Archive for the Life as a Culinary Student Category

Lessons 81-90: From Poaching to Plating

I’ll be the first one to admit it. I’ve never met a dessert I didn’t like. From cream puffs and crepes to marshmallows and macaroons, if the

Life as a Culinary Student

No Comments

Lessons 71-80: Pastry and Patience

If I’ve learned one thing so far about pastry and baking, it’s patience. I have to admit that I was anxiously awaiting the start to Module

Life as a Culinary Student

1 Comment

Lessons 60-70: Trying to Contain Myself …

In the last three weeks I have been able to cross off two major items on my never-ending culinary bucket list: learn how to make homemade pasta an

Life as a Culinary Student

1 Comment

Lessons 55-59: Normandy, Alsace, Provence and Beyond …

Butter. Duck Fat. Pork fat. Olive oil. Pick your weapon. This week was a whirlwind tour of classic French cuisine. Our palettes travelled from

Life as a Culinary Student

1 Comment

Lessons 50-54: Food as Art

I lay a golden slice of Pommes Anna in the upper right third of the plate. Then seven sautéed yellow beans find their place parallel to the potat

Life as a Culinary Student

1 Comment

Lessons 43-49: France, Italy & China, here we come!

First and foremost, I promised an update as to how my Christmas culinary debut went. The good news? We didn’t end up at The Mandarin Palace. The

Life as a Culinary Student

1 Comment

Lessons 38-42: Now we’re cookin’

My classmates and I joke that with each module we should be given a new uniform, one size larger than the previous. That way, by Module 5, we’ll

Life as a Culinary Student

4 Comments

Lessons 33-37: ‘Tis the time to tournée

It seems like every week now marks a turning point in my transformation from self-taught home-cook to budding culinary professional. We’ve offic

Life as a Culinary Student

4 Comments

Lessons 25-32: Frying, Braising and Beyond

What better cooking method to practice the day before Thanksgiving than deep-frying? Fish & Chips, French Fries, Southern Fried Chicken, Brocc

Life as a Culinary Student

5 Comments

Lessons 20-24: Soups & Sautéing

I breathed a sigh of relief this week as our class made the transition from Module 1 rookies to Module 2 (lesser) rookies. It’s hard to believe

Life as a Culinary Student

1 Comment