Freshman Culinary Labs – First Term

Skills of Meatcutting – exactly what it sounds like.  We worked in a freezing cold meat cooler all day long and cut up various meat carcasses.  It didn’t bother me as much as people assumed it would, but I am glad to have it overwith.  I don’t think my future career path will include butchering!

Purchasing and Product Identification – in this class we worked in the storeroom and receiving area of the school.  We filled the requisition orders for each classroom each day, and learned all about identifying all sorts of produce, grains, etc.  It was a really interesting class, and because of my vegetarian and adventurous diet, I totally rocked all of the product identification for “exotic” foods.

Principles of Beverage Service – nine days of bartending!  We worked in a classroom that looked just like a bar, and we learned everything there is to know about wine, beer, and spirits.  At the end, I passed an exam giving me my ServeSafe Alcohol Certification – good to have if I ever decide to become a bartender!  :)

Nutrition and Sensory Analysis – how horrible that I never showed you guys my Nutrition class, I know!  :(  This class wasn’t actually as nutritious as I had hoped, but there was one entire day devoted to vegetarian cuisine.  The cooking techniques we focused on were poaching and steaming.  We made a lot of vegetable dishes and talked about alternative food choices – overall a really good class.

Freshman Culinary Labs – Second Term – by the time second term came around, I had gotten into a good routine and was able to balance blogging and school work much more easily.  The recaps became daily after the first class…

Traditional European Cuisine – we learned the basic techniques of braising and stewing, which meant that we cooked tough cuts of exotic protein every day – oxtails, rabbit, monkfish, you name it.  I hated the food in this class, but still learned a lot, and that’s what matters.

• Oxtail Stew and Gnocchi

New World Cuisine – in New World we learned three more techniques: grilling, deep-frying, and roasting.  I loved the food in this class, and gained a lot more confidence in my cooking.  So many delicious vegetable dishes and salads – a nice break from my previous class of only braised meats…

• Roasting, Grilling, and Fileting Fish (days 1-3)
• Grilling and Deep-Frying (days 4-5)
• Grilled Salads and Vegetable Dishes (day 6-7)

Introduction to Baking and Pastry – I absolutely loved my first baking class.  We made breads, rolls, croissants, muffins – you name it.  In another life I think I was meant to be a baker.

• First Day of Baking & Baguettes (day 1)
• Knot Rolls & Challah Bread (day 2)
• Baking with Fats (day 3)
• Sweeteners, Quiche, and Pies (day 4)
• French Baking – Crossaints & Pate a Choux (day 5)
• Danishes, Monkey Bread, and Éclairs (day 6)
• Buttercream Icing (day 7)
• Bread Practicals – Knot Rolls, Challah Bread, and Buttermilk Biscuits (day 8)
• Cake Decorating and Muffins (day 9)

Stocks, Sauces, and Soups – this class was incredibly challenging, but also completely essential.  I learned so many fundamental basics of cooking – mother sauces, stock ratios, and more.  Plus I LOVE soup, so this class was a win, win for me.

• Classroom Tour, Making Stock, & Potato Cheddar Soup (days 1-2)
• Pesto, Veloute, Marinara Sauce, & French Onion Soup (day 3)
• Shrimp Bisque & Smithfield Presentation (day 4)
• Cream of Mushroom Soup & Cream Sauces (day 5)
• Consommé and Hollandaise (day 6)
• Pasta E Fagiole & Bearnaise Sauce (days 7-8)
• Sauce Practicals (day 9)

Essentials of Dining Room – I dreaded this class from day one of culinary school.  We had to work as wait staff in a dining room serving other students – very high potential for embarrassment and awkward situations.  I ended up finding that after a few days I got used to it though, and by the end I was sad that my Freshman year was over. :(

• First Day of Dining Service (day 1)
• Practicing Service & A Lesson on Vegetarians (day 2)
• Buffet Lunch Service (day 3)
• Serving Indian Cuisine (day 4)
• Wine and Food Pairing (day 5)
• Tea Tasting & African Cuisine (day 6)
• Mocktail Party & Maitr’d Ice Cream Service (day 7)
• Birthday Celebrations and Spanish Cuisine (day 8)
• Last Day of Freshman Classes (day 9)

Sophomore Culinary Labs – Third Term

International Cuisine – We came back after Spring Break as Sophomores – so weird!  New classmates and a new uniform, as well as a new set of expectations as students.  This was hands down my favorite class (and Chef!) of my entire program.  So much amazing food – I wish it could have lasted so much longer.

• The Last First Day of Class (day 1)
• Preparing for Martin Yan’s Dinner (day 2)
• Master Chef Martin Yan Cooking Demonstration (day 3)
• Thai, Philippino, and Indian Food (day 4)
• Making Mediterranean Food (day 5)
• Food From Africa (day 6)
• The Americas and Sopa De Lima (day 7)
• Cooking My Way Through Spain & Portugal (day 8)
• Family Style Italian Food (day 9)

Advanced Dining Room & Procedures – Another, more intense class serving students in a different dining room.  This time we had to do things like tableside cooking, clearing and stacking plates, serving wine, etc.  The curriculum for this class was very heavy on wine knowledge, and it was probably my most challenging class academically.  Go figure!

