Bug Off

Days 102-104

Slowly but surely, I'm feeling better.

I spent the majority of the weekend resting so that I would walk into class today revived. I'm not completely restored, but I do feel a helluva lot better than I did last week. Thank God for Z-Pak, muscle relaxants and 800 mg Motrin. Oh, and comfort food.

Yesterday, I made chicken paprikash with spaetzle—a family recipe that reminds me of my mom. I had hoped it would put a smile on my face. (It did.) It also put a smile on Ryan's; it's one of his favorite dishes. I knocked it out of the park. Of course, my mom's is still the best.

The decision to make the dish came to fruition after I inherited six chicken legs and six chicken thighs. On Friday, my chef allowed students to split up food that would likely spoil over the weekend. I jumped on the all-natural Murray's chicken as well as a freshly cooked (and killed) lobster. I'd say I fared well.

Friday marked the last day of garde manger; today, I re-entered poissonnier. I worked on the cod dish, which features chorizo, clams cooked in white wine, saffron potatoes and kale sauteed with garlic. Despite the fact that I'm somewhat turned off by cod (please refer to my Nov. 4 post about worms), the dish looks amazing. I'd like to try it at home with a different type of fish.

I'm gonna give it my all this four-day week. I know it's going to be a busy one, as people are in town for the holidays.

Time to spread some cheer.

Cabin Fever

Days 97-101

In the ultimate culinary student move, I just took my temperature with a meat thermometer.

I spent the second day of Level 6—the final chapter of culinary school—in bed. I spiked a fever of 101 and decided it was best to stay home. Unfortunately, students are docked five points from their grade when they miss class. This is tricky, I think, because students don't want to miss in fear of a lower grade when, really, they shouldn't be serving food if they can contaminate it—and other students.

I'm pretty sure I got sick from someone at school, so I'm staying home because that's what they should have done. (Does this sound bitter?) Maybe it will mean one less person getting sick.

Either way, adios, zero absences.

On top of my fever, my back is on the verge of going out. So not only am I sweating profusely, I can't walk.

OK, enough of my sob story. Here's some good news: I found out that I aced my menu project. That put a smile on my face. The overall winner will be announced during graduation.

Writing this consumed most of the energy I had today. I'm going to kick back and watch some "Top Chef All-Stars."

Goat for it

Days 95 and 96

I'm not one to gloat. Today, however, I'm gonna gloat about goat.

On Tuesday, I decided to go for it. With limited pastry knowledge, I presented a special dessert to be served during lunchtime. The highlight was my rosemary goat cheese ice cream—a recipe I concocted for my menu project that turned out amazing. And with a much better machine in school than my $99 KitchenAid Stand Mixer attachment at home, the ice cream had an even creamier consistency.

Per the chef's suggestion, I served the ice cream with a butter cake, dunked in rosemary simple syrup, as well as pomegranate seeds and orange supremes. (For my menu project, it stood alongside cabernet sauvignon-poached pears and a reduction of the red wine.)

I'd say it was a hit, considering the pastry chef asked me for my recipe. That's not every day that happens.

Tomorrow I'm trying my hand at another lunch menu special—this time an entree. I can only hope that it goes half as well as the first.

Getting a Rise

Days 93 and 94

Maybe it's just me, but one of the most thrilling things about making pastries (and bread, for that matter) is the way a souffle or dough puffs up when baked.

I have little knowledge of both pastry- and bread-making, so it's even more gratifying when an unfamiliar procedure goes as planned—and equally dissatisfying when there's no doubling in size. I'll admit I cracked a smile during my pastry rotation when I opened the oven and perfect golden-brown domes were staring me in the face. Whoa, wait—did I make those? Yes. Yes, I did.

The domes were baba, small yeast cakes that, post-bake, were soaked in a rum/simple syrup mixture until they couldn't absorb any more liquid. It's pretty much a sweet, doughy shot the restaurant serves cold; I prefer it warm.

Chestnut ice cream (which I made today) is served with the baba, along with pine nuts, chestnut puree, an apple chip and chocolate drizzle. The second pastry recipe for Level 5 is a pumpkin souffle with eggnog sauce.

I'd give the latter a hug if I could for tasting so good.

Free Fallin'

Days 91 and 92

According to economic principles, there's no such thing as a free lunch.

