it was organizing boxes.

Oddly enough, I was happy to do the job.

Chef Mary took me aside, and asked me to do it. She said that one of her reasons for asking me was because she knew that she wouldn't have to "hold my hand". Trying not to let that go to my head. :]

Of course, that particular chore sounds more glamorous (well, as glamorous as pantry work can be.) than it really was. I spent the better part of about an hour and a half trying to find a home for each of the boxes. Rather tedious work.

But I had a considerable amount of visitors, which made the job a little bit better. Some of them needed help finding the coarse sugar, or ginger, which gave me a break every once in a while.

When I finally got finished sorting the plethora of boxes, I went into the kitchen, and Chef Tony asked me to help another student make some doughnut holes.

She had the port-a-fryer hooked up in the classroom on the counter. Kinda weird. =/

My job was to take the freshly-fried dough, and roll it in either cinnamon sugar or powdered sugar.

We made A TON. Chef Tony said that they were a practice for when we had to make 8,000 of them next week.

HOLY COW. That's a lot of freaking doughnuts.

So, that was my Thursday. Thanks for reading. <3

Apples, Delicious Apples.

"The only time to eat diet food is while you're waiting for the steak to cook." --Julia Child

Bake Shop; Bake Shop; the adventures we have!

Well, today my morning was bombarded with Apples. Apple cakes, apple pies, apples compote, all of them simply marvelous. I've rediscovered my love affair with the blessed fruit that had left off last year.

They are, in a word, scrumptious.

The day started with a fellow junior baker (who's last name is, get this, McIntosh:)) and I rolling pie dough, which was slightly more successful than last time. I then filled them with sliced apples with some cinnamon sugar and flour.

Chef Mary needed some other help with some odd jobs around the bake shop that I busied myself with until A-shift left. When they did, I was the only student left in the bake shop, which greatly aided the communication flow for the last hour between Chef Mary and I.

To be honest, I don't think that she gets upset when I keep asking her what she wants me to do. I just think that sometimes she needs to be refocused. Don't we all?

We soon found out that some apple cakes that had been made earlier in the morning did NOT turn out. They tasted really good, but weren't presentation-worthy. We decided that in order to salvage what we could of the cakes, I would make an apple compote to be served over it. The idea of it was already melting in my mouth.

I had never made a compote before, but I had seen them made (on tv.), so I gave it a shot. C'mon, how bad could it be?

For everyone who doesn't know what a compote is, the one that I made was basically a cooked-down mixture of apples, cinnamon, sugar, flour, and water. Its positively ambrosial.

Well, after what seemed like an eternity of cooking down of all the ingredients, it was ready for the oven.

Sweet Success.

Thanks for reading, everyone.

Oh, Storage.

"How can a nation be called great if it's bread tastes like kleenex?" --Julia Child

Well, today was grossly uneventful.

Our duty in bakeshop was to organize the back dry foods store room.

By the time we were done, I was so freaking sick of being back there, I could've puked.

We also discovered that our two week rotation actually starts this week. So, essentially, last week counted for nothing. That's really irritating. >:[

Whatever. there's not really anything else to write about. I just didn't want you to think that I forgot about you guys. :]

Love you all. Thanks for reading.

Eggs, Eggs, and More Eggs.

"If you're afraid of butter, use cream." --Julia Child

Bake shop started with Chef Mary on Monday. Not a whole lot was accomplished. We just had a tour of the bake shop, and learned how to work the industrial washer and dryer (which could probably hold several small children inside the drum).

Today, however, we did WAY more. I think that the reason was because the Cafe opens tomorrow, and we need to have desserts to sell.

Anyway, when I first came in, I mixed a custard for bread pudding.

After this, Chef Nate needed some dessert for the teachers, so Chef Mary asked me to put chocolate mousse on some dark chocolate cake that she had gotten out. So I was like "Ok, no biggie..."

Oh, no. Biggie.

I mean BIGGIE.

When I pulled the mousse out of the reach-in cooler, I thought I was going to die.

It was love at first lustful sight.

