rjx
Assistant Cook
This was my intro on another site. To lazy to re-type a new intro, so here it is (edited) 
My name is R.J. and I just turned 29. I started cooking when I was about 8 years old and remember watching Julia Child with my Grandma quite often. However, even though I started at a young age, I never evolved in the kitchen until recently. I was always somewhat fascinated with cooking but was always turned off by how long it took to cook, and I dreaded cleaning up after myself. So thats that.
21 years after being introduced to the kitchen I find myself being quite interested in cooking and wanting to please peoples taste buds.
I watch food shows on television all the time and are in and out of the kitchen trying new recipes frequently. My family enjoys what I make and I constantly hear from them, "why don't you go to cooking school?" etc. I would usually ignore them because, well, I don't know why. Anyways, I have been looking into cooking schools for a while and decided to take that question "why don't you go to cooking school?" more serious.
So here I am, 29, watching cooking shows all the time, trying recipes, increasing my knowledge, and building confidence. I am not married (yet), have no children, and have been unemployed for two months. I am real close to getting educated in the culinary field, hopefully for a future career.
Living in the busy, fast paced Bay Area we have many fine dinning restaurants all over the place. I have learned before attending a school, I should work in a restaurant FIRST! So after I read a few books that I ordered I will start my search for an entry level position to make sure this is something I really want to pursue. Hopefully it will work out.
I have been asking myself what my goals (dreams) are? I would like to be an independent personal chef, open a catering business, and maybe open a restaurant on the island of Kauai (Hawaii). Whoa, first I need to learn how to crawl before I can walk hehe.
I spent a lot of time researching books and put together an extensive list of books that I would like to read. After searching the net the other night (all night) I ordered many books. I admit that I went crazy.
Some of the more important books I ordered are:
Professional Chef (8th edition)
The Professional Chef's Knife Kit
LA Varenne Pratique
Becoming a Chef
The Making of a Chef
The New Making of a Cook: The Art, Techniques, And Science Of Good Cooking
On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen
One school that has really caught my attention is CIA. I also requested brochures from Scottsdale Culinary Institute, New England Culinary Institute, J&W, FCI, ICE, CCA (about 40 miles from me), NY restaurant school, and PCI (about 4 miles from me).
And to wrap up my first post on this site I would like to mention that my ultimate goal is become the best cook/chef I can be. Whether pro/amateur, or even home chef.
My name is R.J. and I just turned 29. I started cooking when I was about 8 years old and remember watching Julia Child with my Grandma quite often. However, even though I started at a young age, I never evolved in the kitchen until recently. I was always somewhat fascinated with cooking but was always turned off by how long it took to cook, and I dreaded cleaning up after myself. So thats that.
21 years after being introduced to the kitchen I find myself being quite interested in cooking and wanting to please peoples taste buds.
I watch food shows on television all the time and are in and out of the kitchen trying new recipes frequently. My family enjoys what I make and I constantly hear from them, "why don't you go to cooking school?" etc. I would usually ignore them because, well, I don't know why. Anyways, I have been looking into cooking schools for a while and decided to take that question "why don't you go to cooking school?" more serious.
So here I am, 29, watching cooking shows all the time, trying recipes, increasing my knowledge, and building confidence. I am not married (yet), have no children, and have been unemployed for two months. I am real close to getting educated in the culinary field, hopefully for a future career.
Living in the busy, fast paced Bay Area we have many fine dinning restaurants all over the place. I have learned before attending a school, I should work in a restaurant FIRST! So after I read a few books that I ordered I will start my search for an entry level position to make sure this is something I really want to pursue. Hopefully it will work out.
I have been asking myself what my goals (dreams) are? I would like to be an independent personal chef, open a catering business, and maybe open a restaurant on the island of Kauai (Hawaii). Whoa, first I need to learn how to crawl before I can walk hehe.
I spent a lot of time researching books and put together an extensive list of books that I would like to read. After searching the net the other night (all night) I ordered many books. I admit that I went crazy.
Some of the more important books I ordered are:
Professional Chef (8th edition)
The Professional Chef's Knife Kit
LA Varenne Pratique
Becoming a Chef
The Making of a Chef
The New Making of a Cook: The Art, Techniques, And Science Of Good Cooking
On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen
One school that has really caught my attention is CIA. I also requested brochures from Scottsdale Culinary Institute, New England Culinary Institute, J&W, FCI, ICE, CCA (about 40 miles from me), NY restaurant school, and PCI (about 4 miles from me).
And to wrap up my first post on this site I would like to mention that my ultimate goal is become the best cook/chef I can be. Whether pro/amateur, or even home chef.