But when I'm munching on prosciutto di Parma and sipping a Roman wine provided by an acclaimed Italian chef at a

student-only demonstration, it's easy to forget the exorbitant amount I'm paying for school. That moment is short-lived, of course, but it still feels like I'm getting something for free. Sometimes there's even a bit of exclusivity surrounding it—like when the demo features a James Beard Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award winner or the chef has at least an eight-

week waiting list to get into his restaurant.

This week I took advantage of the "freebies," attending a demo yesterday and the day prior. On Tuesday, French chef Andre Soltner of The New York Times four-star rated Lutece (which closed in 2004 after more than 40 years) presented a three-course tasting menu. Lucky me to get a private meal from a famed chef and restaurateur. The dishes comprised potage au potiron (pumpkin soup), joues de boeuf braisees au vin rouge (beef cheeks braised in red wine) and bavarois aux poire (Bavarian cream with pears).

Yesterday, I enjoyed a sampling of imported Italian meats, cheeses and wine. All were handpicked by chef Cesare Casella, owner of Salumeria Rosi in Manhattan and dean of my sister school's Italian Studies program. Nothing puts me at ease more than dry-cured ham and a glass of vino.

I'm ready to attend the long list of demos scheduled the next month-and-a-half I'm in school. Free or not, I rarely turn down an opportunity to eat.

Home for the Holiday

Days 85-90 and Everything in Between

In case you're wondering—I'm still alive.

I've been a busy bee the last week. I just wrapped up my biggest undertaking in culinary school: the menu project. For the last few months, I've been planning a multi-course menu, complete with food photos, recipes, a costing breakdown, an essay on my theme and so on. I turned the project in today and am happy with my work.

I'm also happy that it's over, which is why I celebrated tonight with some culinary school friends at Wondee Siam. A Thai classmate and friend took us to the amazing restaurant in Midtown. She says it's the closest food to home in New York.

Because of the menu project—as well as Thanksgiving—I took a mini-sabbatical from my blog. The holiday was amazing; I was so grateful to see my parents and brother in Ohio. We cooked our butts off and ate so much that my pants are definitely not buttoning like they were before. But it was worth it.

Besides the turkey my dad deep-fried, my mom and I cooked most of Thanksgiving dinner. Appetizers comprised butternut squash soup, a foie gras torchon and rabbit sausage; the turkey and gravy, leek bread pudding, sweet potato casserole, green beans, mashed potatoes, a ribbon salad, cranberry sauce and Brussels sprouts with homemade maple bacon were the main entrees and sides; and two pumpkin pies and a caramel apple pie were for dessert.

As if that wasn't enough, my mom and I made my uncle's Polish sausage the next day. I've eaten the dish a thousand times during the holidays, but I've never seen how it's made. I now know the family secret (and am willing to share it with anyone who favors garlic and pork).

After the sausage making, our family headed to chef Michael Symon's flagship, Lola, located in downtown Cleveland. I've been there several times, but it was a first for my husband. He loved it. We (not surprisingly) gorged ourselves on beef cheek pierogies, pork belly, crispy bone marrow, ribeye steak with bone marrow garlic butter, pork chops with cheesy polenta and several desserts. Not to mention the wine and drinks—but how can you pass those when the menu is on an iPad?

I headed back to New York missing my family and feeling as stuffed as a turkey.

Sea World

Days 83 and 84

The orders are coming in—finally!

I don't want to jinx myself, but the pace has been pretty good the last two days. Yesterday, I was in charge of the escargot appetizer and I plated at least 15 portions. Today, I moved to the poissonnier station and was on branzino duty; we sold all but one portion.

For me—never having worked the line in a restaurant—it was pretty exciting. I can see why people love a kitchen's atmosphere. It has so much energy.

Besides prepping the dish's elements for service, I spent today sauteing the branzino to order. I'm back on branzino tomorrow, but this time, I'll likely plate the dish. (We're rotating responsibilities among our team members.)

I never thought slaving over a hot stove could be so much fun. This deserves a cupcake from one of my favorite bakeries, Sugar Sweet Sunshine.

Oh, and some banana pudding, too.

Green Days

Days 81 and 82

Arugula. Frisee. Mache. Greens are taking over my life.

The first (official) two days of Level 5 I spent making salads at the garde manger station. Monday it was a chicken salad, today it was a seasonal salad. Too bad the orders weren't flying in—I spent more time prepping for the dishes than actually making them for customers.

