How many AudiogoNers are amateur chefs?

Count me in- and to expand on Rshak's and Slipknot's posts, money spent on membership to cooksillustrated.com is money well spent. I consider it right next to Agon as the website with the most reliable information on a particular topic.

I do most of the cooking in my household.

How about on Audiogoner thats a real chef? I have two culinary degrees from Atlantic Community College Acadamy of Culinary Arts. I am the only student to complete both the Applied Culinary Skills and the Culinary Management programs. I have two gold medals framed on the wall above my desk that I am very proud of. The school was very intense when I attended. Each course was 3 weeks long, 5 - 8 hours a day. You had 5 courses a semester along with you academic courses. Each program was 2 years long. I worked my way up through the industry and eventually held the position of Executive Chef at three different, and well know, restuarants in my area. In addition, I held the position of Pastry Chef at a well known local restuarant, as well as at one of the Atlantic city casinos. I even had the pleasure of turning down and offer from Donald Trump to be his personal Pastry Chef after he tried a piece of my Banana Cheesecake (baked of course)!

However, I was forced to retire about two years ago, by the state and my doctor, when I was diagnosed with Narcolepsy. No wonder I was having trouble staying awake at work. Used to take naps on my break.

So, how much cooking do I do now that I stay at home all the time? Not much. It's just me and my wife, and she works all the time. So, I eat by myself most of the time. I usually cook on her days off. I have a rule that nothing I make for dinner can take more then 20 minutes to prepare. You would be amazed by what you can accomplish in 20 minutes when your professionally trained (time management shills). For example, on Wednesday I prepared homemade Pumpkin Gnocchi with a gorganzola cream sauce and octopus cevichi on a bed of spring greans with fried goat cheese and sun dried cherries. Dessert was Alvocado pudding with creme fresch. Please do not tell my doctor; I'm not suppose to be using knives - I could blink out and cut myself.

P.S - It's Soups and Sauces not Soups and Stocks. The secret to a good soup or suace is to start with a good stock. As a chef, you have to get used to tasting stocks when they are cold (to determine flavor and freshness). It's kind of like eating beef, chicken, fish, etc jello. Sounds yummy, doesn't it?

I have rattled the pots and pans, and looked good doing it, for many years. French, Italian, Mexican, Chinese, Thai food, all specialties. In fact, I have had the pleasure to teach more than a few French cooking classes at our local CC. I would be happy to entertain options to trade French culinary tips in exchange for vintage audio gear!

I have often been asked, "Why don't you become a chef". My stock (actually a demi-glaze) answer, "Because that would make it work!"

I have two years of college training in fine cuisine. Switched to Engineering Science and then went to Business Administration. Call me a mut.

I can made a bologna sandwich with the best of them :>)

Interesting post. Culinary arts and music appreciation are similar as they share the presence of the senses . Passion , dedication and perserverance are tools both fields have in common to offer the inclined . Prpixel is in all probability the cooking champ of the forum as his credentials speak volumes . I find comfort behind my 6 top gas Viking in that I am the master of that domain and I cut myself off from the pressures of the ongoing world around me. I am as meticulous in the uniform dicing of each strand of vegetable as I am the matching of my power cords. This is analogous to the immersion we all drift into when we close our eyes and sink into our systems. Both are sensual mediums. Both take intense commitment to achieve perfection .