First Reflection upon entering my Culinary Fundamentals Course. January 13, 2010

Culinary Philosophy: My philosophy on things of my life have developed from the one thing that I’ve done consistently in my life, and that’s my martial arts. Martial arts have a way of being more than a system of fighting , but also it translates to a way of living ones life. Now, I’m not getting mystical or cosmic here. I’m a pretty practical person – again, another trait I’ve gained out of martial arts. One philosophy that I’ve applied, or am trying to apply to my culinary career here is based on having an applicable understanding of basic concepts. By having an understanding of the basics you create a solid foundation like the structure of a pyramid.
You could use a sauce as an analogy. First, you start off with some quality basic components in which you may create a stock – the foundation. From there you could go in so many directions with that base stock. One direction you could go is to refine it all the way to a few ounces of a delicate sauce which you could ladle over a roast chicken served with roasted potatoes and haricot verts on a beautiful, white porcelain dish. You could just imagine how amazing that could be! But, that sauce didn’t just become amazing overnight. It became amazing through understanding the initial components, sweating over it, patience, skimming it, and cleaning it up – it took a lot of effort. I believe that by creating a solid foundation through hard work, patience, experiences, and passion I could have a great career in the culinary industry, and anything I do – just like that beautiful sauce that was destined for that one person to experience.

Goals: By being in the culinary program for just one semester my view of the culinary industry has gotten so much broader. Initially, I came here with the desire to be a chef of my own restaurant just as many aspiring culinary students, but it’s relieving to know that if that’s not the life for me, I still have many options and still be involved with this industry. I’m aware that sometimes in life, plans change, new roads open up, but I no longer fear that (too much)knowing that ultimately I’m in God’s hands.
However, I still would like to have my own restaurant one day. I would like to own a sit-down, neighborhood, family style restaurant, managed by family, serving rustic foods with local produce.
I see having my own restaurant as, not only having my own business, but also a venue to express many others things. There’s the creative side of me that would of course, love having the freedom to create dishes, but there’s also having the freedom to express art and décor with the ambiance of my own restaurant. Then there’s the social aspect of teaching, training and maintaining a food and restaurant philosophy. And lastly, a very important role I would want to participate in as well, is to take part in the community, whether it be feeding the homeless or supporting local farmers.
Having my own restaurant is a goal, but I’m not going to limit my self that one goal. But, if I’m fulfilling one or all those goals of creative freedom, teaching a restaurant philosophy that I believe in, and supporting our community I’ll be content with my career choice.

Culinary Expectations: I think we’ve all heard the comment, “What are you going to learn in culinary school that you can’t learn on the job?” And, I’ve been in the industry long enough to see that there is a lot that you can learn on the job, if not more. However, when I came to school last semester, I soon realized that I’m not only here to learn how to do that job, but the correct way to do that job. And just as Chef Leake mentioned the difference between a culinary education from the CIA and KCC – the cumulative chef experience there are greater then it is here, so the wealth of knowledge and resources are greater as well. So, in similarity, I believe there’s more to learn than just cooking in culinary school that you may not get on the job. Not only that, but I feel like I’m around more like-minded individuals in school than there are in the actual industry. Students either have the passion or are searching for that passion, where sometimes in the industry everyone’s just doing it for the paycheck or they’re bitter and burnt out. Besides, it’s a breath of fresh air being around students that are untainted by the years of drugs, alcohol and self-abuse that you may see in the industry.
I’m realistic about the contrast between school and work, but I know my experiences and knowledge gained in school will someday be of even more worth than that fourteen hour shift at $9 an hour.