It's OK, though. I know the time will come when I'm completely overwhelmed with dishes. Tomorrow is a start: I'm on escargot duty, which is one of the more popular appetizers. I'm crossing my fingers for at least a handful of orders.

I'm just hoping the day doesn't move at a snail's pace.

I was awoken from the slow day—ahem, days—post-class when I attended my second demo with Jacques Torres. He showed the students how to make croissants, pain au

chocolat and rum cream-filled brioche doughnuts. Amazing. Seriously, his movements are so fluid, you can tell he's been doing this for years.

When I arrived in the culinary theater, a camera crew was camped out. Apparently, they were filming a Jacques Torres iPhone app and the audience was part of it. Now that's a first for me.

Just wish there was an app that would magically write my menu project...

Into the Big House

Days 79 and 80

Today was the beginning of the end.

On the last day of Level 4, our class made a move into the big kitchen. Yes, you've got it: We're finally to the point where the chefs trust us to cook for real customers.

Many—if not the majority—of the students in my class have some experience cooking in a restaurant kitchen. I don't. I was nervous, but I managed to get through the experience unscathed.

I was assigned to be the "floater" of the garde manger station. Basically, I spent the day doing odds and ends—filling in when people needed an extra hand—so I didn't have a specific dish. It was a good way to see each dish in the station and get a sense of the kitchen's flow. Plus, one of my odd tasks was making sausage. It's my new favorite activity.

The smoked rabbit sausage I made in class this week was dinner tonight. I served it over lentils. Ryan and I scarfed it down.

This week was a sausage fest.

Nuts for Nut Rolls

Days 77 and 78

Ahh, the comforts of home.

The third and final buffet group presented its week's worth of hard work today. The theme was Croatia, and I was a happy camper: Several of the dishes reminded me of food I grew up eating. (I'm half Slovenian—the country of Slovenia is adjacent to Croatia and has very similar food—and the rest of my ethnic background is Italian, Irish and Polish.)

One dish in particular—potica—was especially meaningful. The first bite of the nut roll brought me back to Christmas in Cleveland when my Grandma Mary was alive. She would make it every year; if there was any left, we'd take it home and dunk it in coffee in the morning. The potica made for the buffet was awesome. Thank you, mom, for sending the recipe, and thank you, chef and a good friend (you know who you are) for trying your hands at a family favorite. Grandma would be proud.

I was obviously thrilled about the potica, but I was also psyched to work with rabbits. The butchering comprised the entire day. The first half, I deboned them and used Activa—also known as transglutaminase "meat glue"—to roll the rabbit into a sausage-like shape. During the second half of the day, I broke the rabbits into several pieces, including front and rear legs, tenderloins and the smallest rack of ribs you've ever seen. Butchering took up most of the day yesterday as well; I removed the legs and breasts from ducks.

I really racked up some butchering practice this week.

Holy Smoke!

Days 75 and 76

It feels like I'm smokin' through Level 4—maybe 'cause I am.

The wood chips and charcoal have made several appearances in the past few days of class. My team can't get enough of them.

It all started with the duck breasts; they were amazing (I offered a piece to Ryan's parents—

who visited this weekend and have never tried duck—and they loved it.) Next came the trout, cured in a brine of juniper berries, Madeira wine and maple syrup. Also awesome. The spicy Italian sausage wrapped up Friday.

Today, we smoked the bacon we cured last week. Tomorrow, we're smoking salmon, rabbit sausage and more trout.

The smell of burning wood chips certainly evokes feelings of fall. Sometimes I miss having a fireplace. I'm definitely looking forward to heading to Cleveland for Thanksgiving. My mom and I have been planning the menu; deep-fried turkey, leek bread pudding and sweet potato casserole are confirmed.

Oh, and the infamous Level 3 lemon tart might make a reappearance...

Fish Tackle

Days 73 and 74

Give me that fillet o' fish, give me that fish.

I spent the first two days of production cleaning, filleting and skinning cod, branzino, steelhead trout and monkfish. My arms were definitely open to the task at hand; I need work in that arena. I've never been big on buying fish—especially whole—so I'll take any aquatic creature thrown my way.

Of all the fish, cod was the most challenging. It's massive. On Wednesday, the fish was more than half my height. Pretty freakin' awesome—except for the worms. The fish often has a parasite (the cod worm) that crawls in its flesh. I'm not sure I'll ever order cod again after plucking those guys and watching them squirm.

