Culinary Agoge

NECI, Main Street Grill & Bar

This weekend I took an extended three day weekend trip with my family to Vermont. We haven’t had the opportunity to take our usual week or longer family trip this year so going up north to visit Burlington, Vermont and the surrounding towns looked like a fun way to kick back and relax before summer’s end.

Forty years ago, my mother came from Honduras to study on an academic scholarship to Vermont College, located in Montpelier. While a student, she met my father a professor at Norwich University and the rest as they say is history. My sister and I of course are evidence of that.

Since we were going to be passing by Montpelier on our way up to Burlington I thought it would be fun to combine a visit to the New England Culinary Institute, also known as NECI for short, while also visiting what was the campus of her college which no longer exists, and how now become part of NECI and other institutions such as the Vermont College of Fine Arts. Both of my parents were eager to visit the small town to relive old memories and retell old stories that are part of our family’s history. While touring the Institute we could also eat at the school run restaurant in town and the one on Church Street in Burlington. She was really excited by this and so I called the number on the NECI web site to get information about tours, the school and the restaurant and also to do some research to see if her dorm was still there.

When I called the number I asked the woman on the phone about tours. She politely informed me that there weren’t tours of the school available and that it would best to seek out students on campus to talk to them about their experience. This didn’t seem right to me. What kind of sales pitch was this? I didn’t want to spend a lot of our vacation time on a treasure hunt for buildings and students. She also was unfamiliar with the specific dorm I was looking for, which as it turns out was part of the Vermont College of Fine Arts, 100 yards from the New England Culinary Institute admission building. I began to wonder where the call center for the toll free number I had called was located. The school wasn’t that big was it? She also corrected me when I mentioned my intention of wanting to eat at the Institute’s restaurant in Burlington. Apparently that had closed down a couple of years ago too, but she was eager to point out the truly fabulous food at the Main Street Bar & Grill, the restaurant run by the Institute and its students. The loss of their flagship restaurant was not a good sign especially in the fast growing city.

Saturday we arrived and within a few minutes of driving around we found my mother’s old dorm and her room. That was easy. We walked around campus and viewed some of the buildings owned by NECI while also viewing some of the buildings that belonged to other institutions. My mother was excited and happy and we were all getting hungry. It was time to eat.

Mom's College Dorm

We made the short drive down the hill to the Main Street Bar & Grill. We had been here before many years before to eat and had a pleasurable experience although on that trip we didn’t actually drive around Montpelier as we had this time.

After a short wait for an outside patio seat we sat down and ordered our meal. Our waiter, Joshua, a student was friendly and welcoming and overall did a great job especially given the fact that he was a culinary student and only serving as part of the curriculum rotation. This is pretty much where my praise ends. Overall everyone felt that the food was pretty good but really under-seasoned. I had flashbacks to the basics cooking class I took at the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts where Chef Angie told us that new cooks generally are afraid of using too much salt and usually under-season their food. Was this day one of the rotation I wondered? The dressing on my salad lacked taste as did the other components of my dishes. The dessert was in fact the best part of the meal which is fortunate because it is the last impression a restaurant gets to make on a customer, but also unfortunate as my aspirations involve the culinary program and not the baking and pastry program.

Appetizer: Asparagus, Salmon & Poached Egg Salad

Main Dish: Gnocchi

Dessert: Salted Caramel Ice Cream

Plating was another thing I noted. While we were only eating lunch, I was expecting more for presentation. My appetizer and main dish appeared as two distinct dishes while the dessert was already melted and lacked color. While not at the heart of culinary training, this is something that is important to me; a well plated dish evokes emotion and clues you into what you are about to taste. As far as showing off technique and skill, this just wasn’t doing it for me.

I asked our server about touring the facilities. He kindly informed us that we could walk to the back of the restaurant and through the back door to view classrooms and the rest of the facility. Once we were back there I was let down again, looking at the small drab classrooms. They just didn’t look inviting, and in contrast to the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts they were completely removed from the cooking setting entirely. While having an on site restaurant is a plus for any culinary school the complete separation from the classroom and kitchen didn’t feel appropriate. I also wondered where the rest of the school was. Was that the wrong question to be asking? Was this all there was?

After finishing our meal, we left to walk down the street and get a sense of the town. My parents walked and noted how much things had changed and how the area had grown and modernized. I saw a town only slightly more populated than where I grew up, a stark contrast from living in Boston, a world class city with neighborhoods and numerous cultural culinary influences and establishments. We visited the student run baker, La Brioche and sampled some of their baked goods and pastries. Delicious. Another home run for the baking and pastry program.

