Tag Archives: money

What I Learned in Culinary School (and Why I’m Quitting)

April 14, 2014academics, food, workcooking, culinary school, culinary techniques, International Culinary Center, learning, money, restaurantsCrystal Cun

Class Photo

After 22 classes and 110 hours in the kitchens, I am sad but proud to have finished the Culinary Techniques course at the International Culinary Center.

We began on day one by struggling to chop some onions and carrots, and trying to memorize the French names of all the new equipment. Some of us cut ourselves simply pulling knives out of our bags. Somehow that lesson took five hours to cover. We were green as the tray of herbs that was passed around for an identification lesson.

By the last class, the metronome had sped up but we were keeping pace. Dice the mushrooms, cover them with parchment, reduce the sauce, steam the mussels, put everything together in a painstakingly labor intensive French fashion that looks and tastes better than any version you’ve cooked at home. The initial novelty had worn off, replaced by a comfortable autopilot.

In a nutshell, here’s what I learned in culinary school:
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Return to Ithaca: 5-Year Nonreunion Edition

September 3, 2012life, travelchimes, cornell, Ithaca, moneyCrystal Cun

About five years ago, I graduated from Cornell. I picked up my diploma from the economics department, took another walk around the Arts Quad, and drove 4.5 hours back to MA with stinging eyes. My undergrad days were over, I was cast out into the cruel Real World, and nothing would ever be the same.

But you know what they forgot to tell you in college? Life is even more awesome AFTER college. After spending Labor Day weekend at Cornell, I can confidently say I have no desire to go back to my college days.

One major change: you’re no longer stuck on a student budget. Now, I was never eating ramen for meals (unless I wanted to) or really strapped for cash (thank you slightly-above-minimum-wage chimesmaster salary), but I did have to be pretty conscientious about money. I still am, but having worked for a few years now and become accustomed to New York-level prices, many things in Ithaca that once seemed luxurious are now quite affordable. $9 cocktails at Stella’s? You can easily pay double that in Manhattan. Appetizers, drinks and an entree at Maxie’s? I used to limit myself to just a po’ boy because I was a um, po’ girl. Shortline Bus for $107 or the snazzy new roomy, wifi-enabled Campus-to-Campus bus for $160? You get free snacks and drinks on the latter; the choice is clear.
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On Fast Food, Money and Child Labor: I Grew Up as a Restaurant Brat

September 11, 2011lifeamerican food culture, business, childhood, Chinese cuisine, family history, KY, Louisville, money, restaurants, self-employedCrystal Cun

The roach skittered towards a cardboard box, and Cheryl raised her hand to smash it before the customers could see. The kitchen was in the weeds—we were short-staffed because the fry cook had been jailed last night for a DUI. Dad would stop by later to bail him out and give him another futile lecture. Meanwhile, the insistent beep of the drive-through sensor rang out. I scurried back to my post atop an overturned milk crate and pressed the speaker button. “Welcome to Lucky Phoenix, can I help you?” Just another June afternoon working at the family restaurant.

From the million-watt smile of Racheal Ray to the rock star trappings of Anthony Bourdain, there’s no question that it is a very good time to be famous in the kitchen. Americans may not be cooking any more, but they’re certainly soaking up every TV show, cookbook and blog they can find, as food takes on an unprecedented, fetishistic spotlight in pop culture.

But let’s talk about something a little less glamorous: Chinese fast-food restaurants. You know the sort, the dingy corner take-out joint named some combination of {Golden, Lucky, Jade, Happy} {Moon, Buddha, Wok, Phoenix, Panda}. The kind that serves ambiguously Chinese dishes from a 100-item menu, located in a building converted from an old Taco Bell. The kind that relies on labor from family and friends, the unwitting members of a Chinese restaurant fraternity open automatically to FOB immigrants with no English skills and an eye for cash. You walk past this restaurant every day, in Chicago, in Tuscaloosa, in small-town Italy.

This was my playground.
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Constant Donations

June 22, 2010economicschimes, cornell, donations, inflation, money, ritualsCrystal Cun

In 2008, I decided that I would donate $25 every year to the Cornell Chimes Fund. After all, they paid for an awful lot of meals/trips to high places (belltowers) for me over my 3-year stint as a chimesmaster, so the least I can do is help fund a current chimesmaster’s dinner at Banfi’s. Further, I decided to donate $25 in 2008 inflation-adjusted dollars, so that the real value of my donation would remain constant.

Last year in 2009, with the tanking American economy and Helicopter Ben to thank, I actually donated only $24.68. Huzzah deflation!

Anyway, it is that time of the year again, so without further ado, here is my 2010 Cornell donation:

$24.68 in 2009 dollars * 218.178 (May ’10 CPI-U, all items) / 213.856 (May ’09 CPI-U) = $25.18 in 2010 dollars

I can’t wait to get my letter in the mail from President Skorton thanking me for my donation of $25.18.