new year, new you! and culinary student, too!
A new year, a new start and an entirely new direction for me! I’m officially a week into school and so far things are, well, interesting. To the many of you that have called, texted, or emailed and asked how things are going – I apologize for using the same boring description but I have no other way to explain it. Having started school with no idea of what to expect, I can’t say that I’m loving it, disappointed, or overwhelmed… At this point, I’m just trying to play it day by day, see where this goes and learn a little something along the way! Honestly, the first few days were a little too basic for me. I certainly learned something new everyday, or if not new, then I at least learned how to improve upon the skills that I came into class with. We are just now getting into the actual cooking aspect of cooking school and for that, I am more than grateful.
Let me start out by explaining that I am so happy to be given the opportunity to fulfill a lifelong dream of mine at such a young age. I am also PUMPED that I can now officially wear my Lulu and a ponytail every day of the week and call it a uniform. Not sure if you saw the lovely insta that R posted last week but, yes, we are required to wear our “whites” in the kitchen everyday. Some of you may laugh at the absurdity of this outfit, but I literally get ready in 2 minutes every morning and don’t give a damn what I look like heading out the door! No matter what’s going with my hair- I’m putting it under a commis (super stylish white cap) from 7:45-12 every morning through June. Damn, I love a uniform- take the guesswork out of it and give me 10 more minutes of sleep!! (Cue eye roll from my mother for putting up with my uniform complaints in elementary school at St. Peters… Mom! I totally get it now!!!) Other than the perk of the super HOTT uni, we are also required to bring our knives and tools everyday. This makes for a lot of hauling… Picture a bundled me (it’s effing COLD here!) carrying a bookbag, knife roll, and awkwardly sized tool bag through the subway turnstile. I have no peripheral vision because my large hood blocks my side views and I take up a 3 foot berth on the city sidewalks because it is impossible to stack all of my bags in an efficient manner. It’s laughable. I mean, I’m the one laughing… not the people behind or on either side of me…
Once I get to school and change into my uni, I meet the rest of my classmates in our room and we begin setting up the kitchen. Everything and everyone must be dressed and ready to go by 8:00 on the dot or our Chef will let us know that he’s not happy. Not at all. Fortunately, this hasn’t been a big problem yet, but we’ve also been fortunate in that we’ve had little snow and DeBlasio (so far) held up his end of the bargain and kept the streets clean (NY standards, people!). It is likely that neither of these things will hold true for the entire winter… if we go by past experience… which was AWFUL!
There are 16 people in our class, mostly under the age of 30. I was surprised by the diversity of the class, so many different backgrounds, careers, reasons for being in school. Some of my classmates have just come out the military, some are fresh out of high school, some worked in fashion, interior design, finance and just want a career change. There are a few students that want to open their own restaurant and there are some like me, more interested in the media aspect of the culinary world and want to further develop their passion and interest in cooking. We have a handful of international students, from Nigeria, Korea, and Haiti. Needless to say, just being in class with so many people from different backgrounds is fascinating and a huge learning experience in and of itself. It’s also surprisingly easy to become friends with others who share a similar passion for food.
Speaking of sharing a passion for food, the most shocking aspect of this class so far is that some of my classmates have very little experience with cooking at all. Learning to cook from the most basic level has been hilarious- we’ve had one student that was afraid of fire, so we learned to light the pilot lights on the stove, another student had never heard of sage, so we start herb identification day 1 and review nearly every, single day. (I most definitely, no doubt know my herbs from a mile away! Unless it’s oregano or marjoram- those are identical. Also, I have a sinus infection- can’t smell or taste it properly at the moment. Yes, this is a sore spot because I missed it on our herb identification quiz today. DAMN YOU, OREGANO!!!) However, I have learned that food is most susceptible to disease when it is in the “danger zone” or between 41-135 degrees Fahrenheit. Also, the only herbs that require washing are: mint, basil, parsley, and cilantro. The proper way to wash them is by rinsing them in a clean bowl of water four times. Time consuming and annoying, but proper! (Much like Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess in Downton Abbey.)
ICE is focused on training students how to perform well in a restaurant environment and they expect every student to obtain restaurant experience through the externship program that is required at the end of the culinary program. (I’m still trying to weasel my way into a food writing or media position, so keep your eyes peeled!) Because of this strong restaurant focus, we learn the nitty gritty of running a restaurant up front. The first week was mainly focused on the inner workings of a restaurant kitchen and sanitization. We’ve been lectured on everything from proper food storage techniques, to industry lingo, to what to expect on a day to day basis in a restaurant kitchen (long hours and lots of standing), to how much the dover sole costs at the 21 Club at the moment (a lot).
While this was all interesting and necessary, I have zero interest in ever working in a restaurant kitchen and I am, frankly, more scared (now that I know how easy it is to get sick from unsanitary conditions) to work in a professional kitchen than ever. However, I have also developed a deeper appreciation for each dish that I’ve ever ordered or will order at any restaurant because of the HUGE amount of planning and hard work involved in creating it. It is so easy to forget, in the hour or two that you’re dining, that someone (actually many people) behind the curtain has been laboring for days to get this plate together and in front of you in perfect condition. I now know that this requires proper menu planning, proper product ordering, prepping, organization in the kitchen and perfect execution. One person can’t do it all alone and so being able to work as a team is also a necessary trait. I’ve learned that the people behind that curtain are probably the hardest working, most focused, resilient, and passionate people of any industry and anyone brave enough to take that on day after day certainly has my respect!!
*** Our Chef specifically requested not to be featured in any social media so as a precaution, I’ve blurred out the faces of Chef and classmates.