No more fish tomorrow. Production works like this: Each person spends two days on a rotation, comprising filleting, butchering and stocks. I believe stocks is next. It's the rotation I'm least looking forward to due to all the horror stories of burns and back aches.

I better stock up on sleep 'cause tomorrow is gonna be a long one.

Hello, Goodbye

Days 71 and 72

Family meal: I'll miss you.

Today was the final day of the rotation—and it was a good one. We roasted six legs of lamb (which a few of us deboned yesterday) stuffed with garlic, rosemary and oregano. I was skeptical—especially considering the pungent smell coming from the oven—but it was amazing. Seriously. Crispy skin and juicy meat... what more could a carnivore ask for?

Per usual on buffet day, the family meal was overshadowed by the abundance of food on the opposite side of the room. It should be: The buffet team plans an elaborate meal for a week in hopes of wowing the school. This week's team settled on the various neighborhoods of Manhattan for its theme.

For yesterday's family meal, we made a version of boeuf bourguignon and served it with polenta. To be honest, it wasn't my favorite day, as I had to man the salad station. What a mindless task. However, I fully understand we have to pay our dues.

Tomorrow is production. Hopefully the family meal mascot (a grumpy French chef PEZ dispenser) will continue to watch over us.

We're gonna need it.

Stacking Up

Days 69 and 70

It's time for some fall cleaning.

In Levels 1 through 3, I brought index cards to every class per chef instructions. Each card featured a recipe—ingredients and method—to aid students in making dishes. Those "cheat sheets" are no longer part of our repertoire.

I found half a stack of the index cards at home today (the other half is in my knife kit at school). After debating about whether or not to keep them, I tossed them in the recycle bin. After all, I have the same recipes in my textbooks. Why keep a second set?

The stack of cards reminded me of how much I covered in three short months. I'd like to add up all the dishes sometime.

Family meal Thursday comprised homemade lasagna—even the noodles were from scratch. I spent a good hour making sheets of pasta with the hand-crank machine. Chefs and students alike thought our mission was ambitious, but we did it. And the lasagna was damn

good, too.

Today, we made orange chicken, pepper beef and duck fat-fried rice. I was skeptical about re-creating dishes that I believe are best left to inexpensive takeout joints, but we pulled it off.

Two more days are left in family meal. Let's see if we can produce some more winners.

We Are Family

Days 67 and 68

First two days of working the family meal rotation = success.

It's tough work. The day starts an hour earlier than usual and is nonstop until the school starts lining up for lunch at 11:30 a.m.; the rush lasts for about an hour, our team gets a mini-break, and then the madness continues until 3 p.m. as we prep for the following day.

In total, family meal is cooked for approximately 300 people. Those eating include students,

chef instructors and other staff.

Tuesday, we prepared roast beef, potatoes gratin and roasted Brussels sprouts; today, we served fish and chicken tacos, cabbage slaw, and rice and beans.

In addition to the mains, we also prep a salad bar, condiments and various drinks. So far so good: I'm hearing compliments, so I'll take that as a sign my team is doing well.

All this hard work deserves a reward. What better way to pat a chef-in-training on the back than with a good meal—cooked by someone else, of course. A small group of friends from school hit up DBGB for some of chef Daniel Boulud's house-made sausage. We split foie gras with black mission figs, hazelnuts and brioche; Thai pork sausage with green papaya, basil fried rice and a quail egg; pork sausage served over bacon and lentils; cold-smoked ribeye with cauliflower puree and bone marrow ravioli; and a green apple and honey ice cream sundae. Afterwards, we stopped by Painkiller for some retro tiki bar libations.

Can I get an "Oh yeah?"

Pasta Manana

Day 66

Buffet No. 2, check.

Today, my group knocked out a last-minute pasta buffet. It was pretty awesome, if I might say so myself. In a few hours time, we made fresh cavatelli with an oxtail ragu and chanterelle mushrooms; truffled mac 'n' cheese; orecchiette with broccoli rabe and white anchovies; linguini with rock shrimp; fresh gnocchi with peas and proscuitto; and fresh butternut squash-filled ravioli with a sage cream sauce.

