Life on the other side of the rainbow: chocolate, cakes and coffee...OH MY!

This is my story and I am sticking to it.

Short version for those of you in a hurry: I was a doctor who went to culinary school to become a pastry chef and chocolatier, left medicine, and am now in the process of opening a chocolate and dessert shop.

If you have a little more time to kill: I remember from a very young age wanting to be a chef. Even before people like Rachel Ray, Emeril and Bobby Flay(next time I see you remind me to tell you a story about this one) made being a chef glamorous and worthy of celebrity. Even as a child there was something that seemed romantic and nurturing and creative about the profession. I don't particularly remember doing a lot of cooking ( although I always remember doing a lot of eating - odd, I might have gottten those two things confused and should have become a professional eater instead) None-the-less I got diverted from path and ended up in medical school. Before I knew it I was a medical resident and then finally out in practice in the middle of beautiful no where Kentucky.
Remarkable enough the entire time I practiced medicine I could hear the whispers of flour, butter, and sugar calling my name so I spent a lot of my extra time experimenting in my home kitchen, learning as much as I could from the likes of Julia Child and Martha Stewart. No, they weren't my only friends, but I knew I could always count on them - for dessert, anyway. i went through cookbook after cookbook soaking them all in and finally came to realization that I wasn't getting any younger. I moved to Bloomington eventually, started work as a physician at Indiana University Health Center, and began planning for the next step in my pastry education - culinary school.

"Do I need to go to culinary school to learn to be a chef?" is a question I get often from usually young and enthusiastic baking hobbiests. The short answer is no. Many fantastic chefs have trained their way to the top acquiring more experience than I will ever have. However, if you are a 38 year old professional who's life clock is tic tic ticking and want to move things along a bit, culinary school is a great way to go. A lot of experience and knowledge acquisition in a little bit of time. So, in the fall of 2003, bright eyed and cheeks of tan, I went to New York to train at The Institute of Culinary Education. Almost a year of shuttling back and forth evey weekend while I worked at the student health center during the week gave me a wealth of knowledge and the inspiration to do something with it! I came back to Bloomington full of sugar and spice (which added about 20 pounds to my othewise delicate frame) and a few months later BLU Culinary Arts, LLC was born!

Comments

[Christine (myplateoryours)]

Everybody who reads blogs has a little time to kill -- that's why blogs were invented! So keep writing!

[Cynthia]

Hi David,

Good to meet you! I stopped over at Christine's place and she invited us (readers, bloggers, friends) to stop by your place, say hello and welcome. So from me to you, your partner and the entire team at Blu Culinary Arts - a very warm Caribbean welcome to the blog world!

I'm looking forward to all your little notes, thoughts, pics and whatever else you'd like to share. Again, a hearty welcome.

I am adding you to my blogroll and daily feeds.

[Terry B]

Hi, David! Found your site through Christine's blog. Fun, funny writing. I look forward to reading more. And BLU Culinary Arts sounds like a great idea--bringing great cooking skills to hobbyists and food lovers. Your point about whether everyone needs to go to culinary school is well taken. The New York Times recently ran an article about students coming out of expensive professional programs and working for 9 bucks an hour, having no hope of ever paying off their student loans. Not everyone will become a celebrity chef--some will be line cooks just because they love it. And those skills can be learned in a working kitchen.

[David]

Thanks for stopping by Cynthia, terry B and Christine. I appreciate the encouragement. As a virgin blogger I suppose I am enthusiastic but a little nervous.