I find traveling an adventure in itself. It truly is. Think about it, just the time difference from one place to another. We have it here in the United States, time change, from the East Coast to the West Coast. At times the time difference is mind boggling. I left today, Wednesday, the 13th from Australia and arrived home in Birmingham the same day, but I traveled a total of 23 hours. So weird!

I find traveling a tad annoying at times as well. You have to face long hours on a plane, all cramped up if you are not able to spring for business class or the first class cabin. In economy class you share a row with about two or three other people. It is not a pretty sight. There are tall people, short people, people who are slightly larger than you and those who are thinner then you (as most wish they were). The space back there in the economy place is sparse at best described. There are babies crying, kids kicking your seat and that one annoying person who always seems to sit right beside you, smacking gum or their food. Traveling is an adventure in itself. I have to remind myself of this.

I have been very fortunate to be able to travel all around the world. Most of my flights to and from these places have been so easy. A breeze if you will, to check in, get my ticket, drop off my bags and go to my gate to greet my flight. In the past year my flights have not been so pleasant. Case in point, spring break 2006. I went to Ireland with two girlfriends from college. It was a blast, but the flight getting there was not a fun adventure! We waited on the runway for an hour, just sitting, before we were allowed off the plane in Chicago to get to our other gate - the connecting flight to Dublin, Ireland. We ran, the gate just closed. We were not allowed to board. We were stranded in Chicago for the night. Not a happy camper.

The fun just keeps on coming, when I try to travel back home. The adventure never stops until you are actually home. Trying to come home early I changed my flight about two more times from the original flight. I was to leave from Sydney at 12:05 - I thought it was at right after midnight. It wasn't. The plane left at five after noon. I was in trouble. It was 9 at night, I was at the airport with three of my friends from the program and in trouble...I was not going home on Tuesday. I had to rebook my flight and stay another night in Sydney. I was going home on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, Sydney time, I finally got to the airport. I was checked in about 20 minutes before the flight left - a very long line and only three or four workers on the counter to check people in. I got to the flight on time though, boarded on time. Everything was fine. My seat was in the middle of the row and in the middle seat. There was no wiggle room. But since I was short I figured out a way to sleep, for about an hour, on the 13 and a half hour plane ride. The rest of the time I watched movies and ate the two meals they gave us.

Los Angeles was not eventful. It was actually very easy. I was able to rebook my flight home from LA to Dallas to Birmingham. It was just a long layover in LA, but well worth it. I got something to eat and a very large coffee. Then I was on my way home. Again, a very full flight to Dallas. The couple behind me had a small child. She liked to yell at a very high pitch every so often along with a small kick. It was a great plane ride. I tried to sleep as much as I could. The flight to Birmingham was less full, I was able to spread out a touch to sleep for about an hour. The only real headache from this whole trip was the long plane ride from Sydney to LA and missing the whole flight all together. Morale of the story: read your ticked properly and remember international flights run on a 24 hours clock. Very important piece of information.

My journey through Australia and New Zealand have come to an end. It was a great journey and adventure. I learned so much about myself and my passion for cooking/baking. It was a great experience! Now to await for the next adventure in Paris....here I come.

This is the last entry I will be writing about, well for this adventure in Australia. My culinary adventure in basic cuisine and basic patisserie has come to an end. Today was my last day of patisserie, ending in the final assessment. I made a fruit flan covered in kiwi, strawberries and blueberries. I got very good marks. I also made palmiers and vol au vents - figures made out of puff pastry. It was a little hard at times, but I got through it. I had to remake the palmiers - the first batch was not able to be presented. But overall - it was good. I passed everything - theory tests and practicals. So I will get a diploma. Now we just have to wait what kind of grade I will get. Hopefully I will get distinction, meaning an A!

Culinary school has been a great experience. It has not only taught me about the food in this industry, but also the people you would be working with, the language barriers and about myself. It has been an interesting journey. I've asked myself if I would ever do this again. My answer: yes. I have been able to meet some amazing chefs and some interesting people.

