Foundations

I had my first class at culinary school last night: Foundations. It will cover everything from safety and sanitation to knife skills to stocks, sauces, and soups. The chef instructing the class is a crack up and seems very serious about the intensity of this course. His goal is to have us ready to work the line in a fine restaurant by the end of the trimester - a pretty lofty goal. There is a lot of information to be learned and skills to be practiced in each class. I'm very excited to be getting started and I will do my best to absorb every minute.

The first night was a lot of fun stories and information from the dean as well as getting the syllabus (the most bare bones syllabus I've ever seen) and general information about the class from the chef instructor. The next couple of classes will be about safety and sanitation, which means we will still be sitting in the classroom for quite a bit of the class duration. I'm really itching to get in the back and start cooking, but first things first. There will plenty of hours spent in the kitchen between this Foundations class as well as in my second class (tues/thurs): World Cuisine I.

It may be challenging at times, but I'm glad that I doubled up on classes. I want to completely immerse myself into the culinary world right now. Last night, after working a full day and going to school all evening, I went home and read food magazines for an hour until I couldn't keep my eyes open any more. I would love to start working in a kitchen alongside going to school but at the moment my income and benefits from my day job are too necessary. Hopefully by this time next year I will be working in a fine kitchen at night and continuing my classes during the day.

World Cuisine tonight! I can't wait!!