Week Two

I’ve been procrastinating on writing recently, and its not without its share of excuses; both valid and invalid. Hence, I had two articles that are half-started last week but I lost steam and couldn’t quite get back into the rhythm of things ‘til maybe this week. Again, maybe -- so don’t hold me to that. (And yes, its called managing your expectations.) As Bukowski wrote:

“if it doesn’t come bursting out of you
in spite of everything,
don’t do it.
unless it comes unasked out of your
heart and your mind and your mouth
and your gut,
don’t do it.
if you have to sit for hours
staring at your computer screen
or hunched over your
typewriter
searching for words,
don’t do it.
if you’re doing it for money or
fame,
don’t do it.
if you’re doing it because you want
women in your bed,
don’t do it…"

I especially liked the last ‘if’ in this little snippet of a quote, but that’s a whole other post, not to mention a whole other blog. He does continue though, but you can look that up for yourself -- but I digress.

Last week was pure lecture. And to be completely honest, it wasn’t exactly a ‘tickle my over-enthusiasm nerve’ bunch of lectures. However, they were vital.

The lecture which, I have to say, I enjoyed the most was Monday’s lecture on Nutrition. It was just so enlightening. I could’ve sworn I sighed: “Well that made a lot of sense.” in hindsight, around 7 – 10 times. No wonder my attempts at diets failed miserably. (Well, aside from the fact that they were MY attempts.) In all honesty, I walked away from that class with a more definite idea about why my next diet will also inevitably fail and that I should patronize Nestlé products. Its just makes so much more sense now.

Come Wednesday, we talked about the exciting world of Culinary Math, converting fl oz. to q’s to L’s to Gal’s to tbsp. and vice versa. Fun right? It felt like Chem101 all over again only…wait it was exactly like Chem101. I’m almost ashamed to say that I had fun -- the ‘nostalgic-hope-I-don’t-have-to-go-through-this-again’ kind. Its fun like the idea of commuting to Quiapo on the feast of the Black Nazarene for the first time could be fun. But deep down you’re thinking: “Never again except under threat of bodily harm.” (Hope ma’am instructor never finds this blog. But if she does, let me just say that it was the most fun I’ve ever had discussing a topic that dared to meld both science and math in the same 4-hour time period.) Makes me wonder how I’ll do in baking.

The same ma’am instructor gave the lecture on Sanitation later that week. She managed to make it rather fun to learn, but of course, given its utter importance we all couldn’t help but listen intently as she mouthed terms like: Food Temperature Danger Zone in a sentence under a single breath. It was amazing albeit the unavoidable ominous undertone -- Food Temperature DANGER ZONE. Feels like I’m getting Salmonella just saying it. Did I mention the presentation had really graphic images contrasting a cook with good personal Hygiene and one without? Complete with nose-picking shots. Moreover, I found it weird that all the little germs and bacteria in the pictures had smiles plastered across their faces like they’re your friends or something. Why would I want to avoid unintentionally creating a venue for them to thrive and multiply when they just look so happy? They don’t look dangerous at all. Until of course you mention that they thrive only in the Food Temperature DANGER ZONE!

All things considered, I can say that there never was a dull moment last week despite how I may have felt about the topics discussed. I’m just amazed how taken I am with everything culinary school has to offer. In addition to the fact that its just so much fun to write about as you might have noticed by now. (Or it could just really be me.)





FoodieGoesCulinary,
JC Dayo



P.S.

As I’m posting this entry, I’m already formulating how I can tell you about the exciting events that transpired earlier today in our first official cooking day, but as for my process, a lot of procrastination is still to be had before then. I’m also wondering how I can make sure you don’t forget about the Food Temperature DANGER ZONE.