School Life

Hard to believe that I just finished my first two weeks of school. It has gone by quickly, but I absolutely love every minute. Each day starts off with us having to line up for Chef Ron to inspect our chef uniform, it must be pressed, our cravat has to be properly tied, we have to have our apron on with 2 side towels, the men must be clean shaven or if you have a facial hair it has to be neatly trimmed, and if we do not meet the standards set by Le Cordon Bleu, you will be sent home. The standards are strict, but they are designed to get us ready to work in a professional environment.

With every class, I never set there thinking I can’t wait for this to end. I am totally focused, trying to absorb everything I can while in class as well with my daily homework assignments. A lot of our training is practicing different knife cuts and getting better with our precision and speed, part of how we are graded. In addition to working on practical skills, we have reading assignments, a book report and a research paper that are part of our Foundations I syllabus. I am reading Michael Pollan’s book the Omnivore’s Dilemma and my research paper will examine grass-fed beef to see if it is more pathogen resistant than grain-fed beef. I will let you know what I find out in a future post.

So what is different about going to college now vs. college after high school? I am pursuing a passion, a love for food, wine and cooking, so there is a definite purpose to each day. Whereas, coming out of high school, I really did not know what I wanted do with my life. Now I am better organized, more efficient with my time, I have better study habits, and I am always looking for ways to maximize my experience. School is about 4 hours a day, 5 days a week and I would be happy if I had school 8 hours a day. I joined two clubs Les Alimenteurs (a catering club) and Les Sauciers Sevants (where we work on classical and contemporary sauces paired with proteins) and I just put in an application to be a Student Ambassador. All of these activities give you opportunities to work with and learn from other Chefs at Le Cordon Bleu, and they look good on your resume.

Friday Chef Ron prepared a Fish Fumet and we learned about the difference between a fumet and a stock. A fumet has more flavor than a stock. We covered vegetable, white and brown stocks. Next week we start on the Mother Sauces, have a Math Exam and we continue to practice for an upcoming Knife Skill Exam on Day 16. A lot of plates in the air, but I would not have it any other way. 

Cheers!