An Eternal Plate of Cookies

This will be my first entry that is not entirely about food, but I consider the events of today to be of enough importance to tell everyone about.

For the last 4 years, it has been difficult for me to imagine what it would be like to graduate from UC Berkeley. I didn't think that going to the Fall graduation ceremony would be an emotional experience, but I was close to tears when I entered Zellerbach to the graduation song (what is that song called?) Although I generally am not very spirited when it comes to school spirit, I felt extremely proud to be graudating from Cal. It was also nice to see my family and how happy they were for me. I never really attribute my accomplishments to much while here, but I guess it really does mean a lot to be graduating from college.

There was a second, even more emotional event for me tonight- my last Theatre Rice banquet. I have never been touched and so emotional over a food experience in my life- each member of Theatre Rice graciously presented me with a single cookie as a token of their appreciation. I received all sorts of wonderful cookies- Chips Ahoy, Mrs. Field's, Fig Newtons, Noah's, chocolate covered, fortune- I really wish that I could keep all of these cookies as a concrete reminder of Theatre Rice. Seeing a long line of Ricers waiting to hand me a cookie, give me a hug, and say a few kind words is something that will remain embedded in my mind until my mind decides to stop remembering things. I have so much love for the people that make up Theatre Rice, so much respect for every member; I still think to myself how amazing it is that 30 or so people are so willing and eager to give up free time, study time, and so much else to be with Theatre Rice. There has been so much the group has taught me about myself and how to deal with other people, so many opportunities for me to express my creativity, and so many fond memories. I wish that I coulud stay and continue to create, interact, and play with all of the Ricers. I definitely will miss Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, Sundays, Mondays and/or Wednesdays, and the ocassional Friday rehearsals and all of the other fun times that I have had with this group. Believe me, if I could do Theatre Rice for a living, I defintely would. But like all grains of rice, each must eventually leave the bowl, and onto different (although sometimes less tasty) dishes. But nothing will ever replace the sweet grains of Rice I found with this Bowl and never again will I see an eternal plate of cookies.

Julia Child is gone :0(

Julia Child passed away yesterday, Thursday, August 12, 2004 in her sleep. She was 91 years old. I found out today while working- it made me feel sad. I wasn't really a hardcore fan (not even really a fan). It's just that she's made so many contributions to the culinary world, that it's a shame to see her go. I guess I feel personally connected to her becuase I played her in my last Comedy Troupe. There will never again be another Julia Child...

Artists will never starve again

So I've been thinking a lot about my future restaurant. People always ask me what kind of food it will serve, what it will be called, etc. I haven't really decided these things yet, but there are a few things that I have thought about. Most of these involved the treatment of my employees:

• A livable minimum wage for all employees, including the dishwasher (typically one of the lowest paying jobs in a restaurant). I'm hoping that by doing so, employees that have other passions in life, such as artists, will be able to support themselves and not have to starve.



• Benefits for all employees and their families, including domestic partners.

Anyhoo, once I think of a name, theme, and menu items, I will let all of you know.

I'm lame and I haven't updated this thing yet again, even though it is summer and I only have one class and I should be able to write as much as I want in this thing. Anyway, a lot has happened in my food world since the last time I updated, but since I am exceptionally lazy and Connie has been good enough to start a food Xanga (it'd be funny if Blog censored out the word "Xanga"), I don't have to recap the last week's food adventures because she has been right there with me for the exciting ones. Click here if you want an update of what my food world has been like for the last week.

Did I mention how much I hate Finance? Oh, so you're thinking, "Chris Dong has violated the original purpose of his Food Blog by bitching about life!" Oh, but you are wrong! Becuase I was about to draw an analogy and you jumped to conclusions, how dare you! Anyway, what I was ABOUT to say was that I hate Finance just as much as I love cooking. Which translates to a huge hatred toward finance and great love toward cooking.

Up Next

Woo hoo, summer is finally here, and that means more cooking time!

I want to try the following menu within the next couple weeks. If you're interested, please let me know and I'll set something up. If anyone wants to cook with me, also lemme know, it'll be most awesome.

• Crab cakes with wasabi aioli (perhaps served atop a bed of arugala?)
  
  
• Jamaican Jerk chicken with pineapple salsa, crispy plantains
  
  
• White chocolate souffle or bread pudding with caramel whiskey sauce or Kalua cheesecake or cheesecake with mango sauce (can't decide yet)
  
  

Inspiration for the menu: crab cakes-as per a suggestion from Emi; jerk chicken and crispy plantains- Alton Brown; white chocolate souffle-my own thoughts; bread pudding with caramel whiskey sauce- Womens' faculty Club; Kalua cheesecake-Cheesecake Factory; cheesecake with mango sauce- WFC.

The Calling

I've been meaning to write this for a while. I've realized after 1.5 semesters at Haas that I am definitely in the wrong field. I really don't like what I'm learning now. Sure, Macroeconomics is interesting, but it's only RELATIVELY interesting- it's like watching a rerun of Jeopardy versus watching someone read the dictionary. I don't think I'd ever want to sit in an office (even the corner one with the Bay view). I don't think I'd survive in an office setting. I need more excitement, with people all around me.

I want to see a full dining room of 250 guests, with a long list of reservations still waiting to come in. I want to coordinate and plan a reception for hundreds. I want constant action, constant excitement- I want it to be like the 30 minutes before we open the doors for a Theatre Rice show- fast paced, people around me, a constantly changing environment.

I realize that the restaurant industry is brutal- many restaurants shut down aftter their first year of operation and to become well known and famous in the industry is extremely hard. But I've decided that I'm willing to sacrifice a more "comfortable" job for being able to feel the heat of grill or sautee stattion, serving customers, and doing something with my Haas education that is completely unexpected. I'm ready for it, and I'm ready for it now...

Disaster

Okey, I know I haven't updated this shiz in a long time, but I swear I've been cooking! I had a kitchen distaster today (these really don't happen that often). I went to Asian Ghetto after Theatre Rice and I saw the ma po tofu at Mandarin House and decided to make some for myself at my apt cuz I'm cheap like that. I got my wok smoking hot and put in 1/2 tsp of chili/garlic sauce- that was a mistake! Not only did the chili garlic sauce burn, but it smoked, causing the air to fill with deadly chili odors, which made it hard to breathe in my kitchen, which then decided to spread itself to other parts of my apartment, which made it hard to breathe in other parts of my apartment. I never knew chili garlic sauce could cause such chaos!