There has been a minor hiccup in the Paris Le Cordon Bleu - I might not be going. The school has run out of space in the intermediate patisserie. They will let me know next week if there is room for me next term. Hopefully there will be room for me to go. Paris would be awesome, especially in the winter! To study there would be unbelievable. But things will work out how they are supposed to. I'll be returning to the States on Tuesday, December 12th - so I will be seeing ya'll soon. Happy holidays and a happy new year!

Check back here after the new year to see where I am - Paris to continue the culinary program or somewhere else entirely. Where the road will lead.....to another journey somewhere...waiting.

I'm in the Home Stretch..one day and counting.

I left off on Tuesday's happening. Wednesday was my last day in cuisine. It was nice. It was very busy! I was the only one who finished everything on the agenda. We make Fish timbales (a fish mousse) with saffron sauce, seared kangaroo with a sweet potato galatte and crepes, plain and filled with pears. It was a busy day in class - those who failed the desserts section yesterday, 3 of them, had to redo them today in class. It was bittersweet to be done with cuisine. So happy for it to be over, but sad because I am leaving Australia.

Thursday was kinda a slow day in class, patisserie. We had a practice day in preparation for Friday's class/assessment. I made palimers and coffee eclairs. After class, I had to take a cuisine theory exam. It was easy, lots of questions though. There were a few questions that made me scratch my head...but a few points lost here and there won't hurt, I figure. Let's hope that's right.

Today, Friday, was the first day for the patisserie final assessment. It went very well. We did not get feedback, but I knew I did a good job. Herve, the head chef at Le Cordon Bleu, came in to assess the products, along with the head pastry chef from the sister school (TAFE). When we came back from lunch, I found an eclair missing. That meant that Herve ate my eclair, meaning it was good enough for him to eat! That must mean something!! I presented 10 eclairs, all uniform shape, color and shiny/tempered coffee flavored fondant. The eclairs were piped with coffee patisserie cream. They were great! I also had to make two puff pastry doughs, in two different methods, English and French method. The methods are different because of the way you incorporate the butter, all the same ingredients though. It was a good day. Good products!

Tomorrow is my last day in basic, hopefully. Tomorrow is filled with making a fruit flan, vol au vents and palimers, in four hours. Tomorrow will be busy, but I think it will be fun. Tomorrow's class really will be bittersweet - the final day.

In class today, we got to go into the kitchen 30 minutes before the assessment began - meaning 7:30. It was like the running of the bulls, with all the students running in to get all their equipment first. It was crazy. You can get run over and get hurt in the dish room just reaching for a bowl. There are 14 of us. It's crazy at times. There are more than enough bowls, pots and pans, but limited numbers of mixing bowls. This causes alot of chaos, chaos that is not needed! So I just stand back, let them gather their equipment and then I go in. The same thing happens in cuisine, but instead of 14 students there are 43 students trying to gather all their equipment. In the cuisine kitchen there are not enough bowls, pots, pan, trays, strainers, measuring cups and so on....so it is a race to the pot room, a real running of the bulls! People can get hurt. The lesson I learned - make do with what you've got when your given it. It's crazy.

Say some prayers....for tomorrow's assessment! See ya'll soon.

I thought that I would write a quick blog update.

Monday I made omelettes, for an hour. It was good. My first omelette was almost perfect, just gotta work on the shape of it. I finally got it, a perfect one. Sorry my omelette story is not as good as my uncle Webb's. But it was a good day.

Today I had my cuisine final. I got to school before 7:30, to relax and collect myself. I changed into my fresh, clean, pressed cloths, something I have not done since the beginning of school - pressing is overrated. We got into the kitchen by 8:00. We got to set up, gathering pots and pans and just making sure we had everything we needed. Then at 8:30 we were given out ingredients. The cooking began!

Plating began at 11:30 with the beef consomme and julienne carrots, leeks and celery. at 12:00 I served the rack of lamb with parsley crust, chateau potatoes and ratatouille. Then finally at 12:30 the creme caramel with creme Chantilly was plated and served. The chef said after class that my dishes were wonderful, beautiful. Chef Jacky told me that my creme caramel was perfect, the best.

