So That's It!

January 10th 2009 until August 30th 2009.

That was Culinary School.

What seemed like something that was going to last a LONG time, went in a flash of medium diced potatoes, awesome croissants, french, spanish, italian and asian traditional dishes and a ton of foie gras and bacon with a group of great instructors.

First of all I would like to thank my instructors and some that were "around" to lay down some knowledge as well:

Chef Ted (Mod 1 and 2): The BEST MOD 1&2 instructor I could have asked for. He was like a drill instructor since day one. Not because he was an ass, because he wanted you to do it right. Ok is not good enough. Perfect is CLOSE, but you can do better. Could talk all day, but he was great and that is that.

Chef Allen (Mod 3): This man has so much knowledge stuck in his head that you could listen for days. If you want it, he is willing to give it to you. Taught me a ton about regional cooking and even trumped Chef Teds' fix for a broken Hollandaise sauce. PS, I still want that mythical "NO STIR" Risotto recipe damnit!

Chef Jeff (Mod 4): Pastry. You are a cruel cruel thing. This is the one mod I was dreading the most. OK, everything is yummy and delicious but it is also INCREDIBLY FRUSTRATING! Icing cakes made me want to punch myself in the face. It have a FIRM grasp on how to do the basics, but I also understand why the professional pastry class is almost as long as the professional culinary class. Great teacher, nice dude and you are lucky if you get him.

Chef Chris (Mod 5): One thing. Make it beautiful. It seems like such a bland blanket statement to say but after a little while . . . you get it. Make food, enjoy doing it and what comes out WILL be beautiful. Every day in the kitchen for this guys is better than the last and he makes you feel the same way. As great a chef as he is, the stuff I learned from him was not so much technique but attitude and work ethic. Always learn, always try something new and never be afraid of your instincts.

Secondary thanks to Chef James (ICEs' own CHOPPED champ) who destroyed me with skill when we were doing our plating in Mod 3. Came in, made a new sauce from MY sauce, re-cut the protein I had made, plated the polenta and basically showed me that food IS/IS NOT art and I have to look at it like that. You gotta see how you want to eat it, not the other way around. Chef Laurie, I am glad we were the first class you ghosted before you started at ICE, those little tod bits of knowledge along Mod 3 were great. Chef Andy, I appreciate your help in guidance in the Food Network stuff and getting us all the extra opportunities around town.

The sheer amount of food I have prepared in the past 9 months BOGGLES my mind when I really sit down and look at it. 7 binders FULL of recipes. In condensing them this past week, it has taken more than 3 4-inch binders to consolidate them. It is almost like cooking your way through 5 cookbooks in 9 months. Feels like MORE!

The next few posts I am going to post by breakdowns of each of the modules. What I learned, what I liked and what I still would like to get into.

But first, GRADUATION!

Dream Team: Jack, Molly, Scott, Ashley, David (CHEF CHRIS) and Me

I partnered up with my most like minded classmate, Scott Sykes. He likes to same food I do, we have the same work ethic and he is good at what he does as well. After a few brainstorming sessions we got our menu together.

- Beef Tenderloin with a Bourbon Mustard sauce
- Roasted Asparagus with Horserasdish Sabayone with a folded-in White Pepper Whipped Cream topped with Fresh Bacon Lardons
- Sweet Potato Puree with Molassas Marshmallow Streak
- Chips and Dip for Desssert - Churro Style Tortilla Chips, Sweet Heat Salsa(Strawberry, Raspberry, Apple) and UnGuac(Lemon curd with Green Whipped Cream)

SO MUCH YUM! Beef, Sauce, Sweet Potato, Asparagus, BACON and Sabayone.

And that was it. The food went like CRAZY, our table had a line all 2 and a half hours. If I could have brought some home/back to work I would have.

I am honestly going to miss alot of the people in my class. Of course everyone at my table, yeah "dream team", and I am going to try to keep contact as best I can. There are a few people that I really REALLY never have to see again. I would caution you to ever even GO to the restuarants they are associated with.

If this course has taught me anything, it has taught me to cook with passion, confidence and a sense of urgency. Some individuals never found those aspects to their cooking and I will wager HEAVILY that they never will. It really does amaze me that some people never "got it" no matter how hard the Chef Instructors drilled it into their heads. Prep your food, get your gear together and just cook. Not rocket science, but I guess that is why people go to school for it. Some people have it, some people don't and some just never will.

I am not one of those and I hope I never am.