Back Tracking update 3 - November 24

Hello all...greetings from the Culinary world.

Just wanted to let you all know that I had my first solo job this weekend. I catered a wedding for a friend at church. It was a low key job with only around 200 guests. The couple wanted a burrito bar for the reception. I did not have to worry about the cake just the reception food and drinks. It went pretty smoothly for my first job where I was the sole man in charge and all the blame fell on me if something went wrong. I only got really stressed once, that was when the bride showed up at the building the day of the wedding and walked into the kitchen...I thought to myself...man if she is here then I don't have long to get it all together. 

The event has a few small bumps, and I definitely learned some good lessons. Once of which is people may eat two hamburgers or two hot dogs, but most people don't eat two burritos :-) I had a fair amount of food left over but that is better than the alternative.

School is going well. I really don't like chemistry but am counting down the weeks till I am through with that class (3 weeks and counting). I have my final practical on Dec. 9. I have 3 hours to prepare a meal consisting of Roasted Chicken, polenta (a grain similar to grits), carrots  & zucchini, Caesar salad, and a chocolate mousse, in addition, I have to do some fancy knife cuts. If I don't pass...I don't graduate. I am a little nervous and will be practicing this a lot during the next 2 weeks. 

My graduation is set for Dec. 19. After that I will probably stay with my current job through the new year and try to find work with a local caterer. While I have learned a lot from my internship, I have learned a lesson that the work environment is sometimes just as important than the actual work details.

I hope you are all doing well, and I can't wait to post my final culinary update with a picture of me on graduation day. Thank you for your support and prayers during this. 

Back Tracking Update 2 - September 24, 2008

Hello from the culinary world,

It has been a few months since my last update. Here are some highlights:

SCHOOL: 

School this past quarter has been great. My classes were: Personal Chef, Management and Supervision and A la Carte. The last class entailed working in the school sponsored kitchen. I was everything from server to aqua chef (aka dishwasher). My favorite station was probably salads. The one truth throughout this culinary school journey is that I have learned more about myself than actually how to cook and I have learned a lot about cooking. The journey is truly more important than the destination. The personal chef class was unique. We learned the ins and outs of running your own personal chef business but also dabbled in cooking demos. I prepared Shrimp and Mango Salad with Cellophane Noodles(think clear spaghetti). A very easy dish that is also easy to substitute ingredients if needed. We did the demo twice. The first time was in front of peers for their feedback. The second time it was videotaped. Both times I was nervous but definitely had fun.

On October 6, I begin my last quarter in culinary school. I know...time has flown by. 

INTERNSHIP:

As part of my final quarter in school I have intern with a chef here in the Nashville area. When I first moved to Nashville, I was made aware of TomKats Catering who is a parent company of 3 restaurants and 2 large event catering. I started yesterday working with one of those restaurants. Sobro Grill and Catering is locating inside the Country Music Hall of Fame. And no...I don't get to see any celebrities, remember I am in the kitchen. It was an exciting first day, I helped prepare and plate food for 130 people. It was a great time and I am about to get ready to go prepare breakfast. I have to be at work at 4 am. (Reminds me of the commercial...It's time to make the donuts). I was so nervous about oversleeping on my second day at work that I have not sleep much...hence this email. I give all the glory to God in this internship. He worked through many prayers.

CHURCH/SOCIAL:

I am still in the process of meeting and getting to know people. I had forgotten how much work is involved in making friends. It is in this respect that I miss Auburn the most. While I enjoy working with and being a part of the singles program, I miss the interaction with people who are not within my peers. I have been asked to be a Class host for our Sunday Morning class. I have enjoyed it so far.

Well I need to get some breakfast before I head into work.

Blessings and Peace on all of you.

Back-tracking Update 1

Grettings from the Culinary World!

 

I hope this finds you doing well and enjoying the journey. Things here in Nashville have slowed up a bit since my last final was this past Tuesday.But here is an update on some aspects of life:

 

 

HOME SWEET HOME: I have moved all of my stuff but am in a holding pattern to unpack everything, In August I will be switching rooms in the house because someone is moving out and he has a bigger room. I am continually reminded that community is better for me. While I have to deal with sharing a bathroom with 2 other guys, I am thankful that I have someone to come home to even if they are rarely at home. I did not realize how lonely I was living by myself.

