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My Love Affair with Vietnamese Food

I love food for many reasons. Influences from my childhood range from my Dad's soupy-soup, my Mom's chicken and wine sauce, Nonny's cream puffs and Grandma's tamales.

Equally important were the culinary lessons I learned at my best friend (who I met in Kindergarten) PJ's house growing up together. We were the original frick-and-frack. Found one? The other wasn't far behind. This meant endless meals together, most cooked by her and her mom. These were lessons that inspired me to get to know Vietnamese cuisine a bit better and write about it.

Here is yet another lengthy C-School paper for your enjoyment.

Something for Everyone:
The Politics and Reality of Vietnamese Cuisine

Robin D. Aguilar
Food Writing
Instructor Marc Linquist
California School of Culinary Arts

September 25, 2004

How I Got My Food Writing Externship (Part 2)

Here is the second installment of "How I Got My Food Writing Externship". Every culinary school student (at CSCA at least) has to do a 12 week externship in a kitchen, food producing facility or other career oriented opportunity.

A buddy of mine in school really did say "All those cooking skills, and you're going to write?" A compliment to say the least. However, after hearing my protein chef tell a story about being burned by the Executive chef with a hot pan because he didn't get his dish up for a VIP 4-top in time, there was no contest.

The following was originally published in the CSCA newsletter. Enjoy!

How I Got My Food Writing Externship (Part 1)

Here is a funny one. Keep in mind that I was one driven m-f'er during culinary school. There was no test I wasn't prepared for. There was no restaurant fire (when class turns into a restaurant line with Chef calling out strange orders on the fly... nice!) that I couldn't surmount. However, I will never, ever as long as I live and breathe forget being surprised by what faced me trying to get my externship.

The following was originally published in the CSCA newsletter. Enjoy!

Chef Paul Prudhomme

Every chef has a chef they truly love and admire. I am no different. Before culinary school I knew very little of the iconic Chef Paul Prudhomme. I had passed his spices in the local grocery store, but had no idea that his upbringing, background and influences led him to uphold a higher culinary standard to this day.

In all my travels to New Orleans, I have yet to experience K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen. For this reason, I am itching to get back to the N.O. to experience what freezer-less cuisine can offer. If you can't make it to the Big Easy, head to your spice aisle and pick up any one of Chef Prudhomme's Magic Seasoning Blends. Each one is outstanding, just like Chef.

Below is a project that a couple of classmates and I put together for our Organizational Psychology class about Chef Paul Prudhomme. See if you don't feel the same after reading.

Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl

There's no doubt that I'm a HUGE fan of Ruch Reichl. This former LA Times and New York Times food critic, and current EIC at Gourmet is a heroine in her own right. She's got a kick ass palate and a sincere love of food that shines through brightly. I'm not ashamed to admit that she's the reason I subscribe to Gourmet (although I probably should be). As you can tell, I'm a bit of a stalker fan.

I got the chance to see her speak at the LA Public Library while I was in culinary school and have been hooked ever since. Here is an article I wrote about that Ruth Reichl speaking engagement which first published in the CSCA Newsletter. Hope they don't mind if I publish it again.

Iron Chef Rocks!

Going through my old culinary school papers, I came across a bunch of interesting homework, essays and synopses that were fun to read all over again. This one was from my Food in History class where I highlighted one of my fave shows, Iron Chef. This is a long one, but if you've got the time it's a great read. Allez cuizine!

Food is to be looked at as well as Eaten:

Iron Chef and its Impact on the Appetite of Man