cca journal

In this space you can find my journal entries from my year studying at the California Culinary Academy. Expect new columns to appear once every 3-4 weeks while school is in session (Oct 2004 - Dec 2005).

11 Garde Manger. The type of class everyone dreams about when they think of attending cooking school...
(4.1.2005)

10 Butchery. My fingers are blue from the frosty room and my hair smells like turkey purge, but Butchery sure teaches us a lot...
(1.29.2005)

09 Basic Skills Pt. 3: Weeks 4 - 6. Cooking in Basic Skills is nothing but fun--until our last two competency exams...
(12.14.2004)

08 Nutrition. An otherwise dry class offers clues about why several of my classmates came to the CCA in the first place...
(11.29.2004)

07 Food Science. It's all about molecules and pH when you get down to the chemistry of food science...
(11.22.2004)

06 Basic Skills Pt. 2: Weeks 2 - 3. The second thing every chef must learn is how to make a beurre blanc that doesn't break...
(11.02.2004)

05 Basic Skills Pt. 1: Week 1. The first thing every chef must learn is how to wield her knife...
(11.02.2004)

04 Safety & Sanitation. Our first class teaches us about cross-contamination and cockroaches...
(10.31.2004)

03 Into the Fire. My first day at cooking school... (10.21.2004)

02 A Leap of Faith. Two weeks before entering the CCA I talk about my hopes and fears for the months ahead...
(09.20.2004)

01 First Impressions. An apathetic technical writer takes a tour of the California Culinary Academy campus and decides to make a career change...
(03.11.2004)