As great as New York is for people who enjoy food, cooking is not the easiest task (small kitchens small, poor ventilation, tiny work spaces).  But the one thing that's even more difficult (nearly impossible it seems) is to have a garden.

I've given up on dreams of growing my own vegetables, but I'm giving herbs a stab — and even that is difficult. My ne... Read More

The end of the school year brings along preparing for final practicals, cramming for exams, and finishing any papers at the last minute.  It also means that its time to pack up all of your belongings and move home for the summer. 

Crackerjack Living
While there are many perks to living on campus there will alw... Read More

The end of the spring trimester and the end of any culinary lab means one thing: practicals.  Not only does a student in a lab have to take a written exam, but also a practical, or a physical demonstration of the skills learned in the class.

Most of the students on the culinary side have it a little easier with their practical only taking up one day, and usual... Read More

By George, I think we’ve got it! This was our last week of quick breads and everything went right today. Everything. Our mise, our timing, our flow, our finished product. We made an Italian polenta bundt cake, and because we had not made biscuits yet, our team asked if we could give the biscuits a try.

Referring to our cake, Chef declared, “It’... Read More

Hey, all you Professional Chefs out there, I have some questions for you! Please indulge this culinary student by answering some survey questions about becoming a chef.

You can also reach the survey by copying and pasting this URL into your browser:

It feels like you're not cooking but you are.

We've been exploring the sous-vide (French for "under vacuum) method in school the past two months. Sous-vide cook involves cooking an ingredient by heating it in water for an extended period of time at a relatively low temperature (sometimes for hours). Most of the time this method involves using an airtight plasti... Read More

Week 2, quick breads - still. I realized after my muffin high wore off last week that I was going to get bored quickly. And here I am, bored. I wasn't looking forward to class last night. I already know how to make quick breads. I've been making quick breads since I was se... Read More

I recently had my first visit to Las Vegas and loved seeing this famous city.  It was amazing to see the opulence of “the strip” and all that meant.  Where else can you see Hotels with roller coasters on-top, rivers running through the middle, and even the Eiffel tower outside of France.

Inside the casinos were just as grand.  Some were a huge ma... Read More

For much of my life, despite some studies proclaiming it unnecessary and even unhealthy, I've been a member of the clean plate club.

My parents emigrated from Vietnam and settled in the Midwest with little money. Saving every penny counted. To this day, my mom will bring home one tiny chicken wing from a restaurant if she doesn't finish it.

So I'm not qu... Read More

Yesterday was my first cooking class, ever; Baking and Pastry I. My morning was, well, not what I had expected, which I whined about on Wicked Good Dinner. Murphy’s Law has certainly played a significant role this semester.

I spent quite a bit of time res... Read More