I’ll jump in by saying that I’m a huge ball of stress. The only way I sleep at night is by telling myself, out loud, that everything is going to be okay, we’re going to figure this thing out Jim, relax bud, we got this! This class originally had me feeling this way. Some of you have stopped reading already. Wait! Don’t go, I’m a people pleaser. I will give the people what they want.
But if what they want is food, then I will have to disappoint. Week 1 was centered around Chef Mark’s description of the culture of the class, the uniform expectations, and the layout of the kitchen. Quotes that would best summarize Mark’s words would be that “this is NOT a cooking class”, and, “having fun is not optional”, and “you’ll be with your groups for, like, 7 years”.
Of course, all of this information is very important. Knowing what to expect and how to meet those expectations is half the battle of “A”cing a class (which is exactly what I’ll be doing, thank you very much). These expectations, basically, are that you do your work on time with the best attitude possible. Or don’t, and ask yourself why you spent $1,500 on a course you chose to slack off in.
AHA Moment
The old hackneyed phrase “you get out what you put in” comes to mind. As a kid, I heard those words thrown around a lot by adults that definitely knew better than I did. But, as I’ve grown older, I’ve begun to realize the profound truth there, and I think they apply heavily to HA 243. It will take discipline, patience and a good attitude to succeed in this class. That’s what I learned on Day 1. And that folks, is very achievable from my perspective.
Maison de Gastronomie 