Foolog!: A Living Legend.

I have not been posting enough lately and I'm sorry. I've been a bit of an emotional wreck, and posting blog entries whilst depressed does not make for a read-worthy product. Always think of the readers.

Today's emotionally devastating event was this: it was our last day of Classical Cakes with Chef Schorner. There are so many things I could say about that man, but I am going to have to collect my thoughts and write a short essay that simply states how I have felt for these past three weeks. I know that's how he would prefer it.

Chef Schorner is a legend. When he tells you stories, they are filled with accounts of Queens, celebrities, Presidents, and other nobility who have eaten (and loved) his food. What's more impressive, however, is the people he remembers that aren't nobility. For example, how he remembers a woman who taught him to fold laundry correctly, which is now the reason he folds puff pastry so beautifully. He says, "I loved that woman. She said, 'you may be a big shot up there (in the restaurant), but down here, I want it this way.' And she was right!"

Chef Schorner is not a young man, in fact, he is 75. Usually by that time, a person has made his/her way in the world and has settled down in a warm location to live out the remainder of their days. Not Chef Schorner. He remains the most passionate person I have ever met, even about cakes and pastries that he has made 500 times. He'll be just as excited to talk to you about a new, Grant Achatz-inspired confection as he will be to talk about a Black Forest cake that he made for the first time when he was a child. He remains so passionate, that he is moving to Singapore in a few weeks to teach at the CIA's newest campus. He's 75, and he's moving to Singapore. I'm just going to let that sink in for a few moments.

Chef Schorner's defining characteristic, in my eyes, is his expressions. He might as well be a cartoon, with how much emotion he can display during one sentence. He goes from quietly describing the intricate processes behind modern sugar work to dancing around the room describing an evening that none of his students, regrettably, shared with him. He not only lives passionately in the present, he remembers things with such a ferocity that when he describes the hands of a pastry chef that he met one time in Spain, you can see the hands. You can visualize them so well that you want to reach out and touch them, just to try to believe how accurate the Chef's description of them is. He IS passion. His heart beats for the next time he will be inspired by a student, a chef, or just any person he meets on the street.

As I said, there are many, MANY things I could say about Chef Schorner, but I just want to leave you with this: I left his class today, and the whole class was crying. There was not a single person who walked out of Bake Shop 5 without their voice slightly cracking when they said their goodbye to Chef. Everyone is so thankful to have had him as their instructor, and even though we are all disappointed that he is leaving shortly, we will never forget the last three weeks we shared with him. If I ever feel down, I will remember all of the things that he said to us that made my eyes light up and how many times he reminded me of why I decided to pursue this career path. Chef Schorner will forever remain one of the most inspirational and inspired people I have ever met. I am a different, better person because of him.

Now, to conclude, I will post some pictures. I don't want to say too much, but I definitely believe pictures are worth a thousand words. Hopefully you'll understand what I mean.