I got first in state in the Indiana Skills USA Culinary Arts competition.
I am going to nationals June 23rd, should be a lot of fun.
Just though I should share my excitement!!
Chase
that’s awesome!
what did you make?
Cool! you should come here and make me some food if you win.
Fixed. He already won a state competition, that’s good enough for me. 
Grats!
Thats awesome, what kind of restaurant do you work for?
Do you have your red seal yet?
Holy crap I just realised you are only 17, thats nuts, I’m guessing you don’t have your red seal yet then though. Planning on getting it though?
I’m about 2000 hours away from my test.
Wow, tell us more about it!
Congratulations!
+1, let’s hear more! what did you make?
Congrats!!
man, what a tease! You’re not giving us anything!
How’d you win? Let us taste!
Where did you train?
anything?
Ah sorry, i’ve been on unicylist.com hiatus.
Anyway, I had to fabricate a chicken.
–debone
–fillet the breast
–make a stock
-
I had to saute’ the chicken breast, and I made my version of a soutwest rub to season it.
-
I made a soup out of the thigh and dark leg meat and the chicken stock that I made earlier.
-
I had to make a pan sauce for the chicken, I just made a simple cream sauce.
-
I had to make a rice pilaf with the stock and some other mix vegis I threw in there.
-
I had to make another side of saute’d zucchini and squash.
-
And I had to make a salad with my own vinagarette.
Right now I’m trying to get a job in the kitchen of a new restaraunt in town, Ri Ra, it’s a very upscale irish pub/restaraunt that serves gourmet versions of classic irish cuisine, I’m really hopping I to get on that staff because it’s lead by CIA trained executive chef, so even if I’m just chopping vegitables to start I feel like I could learn a whole lot.
I had been in sort of a weird rut in these latter highschool years, not knowing what i really wanted to do with my life. This whole competition thing has really set me on a career path that i can see myself falling in love with, moreso than I already have.
Winning first place got me over $15,000 dollars worth of scholorships from various school across the US, and if I win nationals I’ll get full ride to basically the top ten culinary schools in the nation. So for all that I am pretty excited.
As for what school I want to go to, I really wanna end up at a Johnson & Wales.
Chase
That’s FLUCKing awesome, dude. Happy for you!
I would definatly recomend working at a restaurant or two full time for a good while before you sign the docs on your apprenticeship.
I was in pretty much the same situation you are in, I got a full scholarship, I started my apprenticeship at a Fairmont hotel and I thought everything was peachy. Now I’ve been working full time at the top Japanese restaurant in Ottawa at the moment, and although the work is definatly awesome and alot of fun, there is alot to it aswell that gets to be really harsh on you.
I’m sure you probably have already but I would recomend reading the book Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bordain, its pretty overly dramatic but it gives a good example of what one side of the industry looks at. His side was the more adventurous and pretty insane side. But there is also a side full of depression and general unhappyness to be seen aswell. For me the toughest part is the fact that I’m working the hours that everyone else is having fun during, when I show up to parties they are usualy coming down, when my friends are available I’m working. Stuff like that doesn’t seem too bad at first but it gets annoying. Fortunatly now I’m at the point where I can go to other restaurants if I wanted without any hassle, and going on vacations doesn’t make me worry too much about whether or not I will have a job when I get home.
Anyways, you like it and thats cool, its also an industry where you can easily make enough money to go to university or something later on if you decide.
I would also recomend working in an open Kitchen, its alot of fun to be able to see the customers eating and enjoying the food, plus sometimes you get tips directly from the customers which is always nice.
Wow, so am I! That’s amazing. Good luck with pursuing your passion. Love what you do and you will go far (and eat great food along the way). They have to give you that job at the restaurant – with your credentials!
I like preparing quality food from scratch. I just can’t do very much yet. Sometimes I make chicken stock and then vegetable soup from it. Woo hoo! And blueberry pancakes from scratch (a fancy recipe with whipped egg whites folded in as the last step). And sometimes chicken nuggets pan fried in coconut oil and breaded with shredded coconut or homemade bread crumbs with my own seasonings. I like to make pizzas on toast with plum tomato sauce and my own seasonings and various cheeses, grated reggiano being my favorite. I’d like to learn how to make more sophisticated stuff, like chicken Francaise – it never occurred to me until just now that I could make it myself! I got a double-boiler thing so I can try to make béarnaise sauce to put on steak. I’ve been trying to get a Sourdough starter going so I can make Sourdough bread. My friend owns a restaurant, so I’m learning to do more prep work at home to streamline my food preparation. I want to learn more of the science and wisdom behind cooking (I got a big fat book by the CIA, which talks about things like Maillard reactions and stuff like that).
If you ever want to talk about the culinary arts, post in this thread or make a food thread. I’d love to participate (not that I have much to offer except some enthusiasm and questions).
This is awesome. Good job.
My friend was going to school for Culinary, but dropped out into a weird construction thing, then dropped out of the whole school, and then moved back here and was homeless for a few months. Now he lives with his crazy grandma (she had two strokes) and works at McDonalds in one of the bad areas of town.
Keep it up. Girls will love you.
Wow, this could happen to you. Be careful.
Not that you will have time to meet them…
I know you are anti-TV, but you need to watch a show on food network called Good Eats, hosted by Alton Brown, one of the most awesome people ever. He’s not a chef, but actually like a food scientist, and he makes very specific things the entire show, always telling you (in sometimes humorous ways and clever ways) the science behind everything he does. It’s my second favorite show ever.