A New Beginning

Well, the time is finally approaching for me to start on a new adventure in life. On March 16th I will officially be a student at the French Culinary Institute!! I can't even tell you how excited I am for this opportunity and I am really looking forward to this experience. The program is 9 months long and I will have class Monday, Wednesday and Friday nights. I hope to fill up my days with an industry related job/internship to help get some experience. In the long run, I am aiming for a career in food media, and would ultimately love to have a catering and event planning business of my own! However, in order to get there, I will need to put some serious time in the kitchen, so here is where my journey begins :-).

The French Culinary Institute captured my heart right from the beginning, and separated themselves from the competition by making me feel like part of a family the second I showed up for a tour. I was able to spend time speaking with various chef instructors and staff including Nils Noren, former executive chef at NYC's notable Aquavit. The school itself is run by a list of great chefs including Jacques Pepin (Carla on Top Chef recently cooked her squab and peas for him!), Alain Sailhac (Le Cirque), and Andre Soltner.

A big part of the school is it's restaurant, L'Ecole. I encourage those of you in the city to please try this place, as this is where I will be cooking for the last 6 weeks of the program! Since the students are the chefs, the restaurant offers a $42 priced fixed 5 course dinner. The school was nice enough to treat Nate and I to dinner here a few weeks ago, and it was a great experience! The portions are very generous, and I truly think you are getting your money's worth!

For the next 9 months I hope to share this journey with you, so please check in often!