Goodbyes All Around

Last night, I met Silvia, Andrea and Andy at Boulevard, where we shared an elaborate and delicious meal appropriate for the culmination of our last twelve months together. Andy picked out the wines (champagne to start, an Albarino with our appetizers, Pinot Noir with dinner, and porto with dessert). I'd advised the receptionist that we were celebrating, so our desserts arrived with little "congratulations" plaques leaned up against them, made of dark chocolate with white writing.

This morning, Chef Al treated us to quesadillas, and we were off and running on buffet boards. He helped Andrea and I put together an elaborate cheese board that included parmigiano reggiano, brie, white cheddar, cambazola, stilton, manchego, dry jack, gouda, and fontina, garnished with dried cherries, cranberries, and pistachios. He advised us to pay close attention while he showed us how to handle the various cheeses: "You'll never get to work with this much cheese in the real world. Too expensive."

Then we built our big charcuterie board, our final project. Andrea worked on the centerpiece and I started by slicing and placing head cheese, and we went from there. We ended up with 54 points, not far off from our goal of 55 (out of 60); Andy and Alex scored high points for the day with 58 points on their meat board.

I asked Chef if I could bring home a piece of mortadella. (I'd like to share it with my dad, and be able to tell him that I made it myself.) Chef said "I have no idea what you're talking about." Now there's a foot-long length of it in my refrigerator.

Alex didn't hold up his end of the sparkling wine deal, so Chef allowed us to requisition a bottle from the Careme Room bar to add to the one I brought, and we all toasted one another just before noon. Chef Al announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the world of culinary love." There were goodbyes all around, and I must admit to a spell of emotional incontinence before I made it out of the building. Andrea and I walked to the parking garage, as usual, and we shared a big hug. "I wouldn't have made it through without you," she said.

Then I drove over to the South Campus for lunch. Serendipitously, I entered an on-line contest at KFOG, my radio station of choice, for a luncheon celebrating the release of their annual fund-raising CD, "Live From the Archives 14," which benefits local food banks. Lunch was at -- wait for it -- Bistro 350 at the South Campus, being served by CCA students who are currently in the Banquets and Catering class. They're six weeks away from where I am now. I enjoyed a four course lunch (skipped out before dessert), talked to some Fogheads and Renee, one of the morning personalities, and had the chance to say hello -- and goodbye -- to Peter and Chef Afreen, who were working the event. The mushrooms stuffed with cream cheese and bacon were fantastic, but the chicken was a little overcooked.

It's been an amazing year. Although I still have three months to go before I'm officially finished, it's hard to believe that my internship will be anywhere near as intense or transformational as the last twelve months. And I won't have the daily interaction with my classmates and friends: Silvia is on her way to San Diego as I write this, Andy heads to Minneapolis tomorrow, and over the weekend, Andrea will be moving back to Reno.

And driving back over the bridge, I caught Alanis Morrisette on KFOG, and her song just seems to sum it all up:

You live you learn
You love you learn
You cry you learn
You lose you learn
You bleed you learn
You scream you learn

You grieve you learn
You choke you learn
You laugh you learn
You choose you learn
You pray you learn
You ask you learn
You live you learn