NECI, La Brioche

The New England Culinary Institute was the school were famed Alton Brown matriculated. I had high expectations of what the school had to offer after reading it’s web site contents and given the aptitude and success Alton Brown has attained. I left the school feeling disappointed and yet I don’t think my high expectations were misplaced especially since I have fond memories of eating at NECI restaurants in the past. I wonder what had changed, but left clearly feeling that if I did decide to pursue culinary school, this place wasn’t for me.

I may not have seen all of the buildings, fancy kitchens and labs the school had to offer, but as a someone interested in the school it just seems like I could have gotten more out of my visit with a little friendly guidance and key points of differentiation to focus on. I know when I have guests I do my best to make them feel welcomed and answer all of the questions they have. A school where I could potentially spend a large amount of my hard earned money would do well to have a similar philosophy.

Today was judgment today. Well, perhaps it wasn’t that serious, but our last day of class would consist of a written exam and a live drink making test to determine whether or not we passed the course. I was feeling pretty confident after having reviewed my flash cards extensively and memorizing the drink recipes. I also reviewed our workbook thoroughly to try and pick up as much service and trade knowledge as possible outside of class. The class itself was very good at preparing me and the class for the exam and it was amazing how quickly we as students picked up bartending knowledge throughout this entire experience.
Anthony, another instructor for the school would be the proctor for the exam. We opened up with another round of drink drill to get us loosened up, helping each other along with drink recipes and making last minute service corrections. The pace for the drinks had increased as well as the combinations for and variations of the orders being shouted out. This was starting to feel real. Music was blasting, bottles were pouring and service started to feel like a reflex. I wasn’t struggling for recipes or with marrying the right glass to the drink being ordered and served.
When the drill was over we were given the written portion of our exam, consisting of three pages of detailed questions covering everything we had learned. I was surprised at how familiar all of the information was. Some of the reason for this familiarity would become apparent as I’ll explain shortly. The exam was a breeze and I finished quickly. The live drink exam was next.
When the next portion was set to begin I looked around and realized the class was short many people. Two girls who were there for the first half of the day didn’t come back for the live test. Others were complete no shows for the day. Where were they? Why take the course and not finish it? The reason for this would also become apparent by the end of the day.
With eight students left we were broken up into two groups of four for the evaluation. I was part of the second group and was taken to the back room. Anthony jokingly put on some entertainment for us on the television in the room, and as he left chuckling Coyote Ugly came on during the part where Violet (Piper Perabo) applies for the job. Anyone who has seen this movie knows that all hell breaks looks at this point. What was the message here? This was all too funny. Music started blasting in the other room as the first four students started their evaluation. Before we knew it, our names were called into the room as the other students went into the back room to be subjected to the movie torture we had just experienced. We got behind our respective stations, listened to the instructions Anthony gave us and went to work. He called out drinks and we made them, each person getting assigned different drinks for the test. Looking around the bar was like observing the line at a hectic kitchen. Orders were given out and promptly “fired” and served according to recipe with the appropriate garnish. The test was over in no time at all. The stations were cleaned up and we gathered in the main room. We all awaited the results to see how we did.
We again reviewed some bartending basics as well as tips for applying for a job. We then went over the details of putting together a resume and how to make it sound professional and not like a third grader’s. This was all very elementary stuff, but as I would soon learn, I was the oldest person in the class, or at least of the graduates. There was definitely an experience and maturity gap here. Many were not even 21 yet, and this was one of the first job talks they had experienced. Some didn’t even have resumes, and bartending would be their first or second job. My travel and food experiences made me better equipped for the class as I had learned a lot of the wine information, and I won’t lie, my drink experience in and since college also made me familiar with many brands, types of alcohols and drink combinations. While I never revealed my age to my classmates, it was an interesting revelation.
I passed the exam and was awarded my school certificate. I was so psyched and still am. The culinary school decision is still up in the air and will take considerable more thought, but I feel now I have a better idea of what it’s like to work in the industry under pressure producing consistent results according to a recipe.  The bar has similarities to the kitchen which I continually observed. The bar also to some extent has been de-mystified and I know I will never look at it the same.
Now that I have some bartending training and some recipes under my belt, I don’t want to lose what I have learned. I plan to explore some options which include planning and working some private parties and catering events to gain experience in the operation and execution of them while honing my drink-mixing skills. This is in line with my current thoughts for work after attending culinary school which would add food preparation for these events to my knowledge base and skill set.

Today was a big an exciting day for me with respect to advancing my culinary skills. I attended an information session at the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts. I’ve been thinking in the back of my mind about checking out some schools and investigating further how far I want to take my studying and learning about cooking. I could never have imagined just months ago how deeply this interest would take a hold of me.

When I walked up to the school I noticed a different feeling. I approached more confident and at ease since I had already taken a basics class at the school and was familiar with the surroundings. I entered, took my seat and waited for the session to begin. Prospective students filed in, each inspecting every other person as I was, wondering what their story was, reason for being there, perhaps wondering if we would be in the same classes along with a multitude of other questions that ran through our heads.

