Orientation (New Toys Aplenty!)

I arrived at school on my bicycle a few minutes before 7:15am. Paperwork, an ID picture, locker assignment, and a bag of large books are sorted out, 13 fellow students and I filter into the kitchen classroom around 8am. I wish I could report I learned the dark secrets of souffle or broke down an entire cow today, but mostly it was the chef/teacher going through the basic rules of the school, an outlining of the courses, warning us that we'll be taking home plenty of the food we prepare, etc etc.

Four of the students are female; maybe 4 are my age or older. Three are under 21 -- I know this as we will be taking a 6-day wine intensive which they will not. We did not go around the room and introduce ourselves, unfortunately; I'm quite curious about every one's stories of how they ended up here. I overheard one student saying he's been a truck driver up to this point.

On a short break, I walked over to the small library next door and checked email. It occurred to me -- this is the first time since college I'm doing something (other than cycling) that's not in front of a computer. I can't just check email at a whim. Weird. Cooking is a pre-digital skill. I've heard about kitchen appliances becoming Internet-enabled, but I think that kind of silliness won't be in the syllabus.

We received a large tool box full of gear, which we quickly reviewed before the end of the session. I brought it home to fuss over and get familiar with - pretty, huh? I've never had a melon-baller before. Got a bunch of chapters to read about kitchen safety and what-not, then start again tomorrow at 8am.

ADDENDA:
For the morning of my first day of c-school, I weighed 228. When I started with Ilsa, I weighed a consistent 235, and only this past month or so have we started focusing on weight (i.e. calorie) reduction. Will Ilsa and my chefs be diametrically opposed? Well, it seems I got through the day sweets-free: any day for me without sweets is a good day. Less than a year ago, 2 to 3 sweets per day was standard.

BREAKFAST: 6:30am, organic cornflakes and unhomogenized whole milk, seltzer, .5 bowl, hunger 2/5
Stomach tight, nervous.

AM SNACK: 9am, 2 pieces of fresh french bread, palmful of peanuts, small cube of cheese, water, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5
There was a small spread of fruit, bread, cheese and nuts at the orientation.

LUNCH: 12:30pm, lemon-pistachio taglialini, 2 small arancini, small green salad with shaved ricotta, 2 pieces bread, water, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5
B works down the street, so joined her for lunch at an Italian bistro. The lemon-pistachio cream sauce kinda rocked my world. Very small portion, maybe .75 of a bowl (Ilsa wants me eating big lunches and small dinner.)

PM SNACK: 5:45pm, boca burger on superhippy bread with pickles and hot sauce, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 8pm, homemade hummus with whole wheat crackers, small green salad, homemade pizza, 2 bowls, a Manhattan, .5 glass of presecco, seltzer, hunger 4/5
Went to Cobble Hill in to friends of B for dinner. Mike made wickedly good homemade pizzas - he has a decade of cooking experience out of college, including working under Rocco Despirito at Union Pacific before he (Rocco) got corny as hell. He's not cooking for a living, but he makes a serious pizza. I do my own pizza, but Mike did his right - bread flour, a homemade dough of the right moisture level, a raw tomato sauce made with a food mill instead of a blender. He did 2 pies, the first being a wonderful combination of freshly blanched baby spinach, ricotta, porcini mushrooms, parm and finished with fresh basil chiffonade and a balsamic reduction -- and just the right sprinkling of freshly ground pepper. It really had it going on.