Beavertails are *delicious*!

Hey everyone :)

I just got back from dinner a little while ago, and I have a bit of time before bed, so I thought I would share a picture of me and my new favorite dessert...it's called a Beavertail! It's a Canadian dessert and is basically fried dough in the shape of a beavertail with cinnamon sugar on top and...a squeeze of lemon juice! This is the first "culinary trick" I have learned in Ottawa - cinnamon tastes *amazing* with lemon juice!

Rafi, Jessica, and me

I went out to dinner with Kristina (from Egypt), Jessica (from Toronto), Beth (also from Toronto), Sam (from Toronto but he's been living in Tampa for the past few years actually), and Rafi (from new Jersey - he's the one going to Yale next year). We went out to a restaurant in what is called the Market Place - it's an area with a TON of restaurants and a lot of cute shops, etc. The restaurant was called Cornerstone, and I had a burger with caramelized onions, bacon, and barbecue sauce. It was very good. Very, very good. The dinner conversation was really good too - it was fun getting to know everyone and learn more about Canada from the Canadian students. We also talked a lot about Le Cordon Bleu and what everyone is looking forward to/NOT looking forward to. It sounds like the school is really strict about uniforms, nail lengths, and overall cleanliness (both of your workspace and yourself). Apparently, if your uniform isn't neatly pressed each day, you risk being sent right home! Also, the grading starts from day one and there seems to be little room for error - the Chef will demonstrate the technique and cook the dish, and then you have to prepare the dish yourself - and you only get one attempt. But you know, even after all that, I'm still really looking forward to everything. My first instinct was to get worried about all the strictness, but just as I was starting to, I caught myself and realized that while I certainly don't want to be sent home because my uniform isn't neatly ironed, I'm not scared about what is to come - I'm actually really excited. I'm excited to learn! :)