Day twelve: First, I was evacuated …
It’s the wee hours in the morning. Husband is fast asleep. Cat is fast asleep. I am fast asleep. Then a voice, louder than any voice I have ever heard before, screams at me. First thought: Why the hell is the radio set so loudly? Second thought: Why the hell is the radio going off [...]
Day eleven: Today I done good, sort of
Today, motorcycle chef, in her wisdom (and I mean that literally) had us cook without our recipe cards in hand. Did I mention that panic ran through the classroom with the snap and power of a mean streak of electricity? See, we were clinging to our recipe cards the way a wee toddler clings to [...]
Day ten: Soup’s on
This week we are making soup. All types of soup. So much soup, in fact, that if I see another bowlful, I will be quite ill. Not that I don’t like soup, mind you. Just, well, a week solid of the stuff is enough to last a body for quite some time. Today, I want [...]
Day nine: Meet the key culinary school players
Culinary students are an interesting bunch. And, from vegan guy to complaining girl to sweet line cook, I think it is time you met enough of them to get a taste (if you’ll forgive the pun) for the type of person who attends culinary school.
Day eight: You’ll roux the day
Rain today, rain tomorrow, rain all this week. So perfect timing that we are learning how to make wonderful soups this week. And learn I am doing, from how to make roux to how to make a truly spectacular stock to how to make an amazing veloute that, it turns out, is stupid simple and [...]
Day seven: My most nerve-wracking day, yet
Wanna know how nerve wracking? Let’s put it this way. I woke up every other hour last night, running what we have to cook today over and over again in my head. See, today we are cooking not one, not two, not even three, but four dishes. But that’s not my big fear. Today, we [...]
Day six: Early in, early out
Today, and today only, we were invited to eat lunch in the school dining room. To accommodate this change in our schedule, the school asked us to come in an hour earlier than usual. We are exchanging sleep for food. And what food it was.
Day five: From quitting to quizzing
So last night I settled down to read what must have been a least nine thousand assigned pages in my textbook when I hit page, oh, seven, and realized there was no way I could possibly memorize the 47 or so terms on every page. Tears, yes, of course, ensued. Husband let me cry it [...]
Day four: And if you thought the heat was on yesterday, today I cooked
The day started, as usual, with a two-hour lecture. I have learned that the trick is to let whatever the motorcycle-chef says to just wash over me and seep in. Sometimes she talks about her menopause. Sometimes she talks about administrative details. And sometimes, just sometimes, she lets incredibly smart tips fall, like pocket-change from [...]
Day three: The heat is on
“Cooking. It’s all about heat control,” Motorcycle-riding chef. Today is the day where I get introduced to four interesting starches and learn five of the best and handiest cooking tips, ever. It is for those tips that I live.
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