I hope we can bring our "A" game to family meal as well. Tomorrow starts the new rotation with a menu of roast beef, potatoes gratin and roasted Brussels sprouts. What's not to love about this meal?

On the way home from class, I found myself standing in front of Dean & Deluca's ice cream freezer. I picked up a pint of Salty Caramel from Jeni's—the most amazing ice cream maker, located in Columbus, Ohio—to surprise Ryan. At $11, it was the most I've ever spent for that amount of ice cream at a grocery.

Now, that's amore.

Caribbean Cruisin'

Days 64 and 65

We made it.

A week's worth of planning, and my buffet team presented a smorgasbord—as in 30-plus dishes—to the school today. It appeared we won over the crowd with our Caribbean theme, considering the platters were basically empty when all was said and done.

It was rewarding to hear compliments from chefs and fellow students. I think what impressed them most was the fact that we pumped so much food out of such a small kitchen. (I'm pretty sure the buffet kitchen isn't much bigger than my apartment's bedroom.)

Dishes included oxtail stew, whole-roasted suckling pig, quesillo (a version of coconut flan), callaloo, guava-and-mango-glazed short ribs, crab cakes with coconut curry, codfish balls with tamarind sauce, jerk chicken kabobs with red currant sauce, curry-crusted rack of lamb, and many, many more. We also presented our charcuterie dishes as part of the mandatory assignment; the dishes included foie gras, a duck terrine with pistachios and head cheese.

I loved experimenting with food that's "new" to me: I've never cooked oxtail or octopus—or a suckling pig for that matter—and I've never tasted soursop. (It was an amazing fruit, by the way.)

On Monday, I'll have one more day of buffet, and then I'm moving on to family meal. Should be fun. I've heard the chef heading the section is great, so I'm looking forward to working with new talent.

Until then, I'm going to close my eyes and dream of the Caribbean's blue and green water and gently crashing waves...

This Little Piggy...

Days 62 and 63

At this point, it's probably pretty obvious that I love bacon.

So I was pretty psyched that I had the chance to make it this week. Tuesday, we trimmed the pork belly and rubbed it with a maple solution; today, we flipped the meat and gave it a good massage. Tomorrow we smoke it.

Friday we eat it.

Our suckling pig was also delivered, and we rubbed it down with a marinade. We're serving the little guy at our buffet's carving station Friday. I hope we do him justice.

In addition, we also braised oxtails for a stew (awesome), and seared and simmered whole octopus (doubly awesome). Our menu is going to rock. Friday couldn't come fast enough. But before it arrives, we have a lot of prep work remaining for our Caribbean menu.

We need to get it together, mon.

Four Thought

Day 61

Bacon and sausage and foie gras! Oh my!

Today I learned charcuterie will be a big part of Level 4 as I walked into the kitchen and spotted duck livers and a giant veal head. Sorry, my vegetarian friends. This is a time you might need to look away.

We began with a duck terrine by breaking down several birds, grinding its meat, combining it with pistachios, fatback and port-soaked cherries, and then layering it in a ceramic vessel with ham and seared duck breasts. We vacuum-sealed the terrines and popped them in an immersion circulator for low-temperature cooking. It was a lot of work, but I'm confident it will be worth it.

Tomorrow, we're curing pork belly for maple bacon and we'll start making head cheese. Good stuff.

In addition to the lesson in charcuterie, our group—approximately one-third of the class—discussed our ideas for the buffet we'll put out on Friday for the school. Our theme is Caribbean, so we narrowed down related recipes, including suckling pig, lamb curry and oxtail stew. We'll have until Thursday to prep.

It was nice to get back into the learning groove, but it was equally nice to rest my brain this weekend. Ryan and I headed upstate to Rhinebeck, N.Y., located in Dutchess County about two hours north of the city, to pick apples, pumpkins and fall raspberries.

We visited Rhinebeck for the first time last fall and fell in love. It's a quaint town with not much to do besides eat (well, I might add) and visit the surrounding farms and farmer's market. It reminds me of growing up in the Midwest, so there's something comforting about the whole experience.

Rhinebeck is the apple of my eye in New York.

Middle of the Road

Days 59 and 60

I'm still M.I.A. For good reason.

Today was my midterm. Yes, I said that right—MIDTERM. That means I'm exactly halfway through culinary school. It's hard to believe.