"Please, Chef Mary, please ask me to pipe this luscious cloud-like mousse onto these pieces of cake, and NOT EAT ANY OF IT. That would work out great for me."

I remained strong until I was done piping, and transferring that scrumptious chocolate dream to a different container.

When I took the original container to the dish tank, I sneaked a finger-full. It was pure bliss. I now know that I am going into the right profession.

Also...

When my mother got home, I she asked me to make some homemade applesauce. I had done this many times before, so I peeled my apples, diced them, and threw them into the crock pot with some cinnamon on top. When I went to check on it, I removed the lid, and breathed in.

Ladies and Gentlemen, fall has officially begun, and I for one am STOKED.

Thanks for reading. :]

Table Settings

"All happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast." --John Gunther

To be quite honest, I don't think that I have ever folded so many napkins as I have today in my ENTIRE LIFE.

EVER.

It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, it was just crazy!

I was assigned to Chef Nate again today, but I didn't work in the Skills Grill. Josh Hall (one of my classmates) and I did dining room set-up (which was pretty much code for "you're going to be folding napkins until you turn 100"). We also set the tables with flatware and glassware.

This is a good sign, people. The cafe will be opening soon!!

Good Times.

Afterwards, I helped Chef Tony pull together a vegetable tray. He was very impressed by my extensive home-schooled vocabulary. ;] Thanks Mom.

Sorry that these last few posts have been so short. We haven't really done very much this far. But fear not, for on Monday, I start in Bake Shop with Chef Mary. And that, my friends, promises to be interesting.

Thanks for reading! Talk to you Monday. :]

Pick me! I have Skills!

"Life itself is a proper binge."-- Julia Child

Day one in the Skills Grill.

There's not really too much to write about today. We started in the Skills Grill with Chef Nate, and it went pretty well. I sometimes felt during the day that there wasn't enough to do for the amount of people that we had.

A few "too many cooks in the kitchen".

I worked on the line serving fries, and when I grabbed the fry-shuffler thing I was confused. Sure I had seen them used at McDonald's and other fast food restaurants, but I had never actually used one before. I was slightly embarrassed to have to ask for help, but I did anyway.

I also secured my first burn on the job. Call me crazy, but I have a strange feeling of accomplishment because of it, although it's rather small.

All in all, a good day. I'm becoming more and more accustomed to the kitchen, and where things go, and how things happen, which makes everyone's job easier.

Fire drills.

"So long as you have food in your mouth, you've solved all the problems for the time being."-- Franz Kafkan

Day two with Chef Dave = PURE AWESOMENESS.

When I came in, A-shift was practicing taking a hotel pan full of soup out of the steam box. Thrilling, really.

After this, we went to the slicer. Each one of us had to take it apart, wipe it down, and put it back together. At first, I thought I was going to throw up. There is probably almost nothing that scares me so much as a electric slicer. There was a warning label with a lovely picture on the side showing a hand with all of the fingers cut off and the nubs left bleeding.

I nearly fainted.

I was the last to come forward, and right as I was in the middle of trying to wipe it down, a siren started going off, and there was a light that was flashing.

Of course, a fire drill.

Who does that? Can't they see I'm in the middle of trying to conquer one of my biggest fears??!

FORGET ABOUT IT! No respect.

Once the entire school had traipsed their way to the lawn, teachers had to make sure that everyone was accounted for. What the heck.

After this whole ordeal was over, we came back into the kitchen, and resumed our work as if nothing had happened. I finished [praise God] putting the slicer back together, and went to a station for some more lessons in peeling and slicing.

Our next victim was an unsuspecting potato. After it was thoroughly and meticulously peeled, Chef Dave had us slice them into shoestring fry shapes, and then dice them.

We then took the carrot that we peeled yesterday, and cut it into thirds. By the time that everyone had this done [which ended up being a while], A-shift had to leave.

Once they were gone, we continued to slice the carrots into smaller slices.

I was sure that I was going to slicing carrots into a fine julienne for the rest of my young life.

