Wish come true

As a kid I watched Martin Yan, Julia Child and Jacques Pépin not knowing how big they were. In fact I don't think I cared who was cooking on TV. This was entertainment.

I sat with my bowl of Maggi and two slices of bread watching them julienne, chop, dice, sauté and carve. I probably knew how to cook mussels before I knew what muscle was where in the human body. I watched those chefs de-vein shrimp and have recently wondered why they didn't do it anymore. Of course I've only seen them now in the super markets already de-veined and prepacked.

Sanjeev Kapoor was an inspiration too. Charming and always making food seem so easy. I remember a particular episode where he taught us how to make chocolate cake and wished I could cut and fold the batter like he did.

And yesterday, my wish came true.

I wore my chef's uniform and grinned like an idiot. I carried my "kit" with pride. I've peered through all my knives over and over again. I was thrilled to see the little KitchenAid mixers and the giant 20 quart industrial mixers. I was happy doing Baker's Math. I LOVE my new whisk and can't wait to use the baby offset spatula on the Génoise sponge we baked yesterday.

At the end of class we rinsed, soaped and sanitized the dishes and the kitchen floor. My new work shoes kill my feet. I can only have dinner after half past ten most nights. I had to cut off my lovely, long, beautifully shaped finger nails.

But who am I to complain when I would go to sleep smelling of a wonderful warm bakery for a long time to come.