Hello fellow blog readers, I am back and have soooo much to talk about.

Last week was Christmas break. The one time of the year in which we get an actual week off for winter vacation. And, as usual, it went by quicker than ever. I decided to go back home for the Christmas holiday, but return to Chicago for the new years. Home and Christmas went off without a hitch. I was nice to see how our family grew from last year, a true blessing. I also received a few things that I had wanted from Santa Claus. Side note: Christmas is a very wonderful time of year and the feeling you get, is pure bliss.

New years was if one thing, crazy!!! This was my first new years of legal drinking age and I used that to my advantage lol. Although I was completely inebriated, I was still under control and able to watch the ball drop twice and have a good time!! I had rented a hotel for the night and stayed at the Days Inn of Chicago….It was a pretty nice hotel with that said. It was sad though, to see another year go by so quickly. I AM GETTING SO OLD!! The prime of my life is over lol or so I think….

Week Five is here and gone already!! This quarter is flying by faster than ever. I am almost done with my Bachelors, and only have 15 weeks left. I am also sad to say that I am currently in my last culinary class at RMU, which is advanced breads. It’s going well, and I’m learning so much. Today we made doughnuts...They were fresh and delicious. Next quarter I have to do a 100 hour internship. I am excited to get working again. I am hoping to get temporarily hired for the internship at a well known Chicago catering business by the name of Blue Plate Catering. It would then be awesome if they wanted to hire me straight out of school. I could only imagine…no wait, that’s what’s going to happen. Set goals and strive to reach them

P.S.

What crazy weather we have been having??? It seems like spring rather than winter….only if it were true…

This quarter, I have to do a 100 hour internship to complete my Bachelor degree. For this internship I have decided to work at a catering company by the name of Occasions Chicago. I was lucky enough to get a paid internship, receiving $9.00 an hour. I was supposed to start working week one, but due to "lack of events", I was told to start week two. I was very nervous about losing that week, and making my quota of weekly hours. So, my week started off by prepping Thursday and Friday morning at 7 am, with the event actual being Saturday.

I arrived on time, and got right to work. Cutting, prepping and doing everything that I could do. I was very nervous the whole time. Going into a new place and or having a new experience can always be frightening, but you have to push yourself and get the job done. Another issue that was a problem was the lack of space; there was none! I never thought a kitchen of that size could produce that much food in bulk for events. The first day seemed to fly by and before I knew it was 2 pm and time for us to go.

One thing that I noticed immediately was one specific appetizer that was on their menu. It was bacon wrapped dates. It was brought to my attention because I can remember making them in my Garde Manger class at RMU. My boss says the bacon wrapped dates are one of their biggest selling points; and they are so easy and inexpensive to make. It is also nice to see things that we have learned at RMU in the actual field; makes me feel good about choosing RMU for culinary and they know trends.

Saturday was the big day and we ended up catering a wedding at a place called Architectural Chicago. It was a very interesting commerce, with weird and old objects. This location also did not have a formal kitchen and we literally were plating and setting up feet from the actual reception; only a thin steel door away so we had to be quiet the whole time. The event seemed to run smoothly with only a 15 min delay. I had the plating job of saucing the fish and beef. My involvement was minimal but I suspect that it was due to the fact that it was my first event in which I worked. More interesting stories to come!