I thought that my food was good. The consomme was ok. It was a little greasy, I thought. The plate too hot. The lamb was a little too medium, not medium rare. The sauce needed to be strained again. The potato, a little smaller and a little lighter. The creme caramel - perfect.

All that really matters is that I passed. I got good reviews by the chefs. There were a few people who have to redo their desserts. If I was grading myself, I would give me a B, maybe a B-. But we will have to wait to see my grade.

I'll keep ya'll updated on the next few days - cuisine theory exam and two days of finals in patisserie!

It seems so long since I have written an entry. I am so sorry to keep ya'll out of my life. I had no idea it has been so long. So let me catch ya'll up.

My theory classes for cuisine and patisserie are finally over. My last class was on Friday. It was an easy test, about working with diversity. I'm pretty sure I aced that one. The theory course has been pretty easy. It talks about hygiene, customer service, working with colleague's and working within a diverse environment. It is a two hour course once a week. It was very boring, but it is a requirement, unfortunately. I found out too late that I could have bypassed all these theory classes, through the college courses I took. Damn. Oh well. I guess it was a good thing to go over all the nonsense.

Classes have been going well. Just cooking, nothing else. In cuisine I have made beef, potatoes, homemade pasta with tomato and basil sauce, chicken dishes, Nicoise salad, lamb and sweet souffles. Plus so much turning of vegetables. Turning is a position cut, old fashion....old five star restaurants would do these cuts, it is not very popular to do anymore. Because it is a pain in the ass - the shape is a barrel with 6 to 9 sides. But I can do it now!

In patisserie we have made so many baked goods. It starts with breads, then croissants that are plain and filled with sweet and savory fillings, moving on to brioche filled with dark chocolate, butter cream cakes and finally cheesecakes. It has been a busy couple of weeks.

Yesterday, Saturday December 2nd, we made cheesecakes in patisserie class. I was running late to school. I was just tired. I got to school 45 minutes late, but chef Karen did not care. I got done first anyways. But on the way out of the refrigerator, my baked cheesecake fell out of hands and landed on the floor. Usually I would be upset, but I wasn't. I was fine about it. I think it was because I was so damn tired. For some reason school is taking so much out of me. I go to school from 8 until 2:30, only 6 and half hours. Some of the time we work, but mostly watch the chefs demo our lessons. Yet it takes so much out of me. When I am at home and working, I find it so much easier.

Two years ago, I returned home, instead of going back to college, because my internship at Disney was not all it was cracked up to be. I decided to work and work I did. I worked three jobs - Amano (retail, something I will never do again, if I can help it), Iz Too (bakery work, where I have been for the last four years) and Cafe Iz Catering. I worked full time at Amano and another 30 or so hours between catering and bakery work. I was tired, but nothing compared to what I feel now going to school for about 7 hours a day. I don't understand it. Does anyone? Oh well.

The upcoming week is going to be busy. I am in the home stretch. Tuesday is my cuisine practical. It is my final assessment, cooking beef consomme, lamb, ratatouille, chateau potatoes, and creme caramels. I have four hours to prep, cook and serve the meal to my chef and the assessor. On Thursday, I have the cuisine theory exam (different from the class I have been taking. This is the overall theory from the whole cuisine course). Friday and Saturday I have my patisserie practical. It is my final assessment for patisserie. Friday I have four hours to present 10 coffee eclairs, and two different kinds of puff pastry which will be finished the next day. Saturday, again in four hours, I will present a fruit flan, vol au vents and 10 palmiers. Then patisserie will be over with. Cuisine still has another three days left - I might be skipping out on it, if possible!

So my hell week is about to start, but it will be fulfilling and worth while. I just hope I pass and I don't freak out too much when the time comes. My stay here in Australia is just about over. It has been an interesting couple of months. I have been able to meet some amazing chefs and colorful people while attending Le Cordon Bleu Australia. I just hope Le Cordon Bleu Paris will be different and better! Hopefully I will be seeing ya'll soon. Until then wish me luck with finals, take care and happy holidays.