June 4

Wednesday was day a good number of us were waiting for, the evening of our cooking lessons. The chef that taught us worked at a local culinary school and was supposed to be quite well known, I had never heard of him but among his acclaims is that he has cooked for the Pope. He was a large kind fellow who seemed to have a pretty good sense of humor. The first dish was a tomato stuffed with mixed veggies and served atop a pesto sauce. I expected it to be on the mushy end of things, but the tomato was able maintain a good portion of it texture and the cool salty quality lent by the pesto was able to make the flavor just, god I really wish I could come up with a better descriptor for the sensation, “pop”. For this dish we learned how to peel a tomato, and I was able to pickup an interest tip or two on plating. The next dish was a citrus chicken pasta, which was equally amazing if not more so. It was a very light dish with a great lemon kick to it, it was so good I made sure to go back for seconds. The third dish that was served was sort of a veal marsala, the dish was perfectly tender, with a fantastic savory flavor. And lastly for dessert we had panna cotta with fresh berries, a custardy dish similar to crème brûlée without the caramelized sugar. Smooth, creamy, cool, and refreshing, it was a truly perfect end to a perfect meal. Plus I got keep the chef’s hat, Sweet!