AlexisM

Things are a bit of a mess these days, but thank you for your well wishes! I'm 23 and not too athletic these days, but I'm strong and I have stamina. Those options are also interesting to me, I just didn't think that they would be a place to start. I'd be really interested to hear more about how you decided to work as a personal chef and how you got the business of the ground. Thanks very much K, when things calm down for me (April 17th) I'll start refocusing on this goal. Thanks again to everyone for all of your input and advice!

Hi everyone, I just wanted to share this with the board. I'm not sure if it goes in this forum, so moderators please put it where it belongs. This event is free and open to the public (I assume) - I just saw a flier for it on campus and I'm planning on being there with my latest copy of Gourmet. I hope I can get it autographed. (I feel like such a fangirl right now) Here are the particulars: Reichl to speak on food's role in history, March 6 Posted February 28, 2007; 05:15 p.m. Noted restaurant critic and author Ruth Reichl will present a talk titled "Watch What You Eat" at 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 6, in McCosh 50. Reichl's talk will survey the role of food throughout history, what it has looked like, how it has been marketed and what its appearance tells us about society and human nature. Reichl is the editor-in-chief of Gourmet magazine and a former restaurant critic for The New York Times. Her best-selling "culinary memoirs" include "Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table," "Comfort Me With Apples: More Adventures at the Table" and "Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise." Reichl also served as restaurant critic and food editor for the Los Angeles Times. Before turning to writing, she was a chef and co-owner of the Swallow Restaurant in Berkeley, Calif. The talk is designated as the J. Edward Farnum lecture and is sponsored by the University Public Lecture Series. It will be simulcast in McCosh 10.

Thanks for all the advice everyone. Still no luck and now I have to focus back on my Thesis, but I'll start looking again in a few weeks. I'll keep you updated! Alexis

Hey Qwerty, Thanks for asking! The dinner party went really well. It ended up being more like tapas though. The theme was aphrodisiacs, so I tried to use ingredients that I'd heard were aphrodisiacs. I made mini tortilla espanolas, (traditional except for the addition of diced red pepper for color and then set in muffin tins under the broiler), an avocado salad, very spicy chicken curry and then fresh fruit with two kinds of chocolate for dipping (spiced "Mexican style" with cinnamon and cayenne pepper and then I used Michael Chiarello's chocolate fondue recipe which uses cabernet sauvignon as the flavoring for the other). Unfortunately, I haven't found anywhere willing to take me on yet. Maybe I'm not going at the right times b/c I never get to talk to any kitchen staff. I haven't given up though I'll do my rounds again the first week of March.

Thank you all so much for your kind words and wonderful advice! I'm cooking for 18 tonight for a dinner party with some friends, so I'm going to start canvassing my area on Monday afternoon. I'll make sure to keep updating the board. Thanks again everyone!

Thanks for the advice WHT - there are a few places that I can think of that fit the bill, but the food isn't very good in any of them. Does that matter at this stage?

Hi everyone, Let me start by introducing myself: I "discovered" eGullet a couple months ago and I've been reading ever since, but this is my first post. I'm a senior in college majoring in religion, but I've always toyed with the idea of working with food. I love cooking for myself and for small groups of family and friends, but I've never worked in a professional kitchen of any kind. I don't want to wake up 20 years from now regretting that I'd never even tried to work in a professional kitchen, but I have no idea how to get started. I don't really want to jump into culinary school right now (if ever), I just want to start doing something and not just talking about it all the time. I'd really apreciate any advice you all can give me about what steps to take to begin a culinary career. Thanks in advance!