Culinary School
From a corporate cube in Austin to whites, clogs, and a knife kit.
In 2011 I quit my marketing job and went to Le Cordon Bleu Austin for the full culinary diploma. Soups and stocks, butchery, pastry, international cuisine, banquet service, and the wholehearted realization that my home-cook instincts were going to need some structure. Here’s the whole arc, in the order I lived it.
The whole arc, in order
AnnouncementI quit corporate and signed up for culinary school. Here’s why.
Part 1: Soups, proteins, veggiesFirst module. Knife skills, mother sauces, what a real chicken stock tastes like.
Part 2: PastriesLamination, choux, sugar work. The unit that gave Sweet Noshings its bones.
Part 3: International cuisineItalian, French, Asian, Mexican modules. Where I got over my fear of fish butchery.
Part 4: El Fin (banquets & buffets)Final unit: banquet plating, line cooking under pressure, graduation.
The recapLooking back: would I do it again? Was it worth the money? Honest answer.
Hover for a preview, click for the whole story.
- A Big, Fat WJWE Announcement – Let’s Go to Culinary School!
- Culinary School Update: Part 1 – Soups and Proteins and Veggies!
- Culinary School Update: Park Deux – Pastries!!
- Culinary School Update: Part III – International Cuisine!
- Culinary School: El Fin! – Banquets and Buffets
- Culinary School Recap– What I thought about school and would I do it again.
