RIDGECREST, Calif., Dec. 10, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- It is one thing to bake an incredible casserole or grill the perfect steak, but to master every facet of gourmet cooking in a year is something quite different indeed. That's what Patrice Johnson learned during her time in cooking school, which she chronicles in a lighthearted and humorous new book, Uncut: The Inside Story of Culinary School (now available through AuthorHouse).
As Johnson prepared for the first day of class by ironing her white jacket and organizing her professional knives, she had no idea what a whirlwind of activity the coming year would be. Her school, The California School of Culinary Arts, which carries the revered Cordon Bleu certification, whipped her into a superb gourmet chef. From the paralyzing fear of handling knives after a classmate narrowly escaped the hospital to the hilarious ordeal involving a blow torch, Johnson details the routines of the kitchen, the exhausting schedule of a culinary student and the camaraderie that unified her class during the most hectic times.
Readers follow her through "real food" courses, in which the class learned tips to perfect sauces and stocks. Baking, once her favorite kitchen pastime, becomes a nightmare with the numerous cakes and pastries the class learned to cook. Each time she rushes her dish to instructors just before the deadline, readers tense in anticipation and can almost feel the heat of the stove.
Her misadventures, such as the pumpkin dough sculpture she thought was so hideous, become a funny reminder of the tenacity and creativity required to become an expert of the "back of the house." Uncut: The Inside Story of Culinary School is a delicious portrayal of a fascinating art.
Johnson owns Mystique, Your Personal Chef and does catering, special occasion dinners and everyday dinners for clients. She earned a bachelor's degree in business management from the University of Maryland and then pursued a career as a contract weapons negotiator for 12 years, in addition to being a certified group exercise instructor and personal trainer. She lives with her husband, Rich, in Ridgecrest, Calif.
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