Since I’ve been back in Toronto, I’ve been cursing the weather and my cubicle. Reentry has been a challenge. When I decided to run away to Oklahoma City to complete the Fundamentals of Raw Cuisine program at the 105 Academy I knew that the adventure would change my perspective on everyday life. Now, I just [...]

Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls. – Joseph Campbell. It has been quite a day. Before I reflect on the past month – all I’ve learned and experienced – I would like to share with you all the menu I prepared for my final project [...]

Today was very busy at the 105Academy. I spent six hours finalizing my menu for tomorrow’s graduation. I’m looking forward to plating everything up and presenting the results to my classmates. Even though I’ve been working on recipes that I can’t post here I have a very special treat to share today. My classmate, Corinnemade [...]

Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.  ~Winston Churchill I’m very happy to report that today at 105Academy – I brought the enthusiasm and found success.  The flavours and textures were better today than yesterday but the success came from a shift in perspective. Last night, after being anxious about [...]

It was a very interesting day at the 105Academy. After a great weekend away from our stations we were all anxious to get started with recipe testing today. We have to create an entire 3-course meal of original recipes for graduation. I had planned to attempt six recipes today. That was a success. The recipes [...]

“Life is about the people you meet and the thing things you create with them.” Wow, today was unbelievable. The weather was unbelievably beautiful. The kitchen camaraderie was unbelievably supportive. And, the food we created was unbelievably delicious. I have a long post to share with all of you about one fantastic Friday at the 105Academy. It all started with crêpes. Thin, [...]

Ahh…today it hit me that I only have one more week at the 105Academy. I was standing at my station, watching my classmates blending, stirring, tasting…creating, and I felt happy. The kitchen at 105 is always filled with music, laughter and incredible aromas. I really wish I could bring that feeling home with me. I [...]

As I mentioned before, granola is a predictably perfect snack. This delicious, buckwheat version was pulled from the dehydrator when we arrived at the 105Academykitchen this morning. That was the last predictable moment of the day. It was an intense morning in the kitchen. Chef Haylee divided us into two teams for the Mystery Basket Challenge. We [...]

So, I’ve been living in a hotel for sixteen days now. That may sound like an exciting idea to some of you (Barbi) but I do miss the sound sleep I usually get when I’m tucked in tight in my own bed. Here there is a lot of action in the middle of the night [...]

Love is the greatest refreshment in life.  ~Pablo Picasso I would say, for the past three years I’ve tried to ignore Valentine’s day. But today, I felt ready to embrace the lovefest that is February 14th. I started the morning off with the best kind of love – the genuine glee you receive from the little ones [...]

Have you ever had a day when you just want to call everyone “beautiful” or “lovely” or “sweetheart”? A day when positive