First Week of School

     It's the first week of culinary school, and I am getting butterflies just like in kindergarten! Except instead of wondering if the teacher will be nice or if I'll make friends, I'm questioning if I'll be able to stand on my feet for 5 hours and lift 5 gallons of stock.  
     Having completed my first day of culinary school, I can appreciate what makes a chef versus a cook.  There are a lot of unglamorous background basics a chef needs to know.  It's not just about aesthetics of the plate, you have to make sure you take safety precautions so people don't get sick.  I did not realize, for instance, that wearing make up is a safety hazard when cooking.  It may flake off into the food and cause someone to become ill.  
   As you can see from the picture below, our uniform is not the most flattering, although who's to know if you gain 10 pounds?  A quarter of our grade is based on appearance including: no piercings, all hair up and under the chef beanie, chef coat and pants cleaned and ironed, no fingernail polish, etc.  The chef instructor has a daily inspection check off list.  If you are not clean shaven, he will hand you a razor and off you go to the bathroom.  They take the uniform as seriously as the military.  
    There are sixteen of us in the 7am to 1pm class, equally divided between males and females.

 Believe it or not, I am not the shortest nor the oldest person in class!  I think there is one person older than me and a couple around my age, the rest of the class could pass as our kids.