When we had finished, Chef Dave showed us the proper way to core, and dice/mince an onion. As soon as we had finished with the onion, we cleaned up for C-shift, and got dressed.

To be honest, it really is so amazing. Truly worth the wait.

Thanks for reading.

:]

FINALLY.

“For fish to taste right, it must swim three times. Once in water, once in butter, and once in wine.“ --Polish Proverb

Sorry everyone for not writing yesterday. I know I kind of built it up, then dropped you flat. I was dropped quite flat, myself.

I went into school yesterday expecting to get my rotation, and get started in my station. This unfortunately didn't happen. Big surprise. I spent the majority of class time organizing the myriads of gloves and washing dishes. Needless to say, I was not happy.

We did, however, get temporary rotations for about the next week or so.
I was assigned to the Hot Foods area with Chef Dave. I was a little nervous about this, because I didn't really know what to think about him. I quickly discovered that he is completely awesome. He's a really excellent teacher, and I appreciate his style.
He taught us about developing an objective palate, how to cut and slice celery, and how to peel a carrot and an onion. All very important.

After A-shift left, we got an 8 minute break. When we got back to Chef Dave, we asked him what was next. He informed us that we would be, essentially teaching the other B-shifters (they had a math class) what they had missed in class.
So, we did our best to recreate what Chef Dave had done, with some of his help. By the time that we had finished, it was time to get dressed, and get ready to leave. Not bad for a first day.
Thanks for reading. <3

Jewish Town

"One of the very nicest parts about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is that we're doing, and devote our attention to eating." Luciano Pavarotti

Sorry, everyone that it's been a while since I've had anything to write. The last week or so has been kind of been rather hectic in trying to readjust to actually having a set schedule.
These last two weeks at school have been good, though.
I would just like to say that I am very glad to be in B-shift. We are slowly getting more and more freedom in the kitchen, and because of the advantageousness of our time frame, we're in the kitchen more than A-shift.

Although, we're not getting more instruction, I'd rather be serving food on the line or washing dishes than sitting in the classroom.
In the past week we've done a fair amount of bookwork. We did some tests on sanitation, hygiene, and kitchen safety, along with a math assessment test. We tend to do these earlier in the day, and come into the kitchen for an hour after A-shift leaves.
Two of the main things that I've been doing are serving on the Skills Grill line (supervised by Chef Nate), or working in the bake shop with Chef Mary.

The Skills Grill is essentially a hot food line, similar to what you would find in a cafeteria. Except for the food is better. For example, the first day that I served, the menu was prime rib (which was so tender that it was falling apart as I was trying to serve it. SO APPETIZING.), rice pilaf, and steamed cauliflower with red bell peppers. Today, it was roasted chicken, scalloped potatoes, and carrots. There's also a full beverage bar, two kinds of smoothies, and a soup of the day. DELISH.

In the bake shop with Chef Mary, we've been making yeast rolls, decorating pastries, and rolling cookie dough.

When I'm not busy at either one of these jobs, I'm usually in the dish tank or at the pots and pans sink. It seems to be my calling in life, as much as I'd like to escape it. :/
Just kidding. Like I said, I'd rather wash dishes than sit in the classroom.

There was a rumor circulating today that said that we start in the kitchen on Monday. If this is true, GET STOKED, cause I know I will be.

Thanks for taking the time to read, you're awesome. :]

Jewish Town

"One of the very nicest parts about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is that we're doing, and devote our attention to eating." Luciano Pavarotti

Sorry, everyone that it's been a while since I've had anything to write. The last week or so has been kind of been rather hectic in trying to readjust to actually having a set schedule.

These last two weeks at school have been good, though.

I would just like to say that I am very glad to be in B-shift. We are slowly getting more and more freedom in the kitchen, and because of the advantageousness of our time frame, we're in the kitchen more than A-shift.

Although, we're not getting more instruction, I'd rather be serving food on the line or washing dishes than sitting in the classroom.

In the past week we've done a fair amount of bookwork. We did some tests on sanitation, hygiene, and kitchen safety, along with a math assessment test. We tend to do these earlier in the day, and come into the kitchen for an hour after A-shift leaves.

