Sep 2, 2007

Veni, Vidi, Vici* : I Got What I Came For, A Diploma !

I finally got what I came for, a Grand Diploma for Classic Culinary Art. Actually, I received a second one (Attendance Award) since I didn't miss any single day of the Curiculum.
One year ago, I decided to come to New York to study French cooking after having watched a TV program on a French channel (FRANCE2) called "New York, à l'école des chefs français". Family, friends, colleagues around me - at the notable exception of my wife...- found my decision crazy : "to learn cooking in US, where everybody eats Hamburgers and drinks Coke soda... !, in New York, the most dangerous city in the world... ! You will put on weight as soon as you step to the airport (my Normand physiology background makes my body enjoy very much cheeses, creamy sauces and desserts). And will you be able to catch up with all these instructions in English, when you haven't spoke in English for 15 years !.


Well, I enjoy very much - good - hamburgers and the refreshing sensation of a chilled Coke. So what ? By the way, since I am here, I lost a couple of pounds, probably because running every where in a kitchen is healthier than seating on my butt all day long in front of a computer at work... And I felt in love with Manhattan, like many thousands other before me... And indeed, I have still difficulties with English-american language but the first advice that gave me the School Placement Coordinator was to keep my French accent. So I did !


In fact, I am rather proud of what I achieved the last 6 months, having lived probably some of the most happiest and memorable moments in my life (and my wife thanks me frequently to make that decision...).


Please enjoy the pictures I took from the fire escape stairs of my appartement right in the center of SOHO district.



* famous Latin phrase spoken by Julius Caesar in 47 BC, translated as "I came, I saw, I conquered"

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