So how did this all start?
During a 50th birthday trip with my friends last December, after listening to me vent about my last 27 years of working for law firms, one of my friends suggested out of the blue I go to cooking school. Ok, there might have been some wine involved. The others agreed that I needed to do something creative to get out of the rut I had been in for some time.
I thought the idea bit preposterous, but while sitting restless at the airport waiting for our flight home, I googled “Best cooking schools in the world” and Le Cordon Bleu popped up. Having been obsessed with Julia Child most of my life, and remembering she went there, I started researching how to get into the culinary school and what it would entail if I was accepted.
The acceptance rate is about 54-56%, which is daunting, to say the least. There are numerous programs ranging from 6 months to several years in all sorts of specialties from restaurant management to organic cooking, boulangerie, pâtisserie, and oenology (the study of wines). In order to get in, you have to have a basic understanding of French, a high school diploma, and an essay describing your culinary skill level, why you want to go, and what you plan on doing with your education. I decided to give it a go! Writing the essay was much harder than I thought it would be. After multiple drafts, I submitted my credentials and my essay and waited.
And… I got in! Now what? I floated the idea with a few of my friends and family. “You’re giving up your corporate career and moving to Paris? Are you mad?” Said NO ONE. Along with the acceptance letter came instructions for getting a student visa, apartment, bank account, the correct shoes (more on that later), French phone number, learning the language, etc. The “practical guide” was 36-pages long and completely overwhelming.
After some serious soul searching and reading the materials over and over, I decided to accept my offer and move to Paris. On one condition, I could bring my two cats, Fifi and Sabrina!
