Back from the Beyond!

Hello Everyone,

I'm sorry for the enormous break in posts... I have found that managing a full time job, school, an internship, a marriage, a house and life in general is, well, hell!!!

So - to catch all of you up to date - I'm in the fourth level of the program already - and there's only a few weeks left of it. Mod's 2-3 were still more than manageable - it turns out that the skills they were teaching me, I'd already learned on my own and learned correctly! It allowed me to focus and start refining my finished products. Mod 3 gave us the pleasure of learning American Regional Cuisine, wine, menu planning, restaurant management and culinary skills... I'm proud to tell you - straight A's were achieved and I earned the respect of the teachers and our fellow students.

I learned a great deal about myself in so many ways through school, work and home over the last 24 weeks. I am so much more confident now in myself and my abilities, and most importantly, happy. I hate to echo Sally Field's infamous Oscar speech, but, I recently discovered that "I like me, I really like me". So, with quiet determination, I've aced my way through the beginning of mod 4 and have had great success. The class unanimously elected me as one of the two Sous chef's for our big production dinner prior to graduation. The teaching Chef's are treating me more as a peer than as a student and my fellow classmates have started to rely on me as a leader. The best of all, I feel calm (though tired!), in control and focused.

More good news my friends, Jack and I have LLC'd my catering company - Mirepoix Caterer's, Simply Delicious! A website will be coming soon and more information as well!

Well, this catches us up for now and I'm going to write a full blog entry on tonight's class tomorrow... it's Patisserie tonight... and let's just say, I was never good in art class with a flat canvas. How the hell am I to be successful with one that's round and squishy?!?! I am awful at cake decoration.

More to come!

Love,

Jeffrey