It’s been a while.  I’ve been busy.

More specifically, we now have a little person in our lives.

I had wanted to keep this arena and my new life as a parent separate for various reasons, but I’m beginning to realize how we approach food says a great deal about how we approach our family/home life.

The two are tightly intertwined, and we’re going to explore that.

But not today.

I’ve learned that my cooking school is closing, and feel compelled to answer a few of the general questions I’ve received along with articles people have sent me.  If you haven’t heard, here’s one: http://www.buzzfeed.com/mollyhensleyclancy/le-cordon-bleu-will-close-all-us-schools#.gt6NbnVX8

Please keep in mind this is purely my opinion of my singular experience.

1.  The title of Chef.  I’ve noticed there seems to be a general misconception regarding the relationship of this name with cooking school…both with the general populous and occasionally, graduates themselves.

The best way I can explain this is like becoming a CEO; you don’t graduate from school as a CEO, you graduate with the tools that may one day lead to you earning that title. Attending cooking school is absolutely not a prerequisite to one day calling yourself a Chef, however the knowledge may get you there faster.

My gut says this disconnect may have affected some of the younger generation, who finish school and then immediately expect to go out and win Chopped.  It’s a disconnect we perpetuate in our home kitchens as well, as we move farther and farther from making things from scratch; when our kids are surrounded by the instant gratification opening a can/box, are they really at fault when they can’t grasp not achieving instant success in the real cooking world?

2.  Schooling.   My program, at Le Cordon Bleu in Portland, Oregon, was 9 months of classes and a 3-month externship that we had to procure on our own, with school approval, in order to graduate.

Cooking school is a quick overview of the basics, and then briefly building on those foundations.  The experience simplified: learning the theory of a concept (how to treat various veggies, breaking down different proteins, cuisines from other cultures), and then executing that concept in a professional kitchen for a grade while taking into account things like timing, accuracy, and working under pressure.

What I’m getting at here is that we may spend, at most, two days with a particular concept.  An expert this does not make.  The world of cooking is very, very broad, which is why we mostly see Chefs/cooks in specialties either divided down by culture or ingredient.

I personally have an affinity for butchery and noodles.  Believe it or not, those are two very large categories in themselves and it will take years for me to gain a significant level of mastery in either.

3.  From the article, graduates sued because they, “made salaries of $12 an hour and worked in jobs that did not require training, as line cooks and baristas.” Hmmm well, those are two separate ideas.

There are line cooks, and then there are line cooks.  Standing at the station of the latter, let alone touching anything, will earn you an unpleasant time.  (Think randomly standing in someone’s office at work without being invited in.  Just because there are no walls in a kitchen doesn’t mean someone hasn’t worked hard to earn that space/job).

Some line cooks work years to attain certain positions in a kitchen, and the things they produce are often akin to crack-laced unicorn tears.  If someone decided to educate themselves and then chose to be a line cook at a chain restaurant who’s “line cooks” open bags and dump them into friers well then, enjoy those useless loans.

On the pay piece:  For perspective, I did my externship at a restaurant of national notoriety where we made everything from scratch.  I worked my ever-loving butt off to get in there, worked even harder when I was there, and at the end of my term they offered to hire me on for $10 an hour.

It was one of the best days of my life.  I am still very proud of the work I put in there.

The pay isn’t a shocking thing at all; this is the service industry. Our Chef instructors at school made no bones about this, at least not the ones I encountered.  Most of the good people I went to school with were already working in the industry, so there was no mystery there.

4.  Was I ever lead to believe my schooling would guarantee me employment? Nope.  In fact, it seemed like we were always signing something to that effect.  On the flip side, our Career Services section was stellar.  They were constantly sending out job openings, and would come and find people in class they needed to follow up with.  Relentlessly so, to the point where it frankly got irritating.

5.  My education cost 20K.  That is 9 months of an industrial kitchen firing every day, and they supplied us with knives and uniforms as well.  We got to keep and eat everything we cooked, and during our first class where we were judged on knife cuts we were able to take vegetables home to practice with.  Some schools cost more, some less.  LCB is a good food education, the best is CIA.  Look it up should you wish, for perspective.

6.  You can do so much with this type of knowledge.  Line cooking to become a famous Chef isn’t the only end result of this type of school, in fact I’d venture to say quite a few veer off into other arenas.  To name a few there’s food writing, nutrition, food styling, menu development, catering, food photography, and one of the guys I graduated with even did his externship in a nursing home because he was interested in senior care.  Another girl wanted to develop a line of food for people with liver transplants after having gone through it with her mother.  The possibilities are endless and they don’t all involve being a line cook, or famous.

7.  I never felt mislead about how both difficult and rewarding this career field can be.  My class started with 22 people, and we graduated with 10.  Professional cooking is hard on the body, hard on the brain, and in the end you have to have a seedling of love for it or there’s no reason to put yourself through it.  Whether that’s love of food, or love of stress, or love of the many offshoots of food knowledge, who knows.  Maybe in this coming generation it’s a love of the idea of being famous, and perhaps social media is driving that love.  Again, who knows.

8.  People these days have forgotten the awesome potential of education, and where it can take you.  Education is just a way of earning the key to open the door…you still have to unlock it, walk through it, and be ready for the long path waiting on the other side.

Was it all rainbows and butterflies?  No.  The school had it’s negative quirks, and there were people I didn’t care for just like any institution.  The Chef that taught my baking class had some rather interesting issues that later got him fired, but he was a funny son of a bitch I’ll give him that.  However all in all, it was a great set-up for students both looking for new careers and newly trying to find their way in life.

I have no idea if the closures are because of new federal regulations, or because the school couldn’t turn enough of a profit with them, or because it seems like students from every walk of life these days instantly want positions it takes years and experience to earn.

Honestly, it doesn’t matter.  I use what I learned there every day of my life, and love it.

*smile*