Yes Chef!

I graduated from culinary school on Tuesday. It's been such a hectic few weeks leading up to the graduation. We were to prepare a grand buffet for our graduation and invite our families and friends to enjoy. I've been working on my menu and testing my recipes for weeks. We had our final written exam on Monday evening then we started to work on our desserts for the grand buffet. I was making coconut pana cotta with a pineapple sauce.

On graduation day, we were each to prepare a roast. So for me, I'm making Five Spice Roast Duck with hoisin sauce, Tropical salsa, Chinese pancakes and Asian Slaw. It is to be eaten like Peking Duck with the pancakes. Instead of the traditional scallions and cucumber slices, I'm making a salsa with pineapples, mangoes, cucumber and red onions. Its sweet and sourness compliment well with the hoisin sauce and the duck.

I went to bed around 1 a.m. that morning. Being worried about all the things I have to do for the buffet kept me awake. It felt like I finally felt asleep when the alarm came on at 5:30. I shot up immediately knowing that there is no way I can miss the 6:30 train. We met in the classroom at 7:45 a.m. and began to prep for the menu.  Everyone was so focused and determined to make beautiful dishes. It took longer than usual for me to fabricate the ducks. I had to clean up 3 whole ducks and 10 pieces of breasts to marinate before roasting. Then I worked on my sides. I did had problems with the pancakes, they took much longer than I expected to make. Luckily one of my classmates, Anna, whom I work with on a regular basis saved the day by helping me with one of my other sides; otherwise it was going to be left off the menu. So I'm sincerely grateful for her help.

Finally 15 more minutes until the reception begins and we have to run all of our food down a flight of stairs so they can be properly displayed. It was somewhat a chaotic scene, but all of our food did get finished and everything did look beautiful like our instructor had told us it would.

After we changed into our clean chefs' coats, we joined the party. It was wonderful to see all of our friends and families. We met up with past chef instructors who came to the reception. We tasted our creation and it felt good that everything was delicious. Then an overwhelming emotion came over me as our names were announced and our chef instructor donned us with our chef hats. I couldn't believe I have done it, after the long days of working full time and going to school part time, it is finally over. After the intense weeks leading up to the graduation due to conflicts arising between some of the students and our chef instructor, it is finally over. Everyone is getting along again. Everyone is finally working together and the result was beautiful. I was so proud of everyone. It was such an accomplishment. The sleepless nights, hard work and drama have all been worthwhile.

Culinary school has confirmed the importance of team work as well as many life lessons. I have a much deeper appreciation for the people who work in this industry. Chefs are like artists, their plates are blank canvases where they take fresh, colorful ingredients and create beautiful dishes for everyone to explore with their senses. I'm so happy that I finally took a leap of faith and followed my passion and attended culinary school. It confirmed that I do love cooking and creating dishes for people to enjoy, and I hope to be able to continue this journey and see where it'll take me. Next stop, another unexplored territory, an externship working in a restaurant.

9 months later

I'm a week away from graduation. It's been an awesome experience. My intention was to document this whole journey, though when I started this blog I didn't put into consideration that with working full time, going to school at night, I'd rarely have time to do anything else so writing a blog has not been on my priority list.

All the spare time I had I spent it with family, friends and sleep. I'm not in my 20s anymore, the long hours was taking a toll, but still I enjoyed it immensely. I also spent some of my spare time attending seminars, test recipes, volunteered to gain some experience and even attended a taping of one of my favorite food shows, Top Chef! I met many interesting people and learned some life lessons along the way. I've enjoyed learning from all the chef instructors. I also discovered baking. I've never baked in my life and during the baking module, I had a lot of fun. I was fortunate to have a chef instructor that was very patient and encouraged me along the way! I will miss my classmates and classes. It's been part of my life for the last 9 months and I'm having trouble accepting that this chapter of my life is coming to an end.

However, upon graduation, I will begin my externship so I am looking forward to work in a professional kitchen. Since most restaurants require students to extern at least 2 to 3 full days. I'm fortunate that this restaurant is willing to work with me. I will be working full day on Saturdays as well as working some nights during the week after work. I hope to finish my externship by June and have the summer off.

The Countdown

The countdown begins...less than a week until I begin culinary school. It's taken years for me to finally enroll; and once I did, I knew it's the right decision. Now that I have my uniforms and schedule in hand, I'm so ready to begin.

I love food. Ever since I was a young girl growing up in Hong Kong, I have fond memories of my grandfather taking me and my family out to dinner every Sunday. It was a ritual that I look forward to every week. My grandfather would choose which cuisine we'd enjoy: French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Indian, Chinese, the list would go on. For me, it was like getting a surprise present every week, trying to guess which country's cuisine we'll get to experience. It was an adventure and I was never hesitant to taste anything new and exotic. Every dish was like discovering a new world. Sunday dinners with my family have been some of my happiest childhood moments.

My love for food continued when my family and I moved to New York City. This is where my passion for food expanded. I discovered the cuisine of Latin American, Mexican, Caribbean, Middle Eastern and fell in love. I also developed a passion for cooking and entertaining. I enjoy experimenting recipes with my family and friends. I love making dishes for people to enjoy. I have the fantasy of opening a little shack on the beach of an exotic island and live happily ever after.

I'm eager to begin my culinary education yet I must admit I am somewhat nervous. After all it's been years since I've been back to school. I am also a bit anxious about working full time and attending school at night. I hope I won't be overwhelmed. I know I shouldn't put too much pressure on myself because I'm good at psyching myself out.  I procrastinated for years. I told myself it's never a good time. The right time doesn't exist for me because finding the time to do what I want is an inconvenience.

Until recently after some serious soul searching, I realized...why do I create so much pressure for myself, I have everything to gain and nothing to lose. This is not a do or die decision.  Life is short so why not experience something new! I rather try than never tried at all. I don't want to have any regrets.  Therefore, I'm extremely thankful for some of "my closest people" who supported my decision. I cherish your encouragement. It ultimately helped me discover that I have a great desire to go to culinary school. I hope you come back to check on my progress and allow me to share my journey with you. This is going to be a challenge; but I believe if you're passionate of what you do coupled with hard work, anything can happen!  Whatever awaits me is sure to be exciting and I am grateful for the opportunity.