Ok. So I quit an absolutely fabulous job with a software development company to train to be a chef.

Stranger things have happened.

After quitting, I packed up my life and opted for hilly Tallahassee over sunny Naples, Florida. One of the better moves I had made in my life.

	Articles written during externship...
	Comfort Foods Are Back! And they are back in record number. Tallahassee's menus are just bursting with food just like Mom used to make.
	Cabbage Head It's not your momma's coleslaw anymore…check out the most fashionable cabbage on the block.
	The Truth About Mashed Potatoes The Irish thrived on the potato and brought their favorite delicacy to the new world.
	Can you say So-FREE-toe? Every family has their own, but the basics to the soffitto are simple.
	How Sweet It Is! From cane to cube, sugar takes many forms.
	Maillard the Duck? No, not really. But Maillard is consistently confused with carmelization.
	The Great Powder & Soda Debate Ever wondered what the difference is between the two?
	Does your heart belong to Fennel? A surprising look at a very misunderstood vegetable.
	Sing a Song of Sixpence Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie. The Greeks may have created the delicate pastry but each culture has contributed their own flavor.
	The Fifth Food Group An essential ingredient for many chocoholics, it all starts with the cacao bean.
	To Salt or Not to Salt Perhaps that is the question. How does salt affect the flavor of our foods?
	Pasta! Pasta! Pasta! America has a love affair with this comfort food.
	The Perfect Crust Everything you never wanted to know about pie crust.

A culinary geek to the core, I arrived at the restaurant clad in full uniform toting the tools of the trade, right down to the apron and gloves. Not knowing quite what to expect, I walked through the glass doors at the front of the restaurant anxiously searching for the chef. After meandering down a darkened staircase and winding through a narrow maze of a passageway, I finally discovered the kitchen. Small by some standards, yet large by others. Greeted by two cooks, both wearing black uniforms and the culinary equivalent of a stocking cap, I inquired as to the whereabouts of the chef. He would arrive shortly.

Two days earlier, the chef and I had spoken about employment opportunities in his kitchen. I was to arrive in his kitchen at nine o'clock and be prepared to work for a couple of hours to give him the opportunity to observe my knife skills. Sorely lacking in knife skills, I agreed and prayed that I wouldn't lose a finger in the process.

So the day had come where I would be put under a microscope to see if I warranted a position in his kitchen. The chef had arrived and I was asked to how long I would be able to work that day. What originally had been a two hour tour quickly grew into a 'few more'.

Having been assigned my first task of chopping mire poix, I thoughtfully went about carefully chopping vegetables into small square blocks. After several minutes, I decided that this was taking to long and my agitated nerves kicked in and I began to produce slightly erratic cuts. After all, these were just insignificant vegetables for stock, but I wrestled with the fact that even though they were only vegetables that would be strained out of the final product, I was still being judged.

More tasks were assigned throughout the day, none of which I pleased myself with any of the results. When the end of the day came, I was certain that I would be sent home with a 'thanks, but no thanks' from the chef. However, the chef was far more forgiving and offered me a position. I accepted the position beginning Monday morning.

So started the next few weeks - chopping, mincing, dicing. I learned everything from stocks, sauces and soups to sauté, braising and roasting. A totally different - and positive - perspective on the techniques that I had learned in school. Who would have ever guessed that you could peel ginger root with a spoon? I was definitely expanding my knowledge of the culinary arts.

Sauté Away!
Not my best technique by far. In culinary school, I had learned to flip an omelet multiple times, but fear of wasting food kept me from practicing the technique on other dishes. However, when preparing foods quickly to order, having a spoon or spatula handy is a hard-to-come-by luxury. So in the times I would not afford the simple luxury of a spatula, I had to toss my veggies high in the air and hope they would land back in the pan from whence they came. Eventually hope won 2 out of three times. But for every third time, the floor was very well fed.

Yet I persevered as there was much food to be sautéed. Vegetables, pasta and even fish. Lacking virtually any background in fish, I learned much about preparing varieties that I had never heard of before. Yes, sauté was informative.

The Grill of it All
Iron bars holding back flames were staring up at me. The grill. In my family, the grill work was left to those with the testosterone. Except for an occasional use during school, I had never actually cooked on a grill before. A quick introduction to the ancient art of grilling and all of that would change...

The preparation of the grill was a strong-armed feat. Using a long handled scrub brush, I directed the bristles toward the bars of the grill. Bits of prior delicacies could char and clutter the grill. So clearing of this unwanted was key. However, if it was not followed by a dusting with an oiled rag, the grill was not ready to go.

Quickly enough, I learned that some foods - primarily fish - grill easier than others. As in all valuable lessons, I learned this the hard way. The amount of fat in a fish is directly proportionate to how much it will stick to the grill. But fear not! A carving fork used to loosen the fish from the narrow bars can help to loosen a stuck-on fish. I promise, after the first time or three, you will eventually remember this...

Moving Along
Alas, due to terrain issues of climbing stairs and lifting heavy things, my hip decided that it was time that I move on. It was then I began my journey as a baker.

Baking cookies at first, I was simply thrilled at the prospect of cooking on even terrain that was not cursed with stairs. But soon I came to learn about the art that is the cookie. Preparing large batches of dough, I would scoop the cookies into equal size portions and freeze the raw dough. This allowed for a far more productive environment than preparing each dough on a daily basis. So each morning would begin with a selection from the freezer of cookies to bake fresh for our guests. The sheer logic was just perfect!

From baking cookies and bars I graduated to piecrust and cakes. I must admit that piecrust was a challenge at first. And I must have looked like a barbarian with a rolling pin when I first tried to roll out the dough. But after working with the dough for a while, and after many, many batches, I have come to understand it a little better. Be one with the crust... Yes, the bake shop and I have found a mutual plane of existence.

Though toward the end of my internship, I did find that I still have much to learn. But may that be said of many new endeavors? I can only hope that I can learn something new each day!