Chef Mimi is the pastry chef at L’Ecole, and there is only one word to describe her: Fabulous. She always arrives early, but still looks like one of those perfectly […]

Yesterday I made the lemon curd for the poppy seed cake. Today I graduated to the poppy seed cake. I like this cake because it’s not inherently sweet. The sweet […]

Today marks the final stages of my culinary school experience: Working in the school’s restaurant, L’Ecole. And it’s a little bit scary to think about it for two reasons: a) […]

After today I won’t have to scoop out the muck leftover from giant pots of stock. Or lift things that weigh almost as much as me. I won’t be serving […]

I love cornbread. Not salty cornbread. Sweet cornbread. And I was on that delicious path until Chef hit the breaks on me. Let me tell you the whole story. I […]

My right hand gripped a steel rod, while my left fingers were frozen. I was slowly going insane hacking away at the two heavy boxes of frozen veal bones. Today […]

Lasagna is pretty simple: Sheets of pasta, ricotta, and meat. But when you’re making lasagna for hundreds, it becomes an Olympic sport. We use bowls that are big enough for […]

While most people trim meat or chop vegetables, I sneak away to the burners to brew tea because frankly, I’m obsessed with iced tea. (And it beats chopping 20 pounds […]

Once the lunch line closes, everyone has a fog of mental serenity mixed with exhaustion. There’s usually a fight for who gets a seat on the lobby’s couch during the […]