 

SCHOOL: All but one grade is in and I am pretty sure I will have All As...maybe even a 4.0 (they have A- which will lower your GPA). School this quarter has been different than most because I 100% enjoyed my cooking classes and the lecture classes were so so. For my final in Asian, we just cooked up some food, Mu Sho Pork, Vegetable Somosa, Spring rolls, and some other stuff. I loved that class. I now can order Chinese food and know what all I am getting. As some of you may have read, it was in this course that I ate a fisheye ball, well I also ate some lotus blossums, mung bean sprouts, and some really spicy foods.

I had a 3 part final for Pastry,

1. Chocolate Mousse, Italian Merigune, and fresh fruit Tartlets:We had the list of ingredients but had to know the method of prep by heart. My Italian Merignue was slightly overwhipped but it was still tasty. I brought my kitchenade Mixer from home so I would not have to share the 6 mixers for 20 people. I made a 98 on this part. That included 3 extra points for cleanliness..a first for me.

2. Part 2 was the one I was most concerned about. Piping...for those who know me well..I have horrible penmanship. But I squeeked out a 93. We had to pipe 3 different types of filagrees 25 times for a total of 75. Happy Birthday and Congratulations and then pipe a sheel border and a rosettes border respectively. AS well as make a Marizpan rose.

3. A 300 written test. Mutliple choice, matching, T/F. fill in the blank, and essay. Still waiting the score on this.

Update from Culinary World

Greetings from the culinary world.

I hope this finds you well and enjoying the beginnings of spring. This past week was finals for me and I probably did the best with the least amount of stress since I started school again. I still bombed one of the practicals, neither my raspberry terrine nor my chicken liver pate gelled to the right consistency, but I am pretty sure I passed so you just move on and learn.

Work has been interesting as I have started to invest a little more into the lives of some of the people I encounter. I have changed the name just because I thought it would be cool to make up some names.

Rose is a recovering alcoholic who works with me. She is spry and tells it like it is. Her hair shows her age which is around 50, and her face shows her troubles. She does not like being still and has recently started watching how much she swears in front of me, though I have not asked her to. I have offered to take her grocery shopping because she has to rely on her daughter to take her, and her daughter travels a lot. Of all the people I have met in Nashville, I have given her the most hugs. I am so excited when she is working because she makes me laugh and also strokes my ego a little. She is having some test run because she is not feeling well. I find that I pray for her more than normal.

Gerald is a dirty old man who is a frequent customer to the store. He was born in South America but moved to southern Florida when he was a kid. He has worked in construction most of his life with a brief stint in the military. Recently he has had some money problems. He also seems to want to borrow money from me and I give him $5 and the next day he pays me back. He has yet not to pay me back. The other day he bought me lunch. I asked him why, he said because you are so nice to me. This is something I have found fastly different in a bigger city. People are surprised that you are nice to them. In the Bible it talks about about lending money with out expectation of return. It is interesting, that in my life, I expect money to be returned to me more from friends who borrow money than from strangers. I must work on that for I have seen the effects of it through another co-worker, Cindy. Cindy is a tried and true Baptist girl. Grew up with a big family, goes to church every Sunday, works with the church when they feed the homeless, yet is extremely bitter when she does stuff for people and does not get it returned. While I have lent money to some of the same people she has, I have seen how bitter she has become that she did not get her money back. Parables in person are a great learning tool.

I work in a world full of haves and have nots. I have been reminded time and time again that though they are different in many ways, they are all God's people. God does not separate with money or if they have a roof over their head. I find it a constant struggle to keep that as my focus because it is so easy to veer towards one group or the other. I understand the negatives of the homeless. They smell, they steal and some are dangerous. But they are more real than some of the people who live in luxury condos. At work more customers are calling me by name but yet I barely know them. I know what groceries they typically buy, whether they like Bud Light or a foreign import beer. But I don't know them and to me that is new.

In other news, my apartment complex has decided not to renew my lease, so this spring break i will begin my search for another apartment. I have already started packing because I will have to move during school. I hope I can find one closer to church and friends as well as cheaper. My wish is that I can save enough money to put a deposit down for a place in May so i can gradually move in during the month. God will provide as he always does.