I finally went and checked out my campus this week. The visit entailed a tour of restaurants, their three kitchens, the cafeteria kitchen, the bakery front and back, as well as the meat fabrication room.
I thought I was scared before the trip, now I am down right petrified. This dream of mine is becoming so real so quickly. I have lists and lists of stuff I nee... Read More

OK, so I re-sat my fish practicals, passed easy, I should have done that the first time around but however. I am also pleased to say that I passed my soup practicals, a simple lot really, Asian consomme with chinese greens, minestrone and a corn and bacon chowder.

My soup theory test is another issue, I was sick the day of our theory class, vomiting is not an... Read More

Day 1 Working at an Artisan Bakery with WoodBurning Oven and Stove!

No I’m not really smoking again,, I just smell smokey, this time however the smoke smells wonderful and Genevieve can’t keep her nose away from me!

There is a village nearby where the year is still 1866. You’ll find famers p... Read More

Provide an elegant, yet hearty winter dinner for 400 major donors, administration, faculty and alumni in the newly dedicated athletic field house. That was the charge given to us in the catering department from the campus business office about a week before Thanksgi... Read More

Well the interview was over and for the first time I would be a kitchen judge for the Pro-Start High School Culinary Competition. My assignment would be the kitchen and I would be paired with long time Master Chef Stuart Harrison, recently returning to the Grand Junction area after... Read More

Had an unusual job this week 850 golden apple and date sweetmeats. Unusual because I have never worked with gold leaf before.

Scraps of advice were thrown my way like, don’t work in a breeze, don’t touch with your fingers, don’t look it in the eye!!! But some how I knew no one would be any help at the end of the day and that I would have to f... Read More

Taught my first class on crutches last night!! I tore my calf muscle on Saturday and just couldn’t bear to (gulp) cancel any business, so against everyone’s better judgement (including my own) I brought an assistant and taught a class on crutches. Surprisingly, the hostess was a physical therapist and told me that in fact it was good to stretch out the o... Read More

Part II

So, I sold a cake! Visions of retiring to the good life in three months dancing through my head. Now what the heck do I do? I want to make this all legal. Don’t want to get in trouble with the IRS, the State, and the Health Department. But what to do?

First off, we need a name for the business. Sounds easy right? Wrong! I consulted some of ... Read More

Last year was kind of like kindergarten, lots of baby steps, and if you pushed a point well enough, the chef would pass you on your dish.

This year…..

Improperly seasoned, fail, plate one degree too cool, fail, breath at the wrong moment, oh you better believe that’s a fail. Do you start to see a pattern here?

My first practical test... Read More

Today, I turn THIRTY!

Today, I start my first Blog EVER!

In less than one month I start culinary school.

I will- leave my husband, my 12 year old daughter, my very close family, my handsome dog and my home.

In exchange I will- Live in a dorm, eat in a cafeteria, study until my brain is Jell-O, slice, dice and burn my hands into undignifie... Read More