Week One: I should've taken French in high school

Allumettes, brunoise, brunoisette, chiffonade, tourne, batonnet, pont neuf, concasser, cheveaux, macedoine; only a few of the words I've had to impart into my everyday vocabulary over the last week or so, and each of them happen to be separate techniques for cutting a potato. We haven't actually cooked anything yet, unless you count blanching tomatoes to remove the skin(emmonder) and then chopping(concasser). Week one isn't the most thrilling or glamorous week to read about on a blog, but I guess it's not supposed to be. If they had us making creme brulee the first week it'd be fun, but we wouldn't really know what we're doing or why we're doing it, basically we're learning the techniques of cooking, as well as some management-type issues(portion cost, etc.). That's not to say it's all boring, today we supreme'd an orange(cut out the slices of meat) and arranged in a circle with thin strips of zest on top. Simple, I know, but fun to make.

On Monday we all had to meet in the library to get our ID badges and other last-minute miscellanea, and meet our Chef Instructors. For Food Safety & Sanitation and College Success/Career Portfolio I have Chef T. She's probably in her late 20's/early 30's, is very sarcastic and quick witted(reminds me of my photographer cousin big time), and specializes in pastry/baking(patissiere). With it being mostly Food Safety and Sanitation, there are mostly open discussions during class where nearly everyone puts in their two(or sometimes three) cents. We are her only class with perfect attendance through the first week, so on Monday we were greeted with homemade chocolate brownie cookies topped with powdered sugar, they were uh-mazing.

Chef M requires more discipline in his classroom(Culinary Foundations I, Found I for short). That isn't to say it's a bad thing, it's just a different atmosphere, as we're learning the basics of our culinary education. He isn't at all mean or ill-tempered, quite the contrary. He's actually a really kind and gentle sort of guy, but definitely knows how to keep us attentive and focused. At the beginning of each class we line up in the hall for uniform check. If something's missing from your uniform, he'll just smile and say, "No badge? Sneak into the building this morning, did we?" Everyone would chuckle a little to ease the self-induced tension, and the student would fumble out, "Sorry, Chef. I think I, uh, left it in my car." Chef would just motion his head toward the parking lot, and the student would run and go get it. Or to me on the third day: (Always smiling)"What's with your face today?" Not knowing what he meant, I just said, "Sorry?" and he tells me that beards are ok but stubble is not ok. That doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, but it is what it is. I haven't shaved with an actual razor in at least a year, and I forgot how uncomfortable it is and why I switched to electric, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

A few things I've noticed about culinary school: Everyone talks about Top Chef(I don't see what all the fuss is about), and you're almost never hungry. During the first week we sampled caramel apple slices, a buffet of fancy hors d'ourves(stuffed foie gras, duck breast with orange slice, etc.) from a Cuisine Foundations V class, and breakfast burritos from one of the many clubs on campus. Plus the brownie cookies from Chef T, they're worth mentioning twice.

Sadly, it's not all treats and Top Chef talk. This week(week two) we have a paper due on a foodborne outbreak in FS&S, and two tests in Found I. In a couple of weeks there's a book report due(reading one of Bourdain's books, loving it), and in the meantime I'm trying to find a grocery store that's throwing out some old produce so I can practice my cuts. No luck there yet.

It's a lot of hard work, but it all serves a purpose: to help me be the best chef I can be. I think I'm going to like it here.