Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park

The last stop of our vacation was in Hyde Park, New York. I was blessed with many connections & opportunities to make it to Hyde Park for an open house.
Hyde park is a small town with one road running through it. And it seems that the main attractions of the town was the Franklin D. Roosevelt Estate and The Culinary Institute of America (oh, and maybe the drive-in theater).
I was a little anxious when Jodi and I actually got on campus. To me, it was initially huge. Maybe not in size, but definitely as a goal. It was most amazing to be on a campus where all the students had one thing on their mind... food. I recalled two students walking out of Roth Hall and talking passionately about some greens. That was awesome. The kids there were well behaved and quite hospitable. When looking for the Caterina I asked some students for directions. They addressed me as sir, gave me directions, and told me to enjoy my dinner. Cute, but very proper, and professional.
Unfortunately I couldn't take pictures during the open house tour, but I'm glad to have had the opportunity to be there with Jodi, so we could both have an idea of where we would be and what to expect when we get. It was also unfortunate that I wasn't able to meet up with Lance Nitahara. It would've been great to be able to meet him in person and chat with him about his experiences of CIA on CIA. But, (if you get to read this Lance, we'll do it next time!) Never-the-less, by visit was absolutely awesome!
I wish I could go immediately, and get this dream started, but I'll give myself some time to accomplish a few things with KCC. I find it a little challenging to keep the same educational drive that I had when in Chef Leake's Fundamentals class. But, learning in an actual kitchen with such talented chef's at TOWN restaurant (chef's Dave, Ed, Alika, Mark, Chris, Noah, Eric, and Keenan.) One of my first lessons was from chef Mark, and that was to learn something everyday that I work. I try to keep that in mind when I work,and occasionally Jodi reminds me, "Have fun at work, and don't forget to learn something..." That's love eh?
My CIA journey has started. I've visited. I'm made the decision. Next up is to write that essay to go with my application. I've written quite a bit in Chef Leake's class, and I've had many opportunities to reflect on my career.
It's time. Fire that course!