Chef School Secrets Essay Example For Students

Chef School Secrets Essay Secrets of the C.I.A: Americas Premier Chefs SchoolGeorgia Southern University StatesboroThis narrative school portraiture will introduce the reader to one of the worlds finest culinary schools, and the leader in American culinary arts training. The history of culinary education in America will be examined and the rise of professional culinary education will be presented to familiarize the reader with the current state of this type of Additionally, the author will provide personal recollections from his own experience as a student at the Culinary in the late 1970s. The author will attempt to impart the flavor and mystique that the Culinary Institute of America represents to culinary professionals around the world. It is a special place in the hearts of many and more so in the hearts of its alumni. Secrets of the C.I.A: Americas Premier Chefs SchoolAs a young man, perhaps the age of 11 or 12, I was introduced to the world of the Chef. It was magic, gleaming stainless steel, aromas of simmering sauces, the taut military jaw of the Executive Chef looking over his brigade of cooks, pure magic for a boy who had dreams. My introduction to culinary arts came about through my involvement in Boy Scouts. As a youngster, growing up in the turbulent sixties, my life needed direction which was found in Scouting. The premises of Scouting are simple, work hard, gain rewards through the accomplishment of tasks, gain leadership opportunities to help younger scouts succeed; lessons learned for life. A part of Scouting is to proceed through a series of ranks, based on performance and the completion of work which garners a merit badge. As a scout earns merit badges, selected from a list much like a core courses are offered in a college major, the award of rank is presented in a ceremony attended by peers, parents and scout leaders. It is exciting, as Napoleon said in 1804 to Field Marshall Foch, . . . men wont walk across the street for money, but they will die for medals. Boys have similar motivation and do the same for a scout badge. The more merit badges earned, the higher the rank and more the prestige in the scouting community. Beginning with Tenderfoot, a scout progresses through the ranks as follows: Second Class, First Class, Star Scout, Life Scout and the final and most coveted award Eagle Scout. I had set my eyes on the prize of becoming an Eagle Scout, one of only two percent of scouts who accomplish this rank. One of the merit badges on the road to Eagle was Cooking, hence my introduction to Chef Johnson of the Ember Room. Chef Johnson, a graduate of the New Haven Restaurant Institute, was the expert who had to sign off on my Cooking merit badge completion sheet. With his signature the merit badge was mine and another box could be checked off toward my earning the hungered for Eagle Scout rank. This was easier said than done, as Chef Johnson was a task master who did not take his role as mentor lightly. I thrived under his scrutiny of my work like I had never done before, I liked it. With the help of my scout leaders and the patient guidance of Chef, I reached my goal and became an Eagle Scout in October 1966. Chef Johnson, even as an adult I never called him by his first name, instilled in me a new sense of self-respect and the ability to create a product which did so many things to and for people, it was indeed magic and POWER! I worked for Chef during my years in high school and sadly during the summer after graduation I left his gentle hand for the world only a young man can experience. My dream was to become the best chef, with a small c, as I could. I could not yet compare myself to my mentor and teacher, Chef with a big C. I must earn that right by paying my dues and learning my craft a day at a time. The opportunity to work in a variety of positions in hotels and restaurants was afforded me, based on my skill as a culinarian and my drive to become the best. As my career grew and my skills matured, it was time for me to find a mate to share my hopes and dreams. Into my life came my beautiful bride and wife of over twenty years, Moon. My darling inspired me to become what I had only rhapsodized about to her for years, attend culinary school and finally become a Chef, big C, like my mentor. At the age of thirty I applied to the premier chef school in the United States, The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, 3000 miles from my home in California and a world away from the Embers of my youth. Culinary education has not always been the modern curriculum and formalized training it is today. In the past, before there were chefs schools, there were professionals who dedicated their lifes work to teaching people to cook. The Boston Cooking School was one of the first significant cooking schools in the United States. In addition to teaching students to cook, they also taught how to instruct others to cook. In 1877, 30 year old Fannie Merrit Farmer attended the Boston Cooking School. After graduation she began teaching and eventually became the schools principal. She published the Boston School Cookbook in 1896. In an age when foods were measured by the pinch and handful, her teachings were very influential. Through her book and the school, she taught the importance of recipe accuracy and measurements. Her book is still a valid resource and remains in print today. In 1946, when television was in its infancy, James Beard began to teach through this brand new medium. Later he opened a cooking school in his Greenwich Village brownstone and for more than 30 years taught professionals and nonprofessionals the significance of American Cuisine. When Julie Child hit the airwaves, she showed America how to prepare and cook French Cuisine. These two events brought much publicity to the craft of being a chef. The 1940s was an important period for culinary education in America. As the postwar economy boomed, so did cooking schools. The same year James Beard aired his television show, the Culinary Institute of America was founded. The CIA was the first career oriented cooking school in the United States. Originally located on Yales campus in Connecticut and called the New Haven Restaurant Institute, the school relocated in 1972 to its present home in Hyde Park, New York. Prior to opening the CIA, if one wanted to become a chef, one had to apprentice under a seasoned master and learn the craft on the job. Apprenticing has always been the obvious choice for a European chef, but this was not the case in America. The Culinary Institute of America is perched high above the majestic Hudson river in one of the most beautiful locations in the world. The Hudson Valley has inspired artists for hundreds of years and spawned the Hudson Valley School of painting, spectacular landscapes and dreamy interp retations of nature at its pristine and unsullied best. The school is an imposing red brick, five story Victorian structure. It is actually a converted Jesuit Monastery, named St. Andrews on the Hudson. The thickly wooded and wildlife laden (deer, skunk, squirrel, racoon and the occasional black bear) 75 acre campus is home to more than 2000 full time culinary students who study in its ancient halls and modern kitchens. How Many Types Of Sharks Are There EssayAt graduation, which happens 16 times per year, students receive their diploma, a Cordon Bleu from which the bronze school medallion hangs and the tall toque, their newly earned badge of honor. Only 56% of students who began the program less than two years earlier graduate. Many leave because the school is too demanding, some quit because they realize that being a chef is a lot of work, others have money problems and cant afford to continue and some stay on as a full time employee at the restaurant where they did their mid-term externship. The ones who do graduate and the three guests they are each allowed to invite, are served a stupefyingly festive six course lunch, including four types of wine (two red, one white, one sparkling) by the Banquet Organization class. Diplomas in hand, Cordon around the neck, a head full of knowledge and hands full of skill, the CIA graduate is ready to take their place in line with the long list of great chefs who have come before them and live their dream of being a professional culinarian. I am proud to be one of these elite graduates. For the remainder of my life I will continue to abide by the traditions I learned and savor the experiences I enjoyed during my time at The Culinary. Bibliography: