Just finished up my work for the day, it was a long day. My school work day started at 6:45 am with a visit to the food stock/storeroom for my Product Knowledge home work. Then it was off to Food Safety class then to Gastronomy class both last 2 hours. Unfortunately I am in class from 9:15 to 1:30 with no break to get lunch. After class I spent the afternoon working on home work until dinner then back to my room for more home work. I will visit the stock room again each morning this week as it’s a great way to see all the food products that are available to the kitchens here and what is available to a chef in today’s market. Tomorrow after my visit to the stock room I have Math class then a meeting with two other students about our gastronomy project then Product Knowledge class until 1:30. After that I have time to do home work or go to the gym before my 4:00 writing class. Until next time.

Ok things are starting to get serious here at the Culinary. This is what I have to look forward to for the next 9 weeks the first 6 weeks is class work Food Safety, Math, Product Knowledge, Gastronomy and Writing for 15 weeks then its 3 weeks of fish and meat fabrication (learning how to butcher a whole fish and large pieces of meat down to the portion size you would get served in a restaurant) after that I get to go into the kitchen and make stocks and sauces for 3 weeks. I have spent all evening printing out class assignments, class syllabus, and power point slide presentations used in class as well as assorted other paper work related to all my classes. I have been meeting lots of interesting people and visiting with some old friends here at the Culinary and am ready to get done to some serious work.

The dorm room is pretty nice, lots of room for 2 people some of the rooms have 3 people in the same space and that gets crowded. Our room is on the top floor of the 3 story dorm so it’s pretty quite so far and the floor has mostly rooms with girls living in them there are only 3 or 4 rooms with guys. Went to Bed, Bath and Beyond today to get a couple things we needed for the room and although the drive is not so bad the hike to the car in the student parking lots is about ½ mile if you parked in the back of the lot like I was. Not so bad going out but coming back and carrying all the stuff it was a long walk. One good thing is with living on campus in the dorm with a room on the third floor is I have been doing a great deal of walking up and down the stairs and all around campus. With any luck that will help me get into a little better shape. Well I need to run as I have some homework to get finished before I go to sleep.

Well the big day finally arrived and I have moved into my dorm room and I am working on getting settled in. My roommate Michael is the same age as me and he is from Waco Texas. Yesterday and today we have orientation stuff and the first day of class is tomorrow. It has been a hectic couple of days with moving in and setting up all my stuff in the room as well as yesterday we had to complete an online alcohol education course for freshmen and it took about 3 hours and did not really apply to a 54 year old student. Michael and I thought it was a waste of time but if we did not do it and pass the test we would get 2 demerits and we did not want that. Well I need to run time for breakfast and then off to the first event of the day.

Well just over two weeks to go until the start or my adventure at the Culinary. Lots to report about today. I received the contact information about my roommate and called him. His name is Michael and he is from Waco Texas and is the same age as me so like he said to me and I quote “I guess it's never too late--even for old farts like us. I think the CIA pairing process is indicative of their concern for the welfare of the students, and that's a good thing. I was worried about getting stuck with a bunch of 20-something’s” my sentiments exactly.
I have been doing the shopping thing getting all the supplies I should need to outfit a college dorm room plus getting new dress shoes, kitchen clogs and other required clothing. The dress code at the Culinary is not like you’re typical college they have a “Professionalism, Uniform and Hygiene Policy” booklet that is sent to each student and it’s 20 pages long covering everything a student needs to know about how to dress and act at the Culinary. No jeans and tee shirts to class or meals, one has to dress professionally when going to and from class as well as in the student dining rooms.
Well I need to run I have lots to get done in the next two weeks, check back often after the 14th to see what’s happening at the CIA

Ok its official I sent the tuition check for the first semester so the countdown begins only 7 weeks until the first day of Culinary College. I have started to collect some of the stuff one needs when they go to college and will be collection a lot more over the next couple weeks. I hope my car is big enough to get it all to campus when the time comes.
On another note I just received the check for my first paying job as a chef, as some of you may know I went to Washington DC to work for a catering firm during the inauguration in January for 3 days. It was the most amazing work I worked as a chef at three major inauguration events, a Brunch that served 2200 people, a Multi Course sit down Dinner served to 1300 people that the President and Vice President Elect were in attendance, and a 5 hour Lunch Buffet for over 1200 people in an office building overlooking the parade route. All this work was done in makeshift kitchens two were set up in a tent outside and one was in a lunch room. So after that trip I guess now I can say I am a Professional Chef since I have been paid to cook.

Also this past week a was requested to make a special birthday cake for a friend’s 6 year old son he wanted one of the cars from the movie “CARS” I have put a photo of the cake here so you can see how it turned out.
Keep checking back for more updates and I expect they will get more interesting after I get to campus.

Well I got the results of my writing and math test and I don’t have to take the remedial math and writing classes I guess in the 20 plus years running a company I learned how to do basic math and writing. I also got the report from my doctor and despite the fact that I have abused my body for the past 54 years I sill passed the required college physical that included some very strange tests. I will be visiting the Culinary Institute on Tuesday to check with the admissions department on one outstanding issue and if all is in order I will make my first tuition payment. Poor Heidi has to work to support having three kids in college.

The Start

I will be starting class on April 14th. Last week I took Compass tests to determine if I need to take the basic Math and English Classes as well as went to see my doctor to get a physical to complete the college medical forms.