I attended orientation last week and received my chef coat, text book, and policy manual that sounds a lot like military boot camp–no jewelry, no nail polish, no earrings, and no cell phone AND always be 100% in uniform while at the school. I will be going every Saturday for the next 14 weeks and will receive a certificate of completion for “Chef Pro 1” at the end.

The uniform consists of the chef coat, black checkered pants with an elastic waist, a neckerchief, and a funny looking hat. (Photo will be taken on Saturday.) If I thought I looked middle-age frumpy under ordinary circumstances, wearing this get-up will be a real joy.

We were supposed to get our knife set last week, however we were told that they now wait to issue the knives on the first day of class. Seems the students practiced with the new knives (which are actually sharp, unlike the usual kitchen knives) and came to Day 1 with cut up hands.

I’ll be signing up for my 24 hours of “internship”, working at the cooking school events. This means family and friends can come and observe me making omelets or whatever (if they’re willing to pay $35.00 for dinner or $15.00 for Sunday Brunch). I can hardly wait.