Breaking Bad . . . Habits

     This week we are "honing" our knife skills.  Boy, do I have some bad habits from home cooking all of these years.  It's like learning to walk again!  I'm embarrassed to be out shined by these youngsters.  But never fear, 10 lbs bags of carrots are cheap and make a good practice tool.  I'm very proud of my accomplishment completing the basic cuts of dicing, julienne, and brunoise, even though it took over an hour!  (See photo below). Like my chef instructor says, accuracy and consistency is all we should care about at this stage.
     I have to say, I've been pleasantly surprised at the caliber of the curriculum.  School has been harder than I expected.  I thought I could take this time off from working and beef up my golf skills after class this summer.  That's not happening.  I'll be lucky to make it past Foundations.  
     By the way, the curriculum is made up of 6 week blocks.  First we have Foundations where we learn the basics: making stock, sauces, etc.  Then we move on to classical cuisines, then regional cuisines, baking and pastry, and local, sustainable and ethical cooking.  There is a 2 week farm to table externship where we actually work at a local farm!  And 10 weeks of externship where we test our acumen in a real kitchen.  Quel horreur!
     I won't lie, the pace of this program overwhelms me.  But in all my years of education, I have never studied anything where I can use what I learned in the class room and apply it later that day.