• Dining Room Tour & Tea Tasting (day 3)
• Wine and Cheese Pairings & Working the Dish Pit (day 4)
• White Wine Tasting (day 6)

• Return of the Bake Shop (day 1)
• Piping Chocolate and Plating Desserts (day 2)
• Creme Anglaise and Bavarian Cream (day 3)
• Phyllo-Dough-Nuts (day 4)
• Sugar Shaping and Fruit Tarts (day 5)
• Creamsicle Ice Cream Making (day 6)
• Strudel and Sorbet (day 7)
• Pear Tart Tatin (day 8)
• Chocolate Molten Cakes (day (9)

Culinary School FAQ’s

What made you decide to go to culinary school?

After six years working at the same job I’d had since graduating college, life had grown a little stale and I no longer felt passionate about what I was doing.  I had become very interested in food and nutrition, and decided that I was ready to take a risk and try to turn my passion into a career.  Casey also gave a lot of nudges in the right direction.  :)  When I first decided to go back to school, I was torn between getting my Culinary degree or a Nutrition degree.  In the end I decided I would rather work with food and people, than talk about food with people.

How did you choose Johnson & Wales?

While still debating the Culinary vs. Nutrition decision mentioned above, I was researching programs for both all over the country.  At the same time, Casey was looking to go back to school for medicine (he later changed his program to Math).  He found a school in Miami, Florida that he wanted to attend, so I started looking at schools down there as well.  I found Johnson & Wales, and saw that it was listed as one of the top-rated culinary programs in the country.  In addition, they had a program that was a perfect fit for me called Garnish Your Degree – specifically crafted for people who held previous Bachelor’s Degrees in other fields.  When I originally applied to JWU, I was enrolled at the Miami campus.  Crazy, huh?  Two months before we were supposed to move, I had a major panic and freak out about moving all the way to Miami, and we quickly had to change our plan.  JWU had another campus in Charlotte, and Casey was able to get a last minute application into UNCC.  The rest is history!  I often wonder how different life would be if we had made that move to Miami.  I am so glad we ended up in Charlotte!

Did you have any food or restaurant experience prior to school?

No, absolutely none!  Before I started school I had this weird idea that everyone in school was going to be a budding Top Chef contestant with years and years of experience, and I would be crying in the corner still trying to figure out how to sharpen my knives.  I was completely surprised to find that over half of the students were actually scared 18 years olds just out of high school, with even less experience than me!  Obviously some students there have been in the industry for a bit, but for the most part everyone is inexperienced and clueless.  One of the best parts of being in school has been meeting such a diverse group of people from different backgrounds.

What is the hardest thing about being in culinary school?

There is nothing particularly hard about being in school, but there are definitely things that have required a bit of an adjustment.  First of all, the schedule is very different from a normal work-day schedule.  Classes start at 7:00am, and it is recommended that you get there early.  I wake up at 5am every to get ready for school and be there on time, so I usually fall asleep around 9pm now!  Also, adjusting to having large amounts of homework has been hard for me.  I worked at a desk job for six years and was very much used to having my evenings free to workout, cook dinner, and relax.  Now I do online modules, lots of homework reading, and writing papers – very strange at 29 years old!  But I get all my work done, and I am determined to graduate with a 4.0 GPA.

What is it like to be a vegetarian in culinary school?

Being a vegetarian in school is not easy – I’m not going to lie.  While other students gobble up hearty, free lunches every day, I typically pack my lunch or wait until I get home to eat.  I have been somewhat disappointed that vegetarian cooking is such an under-represented component of our curriculum, because I feel it is such an important part of global cuisine these days.  On the other hand, I feel that my presence as a vegetarian in culinary school has made a big impact on my classmates, and even some of my teachers.  Many of  my classmates have altered recipes so that I could share in the tasting, and have shared with me that my influence has taught them to think about vegetarianism and cooking in a different light.  To me that is the best compliment of all!

What is a typical day like in culinary school?

Well I have many posts (see above!) that give you a general sense of what we do all day.  But in general – class starts at 7am, and usually begins with an hour or so of lecture.  Then we break into teams and do production (which means cooking!) for the next several hours, usually until 11am.  During the next hour we break for lunch, and depending on what class we are in, we either eat the food that we made (in addition to serving another class plus staff), or we eat in another classroom or dining room.  After lunch, we spend the last hour scrubbing the classroom from floor to ceiling – literally!  Class is over at 1pm, and at that point I am usually exhausted and ready for a nap.  :)

What do you plan to do when you graduate?

Ahhh the million dollar question that I wish I had a better answer to!  To be honest, I never had a real “plan” for what I would do post-college.  My hope was that by going to school, I would figure it out along the way as I got to know my strengths and interests a little better.  My hope is to work in a vegetarian kitchen – restaurant, catering, cooking classes, etc. – and eventually get a job in the nutritional education field.  I would love to some day teach healthy cooking classes and use media as a way to educate others about living a healthy lifestyle.  I am also considering doing an online program this summer to get a Certificate in Plant-Based Nutrition from Cornell University.

Have a question that I didn’t answer above?  Feel free to leave it in the comments!