quick, quick update

[my apologies for the poor pictures  ahead]

Okay.  Where were we...

I'm actually laughing right now.  It's been so long, I think I may have forgotten how to write altogether.  I really mean it this time.  So to start, here's a quick rundown of everything that's happened in the last (cringe) three months, in list form:




1) I am two days away from graduating culinary school.
We already took our graduation picture yesterday, but tomorrow will be my last day of class; my final is on Monday.  ...Seriously?  My head is reeling as I speak (er, write).  Remember once upon a time when I said I planned to update more frequently during school?  Haha. Ha. Ha.  I hope you'll cut me some slack, because after not having internet for two weeks and living like a hermit for the next one to finish my school menu project,

left of kitchen; right/front of kitchen

2) I moved.
And only after a painful six weeks of getting to know the monster that is New York's real estate market. I've made the trek from Union Square to that ambiguous neighborhood that straddles Upper East Side and East Harlem.  Our shared one bedroom is..."cozy," and after some much needed finishing touches, feels more like home with each day.  All the better, considering I've signed a one-year lease for it.  Yup, one year.  Because...

something I may possibly be plating in the near future - sardines with tomato and fennel

3) I got a job in a kitchen.
Well, technically an internship, but a full-time paid one that may lead into a job.  Where will I be working?  A much buzzed about restaurant that opened three months ago, spearheaded by a handful of alumni from one of the top 10 restaurants in the world.  The whole team is set on building something great, and I'm excited to be part of it - just last week Pete Wells gave it three stars in the New York Times.  The internship will be three months long, and then I plan to either work at the same place or at another fine dining restaurant in the city, because...

the ah-mazing Saveur Magazine test kitchen

4) I want to go into food media.
Which sounds vague because it is.  I'm open to writing, styling, recipe development, print media, television, anything - because getting a paying "food media" gig that will pay the bills is ridiculously rare and therefore, ridiculously competitive.  A current dream job would be to work in a test kitchen for a food publication, company, or yes, Food Network (although their test kitchen is literally run by around five people who will never, ever leave).  If working at a restaurant and going to culinary school has taught me anything, it's this: I do want to work creatively with food, and I don't want to work in a restaurant.  At least not forever, even though I do love the adrenaline of killing a rush as much as the next line cook.  That being said, food media jobs require (or at the very least, highly value) classical training honed by years of experience in an actual kitchen.  So I guess you can say I'll be "doing my time" for the next two years.  Which certainly doesn't mean I can't enjoy it.

salmon roe on puffed rice crisps, also at future workplace

5) And so, I will be staying in New York.
How long?  I don't know.  I've never been much for long-term planning.  Practically speaking, I want to work in a reputable kitchen here in Manhattan for at least one year; maybe two.  From there, if I still want to go into food media, most if not all of the offices I'd be seeking work in are also in Manhattan.  If I do find said work, well...you can see where the answer gets ambiguous.  Will I be sick of the city before then?  Will I finally faint from claustrophobia on the 6 train, or buy a ticket to LAX once I step in the dirty street slush of my first east coast winter?  I can't tell you for sure.  All I know is, this city is both where I want to be, and where I should be.  For a while.  Whether I will be or not, I guess we'll both be finding out soon enough.