Less than one week.

I am new to this whole blogging thing. (Ben Terry, help!) Please be patient with me. My hope is that this blog will be an easier way for more people to keep in touch and know what I am doing from day-to-day (week-to-week or month-to-month) while I am living in New York for culinary school. If you know me, I am fairly confident in who I am. With that out in the open, I want to go ahead and warn you that I may be corny when I blog (see title above :)). Yes, this is real life.

Let me answer two questions. Why am I going to culinary school? What is the CIA?

As most know, I recently graduated from UGA (Go Dawgs!) with two degrees in Food Science and Biology. (Seriously, what am I ever going to do with a BS in Biology?) I loved being a Food Science major, and I really wish I had declared Food Science and Technology (FDST) after attending my first Chocolate Science class my first year at UGA. The food industry is ever-changing and involving, and even with the struggling economy, there is always a need for food scientists. A food scientist can work in quality control, ensuring that every product attains (or retains) a certain level of quality (by weight, color, the lack of contaminants, etc.). A graduate can work in manufacturing, in mixing the raw materials, cooking, packaging, etc. One of the most popular areas in food science is research and development, in creating a successful formulation for a product from a small-scale to a large-scale launch. Who wouldn't want to work making and testing ice cream formulations and new flavors everyday? That is a specific job of a food scientist.

I do enjoy learning about and studying the science of food: how to make an emulsion, ensuring the food safety of a product, developing a new food product (and winning a competition for it), being up-to-date on food trends, and the list continues. I also love cooking, and though food science does involve cooking in a way, it is not necessarily the same thing. There is a difference in the science behind food and actually cooking and baking food.

In the Spring of my third year at Georgia (I number my years, as I was there for five.), I began to research culinary school. With a Food Science degree and a culinary degree, many doors can be opened to me in the food industry. I am not sure exactly what I want to do in the future, but I am passionate about what I am doing. Food is essential to life. There is no better feeling in the world than fun fellowship with delicious food, and I love being able to be apart of something so fundamental.

The Culinary Institute of America is the world's premier culinary college (www.ciachef.edu), with its main campus located in Hyde Park, NY (the birthplace of FDR, remember from elementary school?). The CIA offers two degrees programs, depending on previous education or work in the industry, with a focus in culinary arts or baking and pastry arts. My program is 21 months, and I will be a baking and pastry arts student. I enjoy cooking in general, but I love baking in particular. If I have ever had the pleasure of cooking dinner for you (a shout out to the Family Night Dinner crew), you know that a meal is never complete without dessert.

In four short days, I am flying to New York, and as of right now, I only have a one-way ticket, which scares the hell out of me. I move on campus Sunday, begin orientation on Monday, and begin school on Tuesday (I think). I have never lived more than 5 hours and 275 miles away from home. The CIA does not have classes for three weeks in July (July 9-August 1). Meaning, I will be home in six weeks for three weeks, which is the only reason that I believe I am so calm about moving 1200 miles away at the moment.

Thanks for your interest in what I am doing. This is only the beginning of what I know is going to be an incredible journey, and I am glad you want to join me, in whatever way possible.

Haley

*Thank you, Katy Capers, specifically, for the URL name help and for being my first follower. I cannot wait for you to move to Boston!