Chef Porter

"You will address me as 'Chef Porter'. Not 'miss'. Not 'miz'. I've worked in the industry for over 35 years. I think I've earned that." That was my introduction to CA 100 (Basic Cookery). Chef Porter ain't no Miss Jane. To be fair though, she's right. She has a B.A. in Psychology from The University of Texas at Austin, and an A.O.S. in Culinary Arts from the Culinary Institute of America. A few of her career highlights include (but are not limited to):

-Won “Best in the City” for The Torch Restaurant, 2 years, noted for quality and consistency.
-Articles in Southern Living for The Torch Restaurant and The Gage Hotel
-Preparing a “High Tea" Reception for Queen Elizabeth II by Gov. Ann Richards

Yea. High Tea for the Queen of freaking England. I will listen to this lady. I will absorb all the information she offers. I should also mention that one of the chefs from Ventana (the fine dining restaurant at LCBCCA) said Chef Porter is a "walking culinary encyclopedia". She eventually warmed up a little. Apparently 9:45am is "really early" for Chef Porter.

We were interrupted 20 minutes into class to go to the computer lab for some info, to have our id card pictures taken and pick up our tool kits:













We'll take a look inside there later. Back to class.

This class will not be a walk in the park. There's a research project, hundreds of pages of reading, a work book, seven "recommended" extra books, a VERY strict notebook requirement, two quizzes, a midterm, and a final, and I. Can't. Wait. This is one of the classes that brought me to culinary school. This is where we learn terminology, techniques (in theory), history, and a little chemistry. We learn what a vichyssoise is. Why sautéing is different from pan-frying. Did you know that Catherine de Medici (wife of King Henry II of France from 1547 to 1559) is the person that introduced the napkin? And forks? I have a feeling that posts regarding this class will be quite interesting. Stay tuned.