Part Two: Culinary School Isn’t What You Think

I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I started researching culinary schools.  I am about to complete my first quarter and have already learned so, so much.  And the best part is that I have been showered in nothing but support from my amazing husband, family and friends.  I’m thrilled and honored that so many people are so interested in this experience of mine.  And since many people have said they would have liked to go to culinary school given the chance I wanted to share some observations with you.

First of all, you can either take cooking classes or get a degree (Associates or Bachelors) in Culinary Arts.  Cooking classes do not equal culinary school, even though they’re fun.  I’m going for my Bachelors which of course means that I have to take all those BS classes that everyone who goes to college has to take.  Luckily, I got most of those out of the way the first time I went to college.  And the cool thing about culinary school is that even though you have to take the BS classes they mostly relate back to the culinary world as much as possible.  For example, a history requirement would be met by taking the History of French Cuisine. Is it just me, or is that way cooler than History 101?

This should be obvious from what I just wrote, but not every class takes place in the kitchen.  In fact, I will have at most 2 classes per quarter (and sometimes none at all) where I am actually in the kitchen learning hands-on techniques.  The more I learn, the more hands-on classes I will have.  In the traditional classroom setting I’ll be learning everything from Concepts & Theories of Culinary Techniques to Managing Food Service Systems.  I know, it’s a bit disappointing at first.  BUT, once you realize that the non-kitchen classes will enable you to be so much more knowledgeable and capable in the kitchen, sitting in a classroom doesn’t seem so bad after all.  Plus, there’s always free food around to munch on.

Any decent culinary school will give you a VERY well rounded education (and they better for what you’re paying for it).  Apparently many new graduates go into the workforce thinking of themselves as All Powerful Chefs who know all and must be respected by everyone.  That’s a great way to piss off potential employers and valuable networking contacts.  New Chefs are educated, but rarely very experienced and everyone in the industry knows it.  This is an industry that values EXPERIENCE and rightly so. But again, that’s the best part about it.  I guarantee you Mario Batali or Masaharu Morimoto could each live three more lifetimes and never learn all there is to know about cooking.

I certainly have a lot to learn and I will be happy to share that knowledge with you as it comes to me.  Next quarter I have my first kitchen class, so I am sure there will be many funny and embarassing stories to share from that experience.  To those of you who have expressed interest in culinary school; I encourage you to at least look into it.  Many colleges have evening and weekend programs available for people who have to work their boring desk job during the day to pay the bills. They are aware 99.9% of people don’t come out of high school wanting to study the culinary arts and are willing to work with you.  At the very least, take a cooking class or try a new recipe at home!

Part One: My Julie & Julia Moment

When we moved to Chicago I started looking for jobs to continue my career in logistics.  With each new job posting I looked at I could see my future more and more clearly: I would end up working at series of jobs that I didn’t actually care about, climbing the corporate ladder of companies that didn’t actually care about me.  And in the end I would wonder WHY I wasted so many years doing something that ultimately made me into a pod person.

I didn’t (don’t) want to spend my life working for nothing more than a paycheck. Money is not that important.  I mean really, let’s face it; who truly feels fulfilled sitting in a cubicle all day, working for a moron who is clearly less intelligent than a rutabaga and making the Big Boss lots of money?  Worse, you have to deal with things like Hawaiian Shirt Day and powdered coffee creamer.  Granted, if you are the Big Boss I’m sure life is much more interesting.  But for me, and for those of you in similar situations, I could see a very taupe, very bland future.

You know, books and movies always make it seem so EASY to pursue the unconventional path that (of course) ultimately leads to a happy, fulfilled life.  Meghan has a Quarter Life Crisis.  Meghan feels lost and no longer wants to sell her soul to The Man.  In a well-timed epiphany amidst a motivational soundtrack Meghan decides to pursue this crazy idea of completely changing her life.  Meghan  achieves wild success, proving that all those years of hard work and going against societies’ norms were totally worth it.  Meghan lives happily ever after.  My life is just like the movies, right???

So, as most of you know, I said “screw it” and signed up for culinary school.  Why not?  Life is too short for Hawaiian Shirt Days.  I really enjoy just about everything in the culinary world and the desire to learn more is what drove me to pursue this path.  The best thing about culinary is that you NEVER stop learning.  There is always a new technique, fad or point of view to experience.

All that said, I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I started researching culinary schools.  I am about to complete my first quarter and have already learned so, so much.  And the best part is that I have been showered in nothing but support from my amazing husband, family and friends.  I’m thrilled and honored that so many people are so interested in this culinary school experience and supporting me while I take the road less traveled.  So I would like to share some interesting tidbits and observations with you.  If you like, check them out in Part Two: Culinary School Isn’t What You Think.

I promise there isn’t any heartfelt, movie-of-the-week type stuff in that post.

News!

I have excellent news.  I am taking the first big step to giving myself some culinary street cred (yeah, I’m hardcore- what of it?).  I’ve been accepted to the International Culinary School!!!  Hardcore, indeed. This is really exciting and a huge step away from my professional background in logistics.  Ugh, logistics.  Culinary just sounds so much more exciting.  Logistics is like that skinny, pimply kid trying to get all the sexy ladies Culinary has swooning over him.  Plus, Culinary smells better.

So, I’m celebrating tonight by making a super healthy meal: Sicilian Grilled Chicken with Roasted Garlic Whipped Cauliflower and Smashed Carrots (a favorite of my husband’s family).  And I’ll pair that with one of my favorite Pinot Noirs: Angeline Pinot Noir 2007.  Exact recipe available upon request.