Le Cordon Josh - Allez Cuisine!

Le Cordon Josh

The Smallest Culinary School On Earth.

When the guy from Le Cordon Bleu told me the tuition would be about 50 grand, I politely said

“Uhh, wow…ya’know I don’t think I can hack that. Thanks though.” I hung up and thought to myself,

“Well, Culinary school just isn’t for me, I’ll never be a chef.”

And then I began to think about it. What is the difference between a chef and a cook? Searching the internet for answers, I found more questions and arguments regarding this quandary than answers. Chief of a kitchen, sauce-maker, sous-chef, and lots of other words in foreign languages (usually French) to describe the duties and characteristics of a “chef”.

After reading several definitions and arguments, I came to my own conclusions about what a chef really is. I decided that a chef is not just someone who cooks. After all anyone can follow a recipe and throw a dish together. I postulate that a chef is someone who has the creativity and desire to invent dishes of their own, and the knowledge to do so without a cookbook or recipe guide. A chef would share these creations with diners, be they paying customers or friends and family. And a chef would write down the recipe so others could enjoy their creations as well. A chef has a real love of food.

With this definition in mind, I am embarking on my own journey to go from cook to chef. I will make 500 original dishes all on my own. No cookbooks, no recipe guides, just my tiny little Kitchen and me here in Pasadena and some research on techniques and tools. I’ll write down what equipment I used to prepare and make the dish, along with the ingredients, techniques (as best I understand them), and will also include a photo of each one so I can remember it. If I can really create that many dishes on my own, using as many techniques as I can learn along the way then at the end of it I will feel perfectly confident answering the question “So are you a chef?” with a wide smile and a confident: “Yes I am.” As a token of my achievement, I’ll buy myself my very own bright, crisp, brand spanking new real Chef’s jacket, with my name on it.

I’m not going to restrain myself to one particular style either. If I want Mexican food, I’m going to try and cook it. Same goes for Italian, Chinese, Indian, American, and even French (if I dare). I’m going to include anything I make that’s mine, from 2 am grilled cheese sandwiches to the most extravagant concoctions I can conjure.

Of course there must be some sort of timeline for this project, or there’s no point in undertaking it. So I’m going with 15 months. That’s the time it takes to attend and graduate from Le Cordon Bleu in Pasadena. We’ll see if Le Cordon Josh can make a chef out of me in the same amount of time. It’s January 30, 2010. Day 1. Allez Cuisine!