The session was headed by Executive Director, Chef Roberta Dowling who founded the school 36 years ago. As she started to talk I was eager to learn more about the school. Interestingly enough, the tables were turned and each person had to introduce themselves stating their name, current occupation if any, and desired course of study.

She described the school as a kind of family, different from other larger institutions in the industry. The jovial and high-spirited chef made you instantly feel at home and you could just tell that she loved this school and what it offered its students. She described most student as career changers, those just out of high school atypical and assured us that people graduating from the program don’t go on to be line cooks. This was serious business for people with high aspirations and a love of cooking (which includes the pastry program as well). The program is modeled after traditional European-styled training, offers small classes with a maximum of 15 students per class, and a hands on approach, making everything from scratch; no pre-made dough or worse number 10 cans would be used here except for tomatoes of course when required. Students gained an average of 11 pounds through the program without question provided that you still exercised. Not so bad. Fail to keep up your exercise program and in an extreme case you could gain up to 85 pounds. Yikes!

Another unique advantage of this program is the flexible scheduling, allowing students to enroll in either a certificate program or professional program with flexible class days totaling 19 hours per week. This allows you to keep your full-time job and even take classes on weekends if that is what you choose; you pick your most convenient days and that’s your schedule for the program. Classes usually have 1 instructor and up to 2 assistants allowing for a lot of personal attention. The world was looking pretty rosy now. Everything was sounding great until reality set it.

Anyone choosing this program does so for their love of cooking. You would have to of course given the significant cash outlay and time commitment for any one of the programs. As she went into detail, the obvious differences from the recreational program I was a part of became even more obvious. Yes there would be homework. There would be required uniforms and class materials including a knife kit. The days would be long and tiring, and as any curriculum would have, there would be examinations.

To this point along with my 6 week Basics class and self-prepared meals at home have been studying leisurely reading and acquiring knowledge through books, while even taking notes. The culinary programs would have written tests as well as a required practicum, something I have never been faced with. This was the punchline you weren’t ready for. The gem missing from the catalog, brochures and web site descriptions.

For the practicum, students would be required to have obtained and assimilated all of the knowledge learned in class and through study at home. Then each student would arrive and find a table with cards equaling the number of total students in the class placed face down on the table. At random, they would pick out a card and find their assignment for a food preparation they would have to create with one big surprise (to me anyway); the card would have have the item to make written on it with the ingredients and the measurements, but a key thing would be missing, the recipe! Students would have to write out the recipe and then present it to the instructor. They would be graded and any major errors which would prevent the student from producing the item given would have to be corrected before they even entered into the kitchen. Students are also graded on their choice and use of equipment, mise en place and their final products and presentation. My heart started to pound. For the mid-term (final for the certificate program which is just the first half of the professional program) this is what was required? To make matters worse, as part of the final practicum for the professional program the process for examination is the same except that measurements for the ingredients are left out. You have to know your stuff and you have to know it cold. This is real culinary knowledge. After the initial shock to my system, I became excited again. 37 weeks of education would give me this knowledge.

Many thoughts began to form in my head. I had questions about which program was right for me and how much depth I actually needed to satisfy not only my curiosity, but my new found passion in the culinary world. What level do I need to get to? What are my real goals? Do I want to change careers or just enhance my culinary knowledge as a hobby?

At the end of our session, we were invited to sample some student cakes and to tour the kitchens. I had the brief opportunity to speak with Chef Dowling, a dynamic and warm personality, about her story. Her deep connections to cooking were immediately apparent. Her great grandmother a chef, her mother being a great cook came to mind quickly when asked how she developed a love for food. She was fortunate enough to experience transatlantic travel at a young age where she was exposed to a variety of foods enjoying many sights, tastes, and textures. She studied in Europe and from what I gather and observe seems to have modeled the school’s  program as a way to emulate her experiences with learning the culnary arts to her students.

While touring the kitchens were introduced to some students and got to see their amazing final projects. All were friendly, inviting, and proud of their projects. They had learned so much during their time at the school and felt well equipped to face the challenges of the professional culinary world. I was inspired.

We were also given the change to view student created portfolios, a program requirement. Each student is required to bring a camera to class to capture their progress and detail and show to the world what they are capable of producing and what they have learned. Each page turn of what could be described in some cases as mouth watering food porn further inspired and excited me. All of this is in reach.

As I do some soul searching, visiting other schools and learning about their  programs is probably a good idea even if they only re-enforce what I am not looking for.  I am favorably impressed with the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts and feel fortunate to have the possibility of taking part in their unique and flexible program.

Over a decade ago I was making my first educational inquisitions. It’s funny how similar this process is starting to feel and how I am getting closer to a new chapter in my life.