For the big test, we had to draw a letter/number combination from a hat, which corresponded to a two-dish combination we had to make in a set amount of time. I drew the Nicoise salad and pork chops; the other possible combo was the grilled salmon and apple tart. (FYI: We didn't know what four dishes the chef would select for the exam.)

Before we prepared the dishes, we were allowed 10 minutes to write down notes about the recipes on a blank sheet of paper. It was to be our only form of reference during the cooking process. I scribbled furiously. Thankfully, a number of years of reporting helped me develop my own shorthand.

I have to say it was a bit overwhelming—OK, it was very overwhelming. I was so concerned about getting the dishes done in time that my execution wasn't top-notch. All in all, I don't feel the midterm was my best work. However, I can at least say that I finished on time and produced two complete dishes. Hopefully, chef realizes that I can do better. I know I can.

Either way, I'm halfway there. I'm livin' on a prayer.

Tapas & Vino

Days 57 and 58

My initials should be M.I.A. and not M.A.K.

I'm so consumed with everything food lately it seems as though I haven't had time to breathe. But that was the point of all this, right?

Tuesday I spent a good 12 hours at the school. It's not like I haven't worked shifts that long (or longer) before, but when you're on your feet all day, it can suck the life out of you. I know—I sound old.

After class, in which I spent the day making striped bass in parchment paper (papillotes), I helped one of my former instructors with his recreational tapas class. The four-hour session involved small plates from Spain, where the chef was born. We made gazpacho, tortilla espanola (a Spanish potato omelet), gambas al ajillo (garlic shrimp), and more. It was a good class, but I was exhausted by the time it came to an end.

Today, my partner and I were in charge of the farmer's-style soup and pot au feu; both came out well. Immediately after class ended, I headed to the school's theater to attend a French wine tasting. The selections—all from Chateauneuf-du-Pape—were excellent. It was a nice overview of a region about which I have little knowledge.

I made a long day even longer by meeting up with some friends for drinks, followed by a trip to The Meatball Shop.

Hope I don't drop the ball tomorrow—only one more day to go before the midterm.

Lemon Zest

Day 56

My lemon tart wasn't at all a lemon.

I think I finally have it down. The last few times I've made the citrus pastry, it's turned out fairly well. There's been one hang-up, though: the crust.

For the dessert, the ratio of custard to crust should be about 2:1—according to my chef, at least. I've had more of a 1:1 ratio, as I've been worried that rolling the crust too thin will cause it to melt. I have this mental picture of neon yellow goo seeping from the tart pan and ending up all over the oven.

I went for it this time, though, wanting to get it down before the midterm Friday. I'm glad I did, too: The pastry was pretty close to perfect.

Looks like I don't need anymore lemon aid.

Shaken, Not Stirred

Day 55

Relief.

That's what I felt when class ended today. It's been some time since I've had a full weekend off, and I'm going to embrace every minute of it.

The school week ended on a good yet hellish note. Today was the third and final mock midterm, and each person had to make boeuf bourguignon and the damn poached egg dish. My hollandaise was a little loose in regards to the latter, but I did it. I hope to never again see eggs served over a l'anglaise beans, carrots, turnips and peas.

I headed to the local bar with a few classmates and ordered a much-needed dirty martini. Thank you, Grey Goose, for putting my nerves at ease.

Straight up now tell me why can't this weekend last forever—or at least a couple extra days?

Sweet Deal

Day 54

One of the coolest things about culinary school, in my opinion, is the caliber of people that are brought in to conduct demos. Whether you're into baking, molecular gastronomy, sustainability or mixology, there's somebody for everyone.

Even though I'm in the classic culinary arts program, I find most demos entertaining. I love learning new techniques and familiarizing myself with a category about which I know nothing.

Today, I was fortunate to watch Mr. Chocolate himself—Chef Jacques Torres—in action. He showed the audience how he makes sweets other than his famous chocolates, such as shortbread cookies, apple tarts and beignets.

Chef Torres is a riot. He's entertaining (he repeatedly sang a riff from Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" as he was working), but he's also a master at pastry. He doesn't come across as pompous like other prominent chefs I've met, even though he was the youngest to acquire the Meilleur Ouvrier de France (Best Pastry Chef of France), was a James Beard Pastry Chef of the Year, and had his own show on Food Network. It's always nice to see that genuine people still exist despite overwhelming success.

There's nothing worse than when somebody sweet turns sour.