The Beginning

I took this picture from our night cruise on the Seine in March 2002. Cordon Bleu sponsored a little outing for all of us student, perhaps feeling a bit sorry for all of us having endured three tumultuous days of intense scrutiny and pressure to perform for our chefs and prove that we deserved to be at this illustrious institution (I was already having my doubts…I could barely sputter out the right vowels to describe the dish I just plated that afternoon).

I remember that freezing cold night as I shivered with my new found friends against the dampness of the city (who said Paris was this COLD in the spring!?!) The strangers I had met 72 hours ago were now my soul mates. They too had given up a lot to come here like me, given up jobs, loves, homes, all for pursuing a dream. I was pinching myself to see
1. If I had frost-bite and
2. Is this still a dream?

From that freezing moment on (and a couple of kirs later), Paris became my home. I think Paris is the only city in the world that can do that to you. It intimidates you and tests you to see if you are really going to be a loyal to it, and then it just throws its arms around you at every turn and you wonder how you could live all those years never knowing the embrace of Paris. In its embrace is the subtle lesson of appreciating life and all its subtleties; that you can be completely happy living in a ridiculously small space, content in never having to own or drive a car, joy in sipping coffee and people watching, and the highest achievement of all…savoring the crusty tip of a baguette fresh from the bakery around the corner. Not that you don’t get lost along the way. The streets of Paris make sure that finding your way around is never easy, but that’s part of the adventure too. Even getting lost can be a treat when you look up in utter frustration only to find the exterior of Notre Dame is smiling down on your path.

Almost seven years later and after getting a little lost I think I’ve finally found where I’m supposed to be and applying it to my life here in San Diego. I created this blog, Savvy Cuisine as a playground of flavors and a carnival (without any analogies to clowns…eew) of ingredients in hopes of capturing the happiness and contentment that I had so many years and miles away. A place where the door is open and there’s a table just waiting where we can all come together and share our love for cooking and for the twists and turns of life! So let’s uncork, sit back, and toast to life’s journeys. Here’s to a new adventure, a new beginning, and a new life for all of us in this new year. Cheers!