WE ARE CULINARY!

I had an interesting conversation with a young graphics art student in the elevator. I pushed the 9th floor button and she made this face and said “what’s on the 9th floor?” “Culinary” I replied. She looked at me puzzled. “Is that like… cooking?” I nodded my head yes trying not to stare at her facial piercing, spiked colored hair and oh, my God, what was that written on her T-shirt? She was still staring at me perplexed as if I had uttered total jibberish. “So, like you just cook stuff?” I was taken back by this trite summation of what we do, I didn’t know what to say at first. “It’s much MORE than that!” I said a bit defensively. But the elevator doors opened and her interest in the conversation was immediately over. This conversation kept playing over and over in my head. How would I have explained just what “Culinary” is? How would I define our department? Well, here’s what I came up with.

We are architects in garde mange, building ice sculptures and delicate spun sugar structures that rival any sky scraper.

We are historians in American Regional and International. We are the keepers of every culture. The torch is passed to us as we learn the history of our ancestors and keep their traditions alive.

We are artists in Baking and Pastry and Art Culinare. From the perfectly sculpted loaves of bread to the intricate fabricating of flowers that garnish our fondant covered artworks, we add a forth dimension to three dimensional art…taste.

We are scientist as we experiment with combining flavors and cooking techniques. We will learn to use the chemical properties of acids to cook our fish and to inhibit oxidation of our peeled potatoes. We will master the chemical reactions of yeast and other leaveners and know how to alter the texture, shape and color of food in mind boggling ways using science as our guide.

We are entrepreneurs and businessmen as we learn to operate a business in our Menu by Management class and Purchasing and Cost Control. From owning our own restaurant to being an executive chef at a world famous resort, we learn it all from the front of the house to the back, from dishwashing to dish buying.

We are all encompassing. We touch every facet of every person’s life. We are weddings and funerals, we are bar mitzphaz and tailgate parties. Whether it’s hamburgers and ice cold beer or French froi gras lightly grilled with a 50 year old balsamic glaze paired with the perfect Sauterne, it is our masterpiece. We are food, we are the bread of life.

We are Culinary!

Heidi Riley