CHEF SHUMAN.... While I truly have enjoyed taking your English Composition class, I must say I am happy it is almost over.  By the way, are we having a pot luck lunch next week?  Because I have been looking forward to that part for the past 9 weeks.  I only ask because I did not hear anyone else talking about it.  If need be I will make the phone calls to ensure that we have some food for next Thursday.

If the rest of the world would go to culinary school and actually take it serious, I wonder if places like McDonalds and Burger King would still be in business.  Those fast food joints, just don't do it for me anymore.  However, the fries, oh the fries.  How is it I cannot make fries like the fast food restaurants?  What is really the secret to why they are so good.  Stake n Shake has to have my favorite fries.  Just the small shoestring style with the cheddar cheese sauce over them.  MMMMM.  In fact, I am thinking I will have some after work tonight.

From school to work.  This seems to be my life as of late.  I just got a text message from my executive chef telling me we have a party of 250 coming in.  Apparently the hall that this group had rented out, must have double booked.  So I was asked if I could come in early to help prep.  Sorry chef, no can do today.  However I will be making some beautiful pies once I get there.  That is the task I have ahead of me tonight.

Here they are folks!!!!  The L'Ecole Culinary Competition Team.  Well three of them anyways.  First competition is coming up here in a couple of weeks and as the team gets prepared, you can hear the nervousness in each of their voices.  I keep telling them to just relax and remember to just take their time when the competition begins.  I will be there rooting for them.  Don't want to see our school come in any other place besides first.  They are all strong students and I have all the faith in the world in them.

We are almost done with the 5th phase of school.  I must say that I really miss being in the kitchen.  Especially when I have been doing nothing except for writing papers and watching other people cooking right in front of me.  The kitchen next to the library is called Plate Design.  And by the looks of things, it looks like quite an interesting class.  I am looking forward to that time.

When I decided to go to culinary school, I had this vision of walking in and just having different food all over the place.  That, however is not always the case.  It seems that as we near the end of each phase, you could walk into any walk-in cooler or reach in cooler and find that there is absolutely nothing as far as food products go.  I understand that the ordering goes down to make sure we use the product we have on hand, but just find it ironic.  It reminds me of my refrigerator at home.

Brian, my high maintenance brother, comes over once a month for some type of themed dinner.  This past Sunday he decided he wanted to have Mexican.  While I love Mexican food, it just isn't a whole lot of fun to make.  So I decided to do tacos four ways.  We had chicken fajita tacos, pork tacos with mango salsa, carne asada tacos with fresh pico de gallo, and fish tacos.  I had also prepared fresh guacamole and queso dip.  For dessert we had churros.  After it was all said and done, he says to me, " Why did you make so much food?"  Not a thank you or that was enjoyable, just a complaint.  However, this is my high maintenance brother.