I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE my new job!!! I am SO happy I left Bar Harbor! Working at Castle Hill is everything I imagined it to be! The people are great (and actually have training and know what they are doing) and you can tell they love their jobs. I ask questions a lot, but they love answering them. Almost all of our products are locally sourced from areas around RI, MA, and CT. I currently work as a floater, so to speak. Because I am only there for two months, it did not make much sense to train me on my own station, so I work as the hot app/pantry wingman. I am training on both stations so that when the stations are busy, I can jump in and assist with plating and expediting of the tickets. Unlike The Mooring (last summer's job), the plates have many more components, so plating takes more precision and time. I have only been working there for about four days, but I have loved every day so far and I cannot wait to see how the summer unfolds.
I have had the past two days off. I spent yesterday at the Farmer's Market (like I said I would in my last post). I bought eggs, spinach, basil, garlic scapes, whole wheat bread, and yogurt. With the spinach, I made spinach pasta (which used the fresh eggs for the dough). I chopped up mushrooms and made tortellinis! I then minced the rest of the spinach with some basil and garlic scapes that were sauteed in oil and then added more oil to the mixture to make an herby oil sauce. I tossed the tortellinis in that sauce and oh my goodness was it divine!!! Just knowing that a majority of the ingredients were local was so much fun! I live above a computer IT store owned by an elderly couple and brought some down to them and boy were they happy!!!!

I can easily say Life is Good.

Back in Newport for the summer...as of two days ago

So I was supposed to be in Bar Harbor this summer, but due to conflict of interests between me and my job, I left. Thank goodness my boss from last summer in Newport was able to give me a job this summer. Good thing I left Newport last year on good terms! So I packed up my things from Bar Harbor and headed down to Newport...homeless! I drove to Newport and began my apartment hunt via craigslist and randomly driving around looking at signs in front yards. I am a little impatient sometimes, so halfway through the day, I was starting to get nervous I would not find anything and was considering just giving up and not staying in Newport.
All of a sudden, I got a call from a guy living right in Newport who was offering me the chance to look at his place. He had one room available, furnished. I stopped by that evening and met him and the other roommate. The second I walked up the stairs to see the place, I knew it was perfect! It was clean, organized, and it just had the perfect vibe! With a very affordable price, I took it because I knew that it would be gone if I waited another day. I moved in the next day. Thankfully a friend from last year was around so I could crash at her place for the night until I could move in.
The location is perfect! While I still have to drive to work, I am walking distance from anything here in Newport! I am right down the road from my favorite Tea house where I spent a lot of time last summer too (they had bubble tea, loose tea, and free wifi!) But there is wifi here at the apt, so that will save me some money from being tempted to buy tea every day!
I am quite proud of myself for finding this place because I did it all myself and thanks to good spending habits (actually, wait, no I have horrible money managing skills, so its more like thanks to good spending habits in high school where i spent nothing....) I was able to afford it easily.
My roommates are so nice too! One is late 20's and a cook at the Marriot Hotel down the road and the other is in his 40's and works for the town as well as a part time paramedic. They both like to cook, which is great!! While I am only here for two months, it is sure going to be a great summer! Especailly since I already have friends here from last year!

I will be working at the Castle Hill Inn, a Relais and Chateau property (look it up). I start tomorrow and the menu just looks incredible!!! Most everything on the menu is local and from RI, which I am totally interested in. I love this local/sustainable/organic movement, so being right here in the center of it all is just a dream come true. There are farmers markets every Wednesday and Saturday, so next Wed, since I am not working, I will be getting food from there and cooking dinner for Peter and Kristen (roommates), which they are stoked about!

Oh gosh, what a long post: Ill write more later!

I'm A GRADUATE!!!

Yes, that's right! I graduated from culinary school!!! I have graduated with my Associates Degree and plan to continue on for my Bachelors Degree in August. Its so exciting to know that I have a degree and something to show for my education! Part one is over, though it went by way too fast! I think the best thing for me to do at this point is to go out into the workforce and apply what I have learned.
Correction: I am not a "CHEF." Graduating from culinary school does not make one a chef. A Chef is a title given to an individual that deserves that title, a job, for instance. So if I am given the job as a Sous Chef, then I am a chef. Call me chef all you want (my parents have been calling me their little chef for a while now), but I am technically not a chef. Having a degree certainly gives me a leg up on the job ladder though when compared to one without a degree, so I may reach "chefdome" quicker than the other.
As for my time off this summer until I return in late August for my Bachelors Degree, I will be working in Bar Harbor, Maine at an inn right on the water! As for the people who know I was in Newport, RI last summer, they just cant help but be a little jealous that I keep working in these touristy-summery destinations. I am excited to go to Bar Harbor because I really like being by water and Acadia National Park is practically next to it, giving me full access to endless hiking and sightseeing and outdoor activities. While Newport was pretty and outdoorsy, it was just too many cars and shopping...hopefully having Acadia nearby will pull me away from the shopping!
And as you all know, I was taking Bartending classes, so I will be trying to get a part time job as a bartender/barback to hone my skills and see if I am cut out for the job.

I am ready to go and cook my heart away!

If you are in Bar Harbor area this summer, send me a message and we will meet up!