Beginning

In May of 2008, I was gaming on World of Warcraft. Yes, I know the evil game! I was in a 25 man raid at 10 PM. We were in the middle of loot distribution, you gamers will understand, when my kids were in bed having a fit over a toy falling behind their bunk bed. I got up real quick and pulled out the bottom bed, it is a loft style, and looked behind. My youngest son sleeps on the bottom and was trying to watch every move. When my husband realized I was gone he yelled from me from the office. I knew they must be done with the loot and jumped up on the bed since it was blocking the way. My youngest son got under me and I tripped over him. To avoid hitting my oldest, who was standing between the bed and dresser, with full force I put myself into the dresser. In this process I broke my upper left arm into three pieces. Needless to say, I was stuck on the couch for the entire summer. Oh, did I mention this happened May 25th.

Since I was stuck on the couch in a mad contraption they had to design for me, unable to do anything for myself and on heavy pain medicine, I could only watch TV or play my DS Lite. So, life sucked for all of us. What we did find that got us through and actually brought us together no matter what, was the Food Network. My husband got his man crush on Alton Brown and all of his science humor. We watched it all the time. I got lots of ideas and learned a lot of new things.

As soon as my arm was in use again, in August, I started creating new recipes and trying different ones that I found. I started a website www.melkitchen.net for recipes that have been passed down to me and ones I had created over the years. My husband helped me with it, since I wasn't savvy with that sort of thing. I found that it wasn't enough, I needed to know more to do the site justice. I found myself trying things out of my comfort and succeeding fairly easily. Which made me wonder more. With my oldest in Kindergarten and the youngest just a year behind, I was soon going to have free time and really wanted more direction in my life.

It was Christmas time and I couldn't shake the thought of becoming a chef. Aviation had been my life before kids and I just knew I wouldn't have that kind of time or be able to travel like that with no outside help. So, I went with my gut and looked up the culinary schools available around Portland, OR. I found two serious ones. One was the Oregon Culinary and the other was a Le Cordon Bleu. The price difference was big, but the look and professionalism of Le Cordon Bleu won out.

I toured the school and loved what I saw. I had the same spiel and lies that yes the school was sued about, but I didn't worry about it. I figured all recruiters are the same pretty much. I started school in February. Fully excited and eager to learn all I could. Unfortunately I got pneumonia right off and had to withdrawal from my second class. So, I took the 3 weeks and spring break to recover. When I went back I was in the kitchen.

My first chef was funny and interesting. He told us a lot about himself and what it can be like on the outside. He had the horrible job of breaking in all the newbies. I don't envy him for that, but found when I reflected back on it, that he was perfect for the job. Bread class was by far the most fun I had had. I found I completed everything he asked and did well in it. I also, found that there was a market for a new kind of book. I didn't get the book idea until my last English class. I was for sure I wanted to do nothing but cakes and competitions, until I actually got into the kitchen. Laminated doughs were another story. They were alright, but I wouldn't want to do them all the time. Cakes was the class I couldn't wait for.

Now, after all the months it took to get to cakes, what has to happen. You bet, a nice sinus infection with ear infections had to attack me and force me out of the one class I couldn't wait for. I finished all of my plated desserts, International custards and advanced classes, except for my cake and sugar classes. I finally got to complete my cakes, but with different classes. I found that I was good at cakes, but wasn't sure if I wanted to do that or breads.

The time was ticking down for me to figure out where I was going to extern at. I applied at different places, but getting a paid extern is pretty difficult. I got accepted over the phone by a bakery out here for artisan bread. It was odd because during my time trying to figure out what I would be focusing on, I was just hoping something would point me in the right direction. I got texted or called by friends for bread recipes when I was debating it. It was kind of comical. My husband was really pushing the book idea and wondering what he could do to help get me started. I told him, after the 10th time of him asking, that if he wanted me to work on it, then get me a laptop. I needed a new computer anyway, as mine was dying and for my bachelor's degree, as well. My husband put himself to work on finding the best deal.

Down to the last week of school and still figuring out where I was going to extern at. One of my hopefuls couldn't hire me on right then and my coordinator, who is just a gem, helped me find all kinds of places when I finally told her how much I loved scratch baking and bread. I finally got a hold of a manager at one store and since he knew my coordinator and school well, he didn't even ask for an interview. So, here I am. Finally on spring break and looking at starting my future in bread. Though I still plan to dabble in cakes for friends and family to gain more experience.

Now, I passed over a lot of school time, but it was definitely a long, yet short journey. I am sure I will remember funny little stories or horror stories and post over time. Like the story of plated desserts. After all the planning and work, I was finally down to the day for me to create and plate 4 dishes of my choosing. I go to grab a sifter, mad because I was the first to go but people were being too selfish to care and had snagged all but one up, and of course the sifter was fresh out of the oven. I put my hand on the metal to sift the flour real quick and drop it instantly. The entire underside of my right hand was layered in blisters. I couldn't even blow the balloons I needed for the tulip cups. I have this awesome ability of deciding to do something, but to do it right no matter how good or bad it is.

I am waiting to start my externship in the next couple of weeks and start my future. I plan to post more over time. I am hoping to travel Europe eventually, and if I get lucky the rest of the world. There is so much to experience. The places I want to go the most are Italy and Spain. Here's crossing my fingers and having my dreams come true!