At the end of December 2005, I graduated from The French Culinary Institute's Culinary Arts program. Shortly after I ventured out to California to try out for a position with Chez Panisse Café in Berkeley, California. In the first week I was there,I began to despair over just how little a culinary program could prepare one for working in a professional kitchen, especially as short a program as the one I completed, 9 months. I didn't get the job. Yet the chefs offered me a chance to come back for a short 3 week internship as they liked me and wanted to work more with me.
I just finished my second week working at the Café (first of the 3 week internship) and I still haven't lost my respect for the way they run the restaurant. Each day my admiration and appreciation for the way they run things there increases. Also, I've learned to put my education at the FCI into perspective. I think it did give me just enough to jump start my abilities in a professional kitchen and not be a complete nuisance. However, I feel working for free for a period of months could do the same.
