Never too old

If Rodney Dangerfield can do it, SO CAN I!

Can it be?  Can I really be contemplating going back to school?  I never thought I would.  Not traditional college anyway.  And I'm still running as far from that one as I can.  No, not running...just avoiding.  I have no desire for that, at all.  Not even a little.  Do I care that I was in college for 6 years and only got my Associates?  Absolutely not!  I had my first three babies in those 6 years and discovered that I didn't need any fulfillment from higher education.

HOWEVER...

Cooking school on the other hand?

Over the last year or so, Kris and I talked about what it would be like to someday open up a yeast-free bakery.  A what?  Yeah, you read that right.  YEAST-FREE.  Which would automatically mean it was gluten and sugar-free as well, since those are forbidden on a yeast-free diet.  I would never do it unless I had recipes that I knew were excellent.  But I'm scared to experiment.  I know next to nothing about food.  Sure, I love to cook and I can follow a recipe and for the most part, people enjoy my cooking.  But if it's that good now, think how good it could be if I knew what I was doing!  If I had the knowledge and skills that cooking school has to offer.  I said this on Facebook earlier...I don't care if the correct term is culinary school.  I'm plain and simple and my way of saying it is cooking school.

Kitchen Nightmares has pretty much proven to me that I don't have what it takes to own a restaurant.  Or rather, I don't have what it takes to own a FAILING restaurant whose only chance of staying alive is Gordon Ramsey.  But maybe someday I could see myself behind the counter or in the kitchen at my own little shop.  Just a small hole-in-the-wall local place with returning customers.  10 years from now, I think more and more people will be jumping on the "healthy" bandwagon...I don't think this trend is going away.  We're learning so much about what the processed and fast food can do to our bodies and while it may not be the quick food revolution Jamie Oliver longs to see in America, eventually we'll get there.

Right now, I don't have aspirations of having an illustrious career in a fancy restaurant.  I want to do this for ME.  For what I can gain and share with my family.  I want to be confident when I hold a knife.  Wait.  Put down the phones.  I don't mean that in a "I'm going to chop up my family" way!!!  Settle down people.  I hate chopping FOOD with knives (that does not mean that I enjoy chopping other things with knives).  It takes me forever to slice anything because I am terrified I will cut my finger off.  I want to learn how to hold a knife and use it properly.  That may sound silly to you, but I seriously do.  It's something that bothers me...that I don't know how to do it and that I don't have the confidence to learn on my own.  Maybe if I were forced (by it being required in a class) to do it, I can get over my fear and finally learn how to use a knife properly.  So that I can chop food, not people.

I was thrilled to learn that a college friend of mine has similar dreams, and she shared with me that she was toying with this very same idea.  And better still?  WE LIVE IN THE SAME TOWN!  So, with Kris' immediate "You should do it!" response (he's amazing, have I ever mentioned that?), and knowing I have a friend to maybe start this journey with, I am PUMPED!  I am so excited about this!!!

And completely terrified.

Have any of you ever been to cooking school?  What's it like?  Is it intimidating?  It's not like Hell's Kitchen right?  Because my skin is not tough, not even a little.  I want to hear what you know!