Playing With My Food ~
A journal about food, thought, travel, and life; by Chef & Raconteur Chaz French.

1 month in…

So, I’ve been the Chef at the school for a month now.

It’s kinda crazy.  I fully grasp how lucky I am to be a cook pretty much straight out of culinary school who not only has his own kitchen, but I get to create my own menus every week.  I spend a good part of my weekends thinking about what I want to cook next week, not because I have to (I can bang out a week’s menu in minutes), but because I’m doing what I love, what I’ve always been meant to do, and it’s amazingly rewarding.

As a food geek, WOW.  I’m at markets and grocery stores every day of the week, and usually more than once a day (I have to shop for home too, afterall).  It’s truly amazing how much I love food and ingredients and just experimenting in the kitchen.

That brings me to the best part of all of this.  Unless I’m baking something new-ish I very rarely ever use or follow a recipe.  I look at cookbooks for knowledge of a cuisine, guidelines, suggestions, ideas, what-have-you.  I don’t cook from them; when I go into my kitchen whether at home or the school, I just cook.

This job allows me to do that in ways I’ve never done before, I’m cooking things I’ve never worked with, I’m attempting things I’ve never done, and I’m doing them, and they’re delicious.

Basically, I’m learning that I really am a good cook, and in that, I’m learning to trust myself and go bigger and better.