Culinary Arts At Johnson & Wales University In Denver, CO

[Lumpia]

To All,

Firstly, I apologize for not keeping in touch often. Like all culinary persons, I have become extremely busy over the past year. I have just won a financial aid package (and still hope to win a scholarship) for attending the 2003-2004 school year at Johnson and Wales University in Denver, majoring in the Culinary Arts.

For those of you who graduated from JWU, what was the class like for you? I know that you must have posted on this topic before, but I haven't had time to read all of them throughly. I enjoy these posts when I find them because then I get a better picture of what I can expect if I ever ended up going to school.

The quest with Pinehurst (which I was talking about in my last post before I got busy) didn't work out; nine people were competing with each other for that one apprentice position and it turned out that God had other plans for me. I'm not worried about it, though, because I still have the chance to follow my culinary desires through school.

I've been working with my "MasterCook" software in the meantime, which I bought a while back, and I find it very educational and informative. I've been interviewing chefs to find out what life in the kitchen really is and what the day of a chef typically consists of. I've learned so much during my absence that I thought I would let you all know, just to catch up with you!

According to my class schedule, I start classes on September 9. I should be graduating in the summer of 2006. My roommate wants to throw me a graduation party at her house then, and I will be the cook. I'm looking forward to starting my classes!

I've seen Logan's weekly journals of his culinary journey, and I thought that it would be nice to start my own, just to keep you all updated on my progress. If you'd like, I'll start one when I start my classes.

I am looking for culinary scholarships in the meantime. Can anyone give me any good leads I can look at? These would be very much appreciated.

Well, that's my update for now. Take care and I hope to keep in touch as much as I can.

[culinarian247]

I think keeping a journal of your culinary school exploits is a great idea. I enjoyed reading Logans and reread KateW's (note to Kate: post more updates. ) posts as well. She is currently at JWU and one of our mods is a grad (I think it's Greg but don't quote me). I wish you all the best in school and by all mean keep us up to date on your studies.




Jeff

[KateW]

=) Hi. I'm the one mentioned above. I am 24 and I go to JWU in RI. I'm out of school for the summer now, and I posted a brief update near the end of the year. This last trimester was just academics, not really worth updating every month, or at all, even. You can find all my posts about school in this forum.
What is Mastercook software?
As for my classes, I thought they were great, but all too short. I learned some valuable lessons, tips and facts but I don't think it is at all similar to working in a real, on the job kitchen, even if the classes were longer. I didn't experience the organized chaos that I envisioned. It was mostly...chaos. Lots of fun though!
I think an online diary is a great idea. It has been done a few times that I have seen here and on other sites but I think each person has a different experience and we can all learn from each other.

[Lumpia]

Thank you for your very interesting replies. All my paperwork for entrance into JWU this fall is just about completed; I'm really looking forward to the start of classes! I will try to make my online diary as interesting as I can, so that it will be a worthwhile task. I enjoy keeping track of those courses in life that I enjoy the most.

By the way, I ran into a young boy this afternoon (who is 10 years old, if I can guess correctly from his height and how young he looks), who told me that his desire is to be a chef when he gets older. We both got very interested in each other and started talking about our favorite chefs and how we are planning to follow our culinary dreams. So, all in all, this was quite an interesting afternoon for both of us.

[Jim]

What is Mastercook software?

Kate, my experience with Mastercook comes from the On Cooking textbook I use for my students. The version I use, is a compendium of recipes, blips on technique, portioning, nutritional analysis, shopping lists and menu management. I believe you can buy On Cooking at Borders, etc and the software is included. All the recipes in the book (as well as a few hundred others) are in the recipe database within the software.

The book is about $50 but well worth the investment. In my humble opinion, in rival Pro Chef for content and ease of use.

I might be able to find a copy of the software for you, if you are interested. Let me know.

[KateW]

Would it be worthwhile for someone like me, a culinary student?