I have barely had time to breathe much less write. The longer I am at wd~50 and the more I learn, the more responsibility I get.

Christmas and New Years have come and gone. New Years was probably my best day to date. We had two seatings, one at 6 and the other at 9. For the second seating the menu was changed complete with a champagne toasting at midnight. Every able body was upstairs working on individual dishes; it was literally a full house. I was solely in charge of one dish- celery root "baskets" floating on a celery root soup with a crab salad and micro chives. I had to grate celery root then arrange them in molds in the fryer at a certain temperature and delicately pull them out in organic but sturdy shapes. Even though I came in an hour early to work they it still took me almost four hours to complete all 100. They were very fragile and only I was allowed to touch them during service because I had the delicate touch. To plate we arranged 3 cubes of clery root in the bowl, poured in the soup with a spout and then gently rested the basket on top so it looked like it was "floating." The crab and parsley root soup was then gently spooned inside and micro chives were placed on top. Overall they turned out very well and Chef was pleased.

Since then, John (the prep cook who was in charge of me) has now moved upstairs to fill the empty spot on the garde manger station. I still go up occassionally but now I help run the prep kitchen with the new prep cook named Clay. He is only a few years older than me and we have a pretty cohesive relationship.

Meanwhile I'm trying to catch up on sleep and stay aware for each new lesson everyday. I enjoy my work but am looking forward to going back to classes in the spring.

It has been a crazy couple of weeks here in New York. I've been working hard and tried to find the time to write but with no success until now. My knowledge and responsibility continue to grow at wd~50 all the while mantaining my "stage" status. I have been moving upstairs almost 3 nights a week now and I am summoned from the depths of the prep kitchen when they get busy. I am one of three people on the garde manger or cold foods section, working just a few feet away from the mighty Wylie. The hardest part is trying to be as fast and as clean as possible while upholding Chef's high standards.

Since there are two separate menus to learn (the tasting and a la carte) it has proven a challenge to pay attention and learn all the necessary components that make up the plate presentations for each dish. I have almost mastered the arrangement and timing of the tasting menu and have started to become versed in the a la carte.

The way the kitchen works: servers seat guests and take their order. The ticket that they ring in is then printed on our individual ticket machines with the list of dishes in the order that the guests would like. Tastings are easy as they are always in the same order but timing is everything as each course has to be appropriately spaced apart. For the tasting menu, my station is in charge of the first four courses but of course we don't do one table at a time. At any given time the surface area of our prep table can be completely covered with tasting dishes meanwhile having to complete separate a la carte orders as well. We send the dishes with any available server in the order the tickets were rung in (for the most part) or in order of the table that was cleared first. It is like a well-orchestrated dance that requires many moving parts and people to be fluid and run smoothly.

If I don't have the priveledge of working a dinner service I am once again down in the prep kitchen doing an odd assortment of tasks that seem to get more menial everyday- but I am still learning nevertheless. In an effort to absorb as much information as possible I have been deemed "protein queen" because I volunteer to clean anything from venison racks to bags of chicken thighs to breaking down beef brisket (and loving every minute of it). Except for Ben (the 6 month stage here from England who is now a full time line cook) I am one of two interns in the prep kitchen. The other girl is named Sari and she is working till January completing both a savory and pastry stage. Despite the fact she has never worked in a kitchen before she has done well acclimating herself at wd~50 (with my help of course) and continues to learn everyday.

It still amazes me to see the passion and and devotion around me. Everytime I experience a dinner service I have increased repect for the capability of my co-workers and can only hope that one day I will have the talent, confidence, and fluidity that they display on a nightly basis.

After purple snow peas, brunoise potatoes, liquid nitrogen, gelatin sheets, and peanut butter noodles, I have finally survived week one. My first day I got to the lower east side early just in time to eat a much deserved slice of New York pizza. There was just one problem- I was so nervous I couldn't even finish ONE SLICE....and if you know me I can always eat pizza. As I was walking to the restaurant I thought my legs were going to fall off, I was shaking, I wasn't saying a word, it was as if a bomb was slowly ticking down with each step closer to the solid wooden door of the entrance to wd~50.

Once I got inside I was greeted by the familiar polished wooden floors, the spotless bar, the distant banging and clinking of workers in the kitchen, the abstract wall art that encompassed Wylie Dufresne's vision. The receptionist walked me back to the bustling open kitchen where I was greeting by the pony-tail clad Chef de Cuisine Jon. He walked me through all the stations then led me downstairs to my post in the prep kitchen.

I am one of 3 interns with several more coming and going throughout the months while I will be here. The atmosphere is very intense, it is different than any other kitchen I have every been in. I mostly stay down in the basement where the prep kitchen is located directly next to the bake shop. Chef Dufresne occasionally walks through inspecting, making sure everything is up to his high standards, instructing if somebody seems to be doing something wrong, and generally just running his restaurant with an air of confidence. The "guys upstairs" as I call them comprise of a medley of young men all with extraordinary talent and focus that is so uncommon for people of their age. They run their stations with great precision and don't talk much until after service is completed. When they rush downstairs for last minutes ingredients we try to stay out of their way and make sure they have everything they need to ensure the fluidity of dinner service. This past week I have tried to engage a few of them in conversation to learn more about their backgrounds and culinary knowledge. I hope to be working with some of them closer in the coming weeks.

I am the only girl in the savory section as of right now. Their are several girls in the back shop who are pastry-devoted but I only come into contact with them when they walk behind me to cool something off in the walk-in refrigerator. The pastry chef is an all around amazing man from what I can sum up in the short time that I have seen him. He creates gorgeous works of art all the while blaring hardcore death metal. How the man creates amazing and delicous desserts while listening to such angry music is a mystery to me.

The two other interns are great, John is only here for two more weeks before he heads back to New Hampshire and Ben the native Brit is here for a whopping six months before going back home to London. Johnny, the man who overseas us interns is very patient and I respect him a lot. He makes sure I stay on task and stay consistent with everything I do. So far, my work consists of preparing small items for garde manger, fish, and meat stations, cleaning whenever possible, pickling everything you can imagine, cleaning meat and generally helping where needed.

I enjoy my work and am eager to learn as much as possible; in one short week I have seen and learned a wealth of new culinary tricks, tips, and techniques. As of now I can only access the internet on my days off (Monday and Tuesday) so bear with me as I adjust to this new, amazing, bustling city. Until the next adventure....check out the wd~50 website and read the menu!

http://www.wd-50.com/menu.php

I'm finally in the Empire State and I begin in 3 days. I've made a few runs down to the lower east side trying to figure out the never-ending maze that is the New York subway system. You can't help but let the energy of the city sink in and fuel you for whatever lies around the next turn. As Day One looms closer I can only imagine what the next 10 weeks will be like; I keep telling myself if I don't know something I simply don't know there is no need to worry about it now. Three days to go and all I can say is I think I'm ready!

Three weeks away from the beginning of the next 10 weeks. I have applied, been accepted, and already have visited wd~50 in New York City. Chef Wylie Dufresne (recently on Top Chef Masters) is the delightful food, physics and chemistry junkie who owns me for the winter term. I plan to document my adventures with WD at number 50 Clinton street and post as many pictures of my creations as possible. Enjoy!