Two of the main things that I've been doing are serving on the Skills Grill line (supervised by Chef Nate), or working in the bake shop with Chef Mary.

The Skills Grill is essentially a hot food line, similar to what you would find in a cafeteria. Except for the food is better. For example, the first day that I served, the menu was prime rib (which was so tender that it was falling apart as I was trying to serve it. SO APPETIZING.), rice pilaf, and steamed cauliflower with red bell peppers. Today, it was roasted chicken, scalloped potatoes, and carrots. There's also a full beverage bar, two kinds of smoothies, and a soup of the day. DELISH.

In the bake shop with Chef Mary, we've been making yeast rolls, decorating pastries, and rolling cookie dough.

When I'm not busy at either one of these jobs, I'm usually in the dish tank or at the pots and pans sink. It seems to be my calling in life, as much as I'd like to escape it. :/

Just kidding. Like I said, I'd rather wash dishes than sit in the classroom.

There was a rumor circulating today that said that we start in the kitchen on Monday. If this is true, GET STOKED, cause I know I will be.

Thanks for taking the time to read, you're awesome. :]

The First Week.

"Food is essential to life, therefore, make it good."

-- S. Truett Cathy

If I had to describe the first week of Culinary Arts School, it would have to be Anticlimactic.

I'll give a brief description of the structure of things before I dive into the actual drudgery.

There are shifts of students who arrive in the morning. A-shift arrives at 7:30, and leaves at 10:05. B-shift comes precisely [except for not really. There are rumors that the bus driver stops for coffee and doughnuts] at 8:20, and leaves by 11:05. Lydia {a friend of mine who is taking the class as well. We carpool.] and I are in B-shift.

SO, all that to say, Lydia and I came in at about 8:10, and found a place to sit. There were several teacher-looking individuals who were bumbling around the classroom, shuffling and handing out paperwork.

My respective teachers are:

Chef Tony: Head Chef, portly, firm, but kind, has a genuine interest for the welfare of his students, does very well at his job.

Chef David: Head Chef, tall, slim, mysterious, to be honest, I'm not quite sure what I think of him yet.

Chef Mary: Instructor, short [lengthwise], hardworking, pretty much awesome, makes an effort to relate to students. I really like her.

Chef Nate: Instructor, young, handsome, regular subject of conversation among the girl students, fairly witty, and nice enough, I suppose.

Ms. D: For all intensive purposes, the secretary. She handles all of our paperwork. Usually rather frazzled and scattered.

So, I received my forms and filled them out. The basic info; Name, Birthday, Address, Parent's names, Deepest fear, Most embarrassing moment... the usual. :]

After everyone finished, we continued to sit -without teachers, this time- and wait for some sort of direction. This, I'm afraid, never came. The bell rang, and I left, disillusioned.

The rest of the week was pretty much the same. I came in hopeful every morning, only to be let down.

Maybe the next couple weeks will be better.

Huser-Bob

"Cooking is love. It should be entered in with abandon, or not at all." --Harriet Van Horne

Bonjour Readers!

I'll start this post off by saying THANK YOU for stopping by, and putting some coins in my love bank by reading what I have to write.

I really appreciate it.

Grazi.

Just so we're all on the same page, I'll give an overview of what I'm going to be up to this school year, and what the bulk of this blog will be about.

This year, in addition to my regular schooling, I've been given the chance to to take an assortment of cooking classes at a local career center. This program is designed for high school students who are serious about a career in the food service industry. It's set up to equip these students with the skills and knowledge necessary for such a vocation.

It's a two-year program that I am planning on being involved in until I graduate.

The reason that I've told you all this and am writing this blog in the first place is for you to share in my journey, and also to chronicle my experiences as I make my own way in the world of food.

BUT

I want to make it perfectly clear that nobody should feel obligated to read if you have more important things to do. But if you're looking for an update on my life, and want something more than what facebook had to offer, this should be your place to find them.

So, thanks again for your support by reading.

I'll tell you about my first few days at school as soon as I can.

TI AMO