Challenge #2 - A Foodie Education

You may have noticed that I blog alot about what I'm cooking, and 9 times out of 10 they are not my recipes. There are two reason for this.

1. I cannot resist sharing good food when I find it. Whether it's a recipe, a bar, a cafe/restaurant or product, when Ive fallen in love I want to share it with the world. Annoying sometimes to some, as I am sure not all my friends and family really care about the new fabulous organic and locally sourced banana Greek yoghurt I'm addicted to, but no one complains when I offer to cook them dinner or book a group outing somewhere!
2. I am forming my Foodie Education.

I know I want a career in hospitality, with food and drink. I have had dreams of owning and running a catering business, a bar, a cafe and a product range. One day I may be able to do all of the above, but I have little experience in all of these areas.

A love of food and drink runs down both sides of my family. My grandparents on my Dad's side used to be caretakers at sheep and livestock stations out in western NSW, including the rich property owners residence. While my Pop worked on the land, taking care of the stock and yards, my Nanny would clean and cook, including catering for the lavish parties the owners would hold with their friends from the tennis club. On a recent visit to see my Pop, he re-lived some of the stories with me, and about my Nan said, "she didn't actually know what she was doing, but it always turned out good". This has really stuck with me, and if you look at some of today's culinary hero's, many of them did not start out with apprenticeships under Marco Pierre White and the like. Many were nothing other than home cooks with a passion and a pallet like a mo-fo, who loved fresh produce and were not afraid to experiment. They were educated by their grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles and most of all through a thirst for knowledge, creating art, for a love of food and how it brings people together.

As a child, both my parents worked full time so I spent days with my Nanna (Mum's Mum). Eventually, after my brother was born, Nan moved in with us. I spent alot of time with her so we had a really close relationship. She would help Mum out by preparing dinner on week nights and keep me occupied when I was 'bored' in the school holidays by giving me slices and biscuits to make. I can still remember this amazing luscious lemon cake she made for afternoon tea one day. I have never been able to find the recipe or one that comes close to the memory I have of it. My Nan was also the family historian and managed to track my Pa's side of the family back generations to the 1800's. My great-great-great-great grandfather shipped himself out to Australia from Great Britain and shacked up with a convict. Turns out, he was the republican of more than one pub in the city, when hay mills were still present on Sussex St. I live in hope that one day I will be able to afford to take down the office space that now occupies the address, transform it back into a pub or bar and create a piece of personal heritage.

My challenge is to continue to learn and grow. To continue to work with flavours, styles and techniques I love and to explore the unknown. I have worked in a bakery, a butchers, an Italian restaurant & pizzeria and as a caterers assistant, but as a young adult still finding her way in the world I feel I did not really see what the world was trying to tell me and use those opportunities as I could have. So, this year I am going to get my foodie on, enrol in every kind of course, tour, experience possible. Some of the ones I have found so far are:

• Sydney Bar School does packages that include RSA, Food & Beverage, Bar Skill, Barista and Cocktail courses
• The Grounds of Alexandria offer beginner to advanced coffee roasting classes as well as garden workshops
• Gelato Messina runs two types of gelato courses, a short class which includes sampling (um, hell yea!) and a more in depth course into artisan ice cream making.
• Sydney Seafood School have a range of classes depending on what you're looking for; and
• Victor's Food host meat classes that focus on variety of meats, cuts, knife skills, preparation, influence of feed and cooking techniques

And this is just to start with. I also intend to 'home school' myself by starting with the basics and trying as many new recipes as possible. I have a food porn collection of books and magazines that has surpassed the space we have available to store it in, many of which I have not tried one recipe from.I am sad to say I actually had to go through and cull at one stage. From these I will devise separate challenges focusing on a particular cuisine (three that spring to mind immediately are Sri Lankan - Peter Kuruvita's Serendip, Asian - Adam Liaw's Two Asian Kitchens and Spanish - Jane Lawson's Cocina Nueva), ingredient or technique (Zumbaron's I'm looking at you).

And to think it all started with midnight.

Has anyone out there had the experience of self starting and self educating to get them on the road to the career they dream about? Were you successful?

Would also love to take suggestions or recommendation of other classes and courses that are out there to fill my calendar with.