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I got inconsistent messages from the Admissions office regarding orientation schedule. It was going to be 10am on Saturday but since I had already picked up my uniforms and textbooks, I was told that I didn’t have to show up until 11am. Later, a phone call from another staff advised me to come early regardless of having already made a trip earlier in the week. I ended up going with the golden angle of luxury watch advertising – 10:10.
LCB Boston is housed on the 3rd and 4th floor of a grand red brick building, with a school-run restaurant, Technique, on the first floor. Tables were set up for checking in and distribution of materials on the ground floor lobby Saturday morning.
The food competition shows have completely wired me to immediately register official-looking people sitting in a row at a long table to be judges. They were not. The judging will come much later, phew.
The only non-paperwork item for me to pick up today are those sexy, boxy steel-toed black shoes. 
These are quite comfortable. The clunkiness will help to balance out the roomy checkered pants. I’m not exactly known to rock hooker heels every night, but these are screaming out, “don’t judge me before you tried me!”
Don't judge me before you tried me!
How many seconds did it take for your “that’s what she said?” Be prepared next time. Don’t just take this blog to be passive information share, yeah? Gimme some Inter-ACTION!
The speeches during orientation were designed to inspire and included important tips like “show up to class,” “don’t give up,” “we have an extensive network at LCB, use it,” “respect the dress code,” “ask tons of questions,” etc. By this point, I’m beyond inspirable. I’m ready. Be back on Monday, May 17th, 2010. 6:30am.
by Michael Ruhlman
Absolutely a requirement for anyone who’s ever thought about going to culinary school, for whatever reason, for whatever future plans. Michael Ruhlman approached the project as a journalist but through the rigorous training was inoculated with the ethos of professional cookery and left the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) a respected cook. He’s since developed a wonderful career of food writing that included co-authorship with Thomas Keller. Thomas Keller!! Ruhlman’s precise language quickly draws you in and places you in the middle of the action. This is a kind of storytelling prowess that no 3D TV will ever be able to deliver. I will not even attempt to transcribe the culinary school experience to the caliber of The Making of a Chef. After all, it’s been done and done sooo well.
There was this one passage that really moved me,
Cooks, I had learned, came to cooking not to fulfill a desire, but rather, by chance, to fulfill something already in their nature…I have no doubt that there are people in this world, toiling away, in offices and backhoes alike, who are fundamentally unhappy because they never tried working in kitchens.
This is my search for fulfillment. Thank you, Mr. Ruhlman, for describing how such a search could find a meaningful end.
Two instructors featured in the book, Chef Mike Pardus and Bob del Grosso maintain a very entertaining blog, A Hunger Artist.
Got my uniforms & textbooks!!
Look at this pile of stuff. I was getting all giddy and excited all day anticipating the pickup.
Uniforms: 5 each of chef’s white coat, checkered pants, skull cap, cravat (neckerchief), apron, and dish towels.
The pants are elastic waistband with drawstrings. They are comfy and super big. Anyone wants to come to my pants party? hehee.
I don’t think I’m gonna have to buy preggo pants in the future.
No idea how to tie the cravat. It’s supposed to be like neckties for guys. Maybe that’s something they’ll go over at orientation. The skull caps will serve as a hairnet, and boy, will my old lab mates be happy to hear that someone’s finally putting constraints on my hair. Imagine a -20°C freezer with vials of important research materials, and random strands of long, black hair. There will be no hair in my food. I promise!
I have to admit, I like wearing uniforms. I was wearing uniforms K-8 grades, with girl scout days mixed in. That instant pull-togetherness is very reassuring for the fashion-capable-but-rather-lazy person. If I don’t leave the house, I can be in pjs all day.
Textbooks:
Can’t wait to digest all this knowledge!
Orientation is on Saturday (May 15th, 2010). The steel-toed shoes will arrive on a special shoe truck and complete the outfit. ID photos and speeches from important school officials will take place.
But what? No knives until the first day of class?? GIMME my knives now!!!
I asked so many questions it was almost like I was interviewing the school, not the other way around.
But seriously, this is a big investment and an opportunity considered by many as a frivolous (or even worse, a luxury). I wanted to make sure that I approach the whole thing with a solid understanding.
The culinary school admissions office was pestered by my list of questions below:
- How big are the classes? What is the instructor-to-student ratio?
- What is the daily class schedule? Are there different shifts?
- What is the program time frame?
- What kind of career support is there?
- Can one set up a part-time job through career services while in school?
- Where have past graduates gone on to do?
- What is the application turn around time?
- What are the financial aid options?
- Is there homework?
- What is the exam format?
- What skills are expected of someone upon completion of the program?
- How is the school different from the other ones in the area?
- Can I come in an observe a class?
I tracked down a friend’s friend’s friend who went to culinary school. Jennifer graciously agreed to meet with me on a nice Saturday afternoon to talk about her experiences at New England Culinary School (NECI, Alton Brown’s alma mater). We ended up chatting for a good hour and an half. I was very interested in what she thought of the process and what she took away from it. Jennifer gave me quite the reality check on the spectrum of what to expect. It was very thought stimulating and informative. Thanks, Jennifer!
Some highlights of what I learned from our conversation:
- Not everyone’s worked in a restaurant kitchen before starting school. It’s okay to start without the professional experience but it’s absolutely necessary to get into one when you can.
- A lot of people rise through the ranks by working in restaurant kitchens instead of school but the caveat is that your education will only be informed by the select few kitchens you work in. Schooling provides the comprehensive foundation for the whole tool kit.
- Be prepared to work long hours, on your feet.
- People like to drink and abuse substance.
- Working side-by-side with young kids can be of a very different vibe than what you’re used to.
- People don’t get sick in restaurant biz. If you don’t show up, you don’t get paid. No health insurance coverage.
- People use profanities in the kitchen.
- Need to lift heavy loads.
- Make sure the husband doesn’t expect you to cook at home anymore.
- Injuries will happen. (Do you prefer to be cut or burned?)
I have to say I’m pretty comfortable with about 92% of this list. Some parts will suck for sure but overall, I didn’t hear anything that could possibly suck more than grad school. It’s like if you choose to go through one hell in your mid-20s, than the other hells you go to thereafter will be less searing than the first. But as if to test my resolve or to pour me a quick sobering remedy, within 48 hours of my conversation with Jennifer, I gave myself both a cut and a burn. What better way to deepen one’s thinking than to induce physical pain?
by Anthony Bourdain
Oh, boy. After reading Becoming a Chef, this was about the biggest contrast you can get. Kitchen Confidential is to Becoming a Chef what monkey anal sex is to the immaculate conception. Graphic, shocking, and hilarious at times. It’s quite an entertaining read. I think one of the really important function a work like this serves is to highlight the hard work behind scenes. There is likely a gritty side to every profession and unveiling the realities can only help to prepare/warn hopeful fresh faces to embrace the whole deal. You can’t just hear the good news. It’s the hard stuff that makes the good precious. I really like how Bourdain will write pages and pages on how awful the day-to-day kitchen operation is, then make sure to let people know how much he loves his work. He chose this life and he loves it, despite all the craziness. That’s very motivating. You can bitch all you want, but own the reason you’re in what you’re in, you know? Own it!
One part I thought was pretty funny was Bourdain’s advice on what you need to be a good Chef. One key skill is Spanish. Haha, this is exactly the same thing my MD friends are saying about the requirement of being a good doctor. Go Spanish!
by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page
I had seen this book on Reluctant Gourmet’s website but after talking to Jennifer (NECI alum), I decided to pick up a copy and read it in preparation for culinary school. The book was co-authored by husband-and-wife team Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page: Dornenburg a professional chef and Page a professional. Together they interviewed an extensive number of accomplished chefs in America and compiled a wonderful narrative of how Chefs became Chefs. From early influences to passion to work ethics, the book covers a wide range of very realistic topics. It paints a clear picture of what it means to be a professional cook. There should be a book like this about every profession! Maybe if I’m crazy enough one day, I’ll find write a book about Becoming a Professor.
I fell immediately connected to the food memories Chefs shared in the book and began compiling my own food memories. I was motivated reading about what it takes to make it and related that back to my previous training. I was very inspired reading about the philosophy at the core of the Chefs’ work. I LOVE this book!
For anyone considering culinary school, food service career, or foodies interested in picking up more anecdotal stories of your favorite Chefs, I highly recommend reading Becoming a Chef. If anything, you can say you’ve read a James Beard Award book on top of eating at James Beard Award restaurants. Read this book!
Bonus: each Chef interviewed in the book also provided a special recipe. I’ve tried a couple of those and they are pretty damn delicious.
I’ve been thinking about this for years, though never quite to the level of a full-on career change or committing to more than just a couple of cooking lessons. At the moment, however, every element in my life seems to line up in a way to allow a realistic entry point in this space-time continuum of my yet undefined life. I’m absolutely obsessed with food. I have the flexibility of schedule. And I am not yet responsible for providing sustenance for another human being. So why not go for it? Well, I’m worried about finances and I’m worried about being a quitter. (This wouldn’t be the first time I quit a career option.)
So just how would one make a decision like this? Aside from wanting to follow my heart, I busted out my nerd skills and dived into a delicious mountain of research:
1) I googled every combination of ‘culinary school’ related phrases,
2) technocrati’d every blog’s mention of ‘culinary schools,’
3) tracked down culinary school grads,
4) pestered school admissions offices with endless questions, and
5) plowed through a recommended reading list on the subject of Chefdom.
Here are a few key pieces that informed my decision.
- Should You Go to Culinary School by David Lebovitz
- Culinary School Resource Center by Reluctant Gourmet
My reading list:
I will share my thoughts on these books in upcoming posts.
- Becoming a Chef by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page
- Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
- The Making of a Chef by Michael Ruhlman
Armed with the above mentioned information, I was able to frame my thinking on how each aspect of the decision will impact me. Added to this research were hours of conversation with friends and family. It is very clear now that I SHOULD DEFINITELY go to culinary school. I will derive fulfillment from this path in ways that no other presently available options can. I can channel my energy into my obsession and make something of it. I am taking you, my dear family and foodie friends, with me on this journey. And my virtual friends, I hope you also enjoy the ride.
My goal is to have the honor to feed you at some point in the future!
What was hung on the famous blue ribbons.
I am enrolled in the Certificate in Culinary Arts Program at Le Cordon Bleu Boston.
My start date: Monday, May 17th, 2010. I just can’t wait!!
Before Day 1, let me take a few posts’ space to review the research I’m doing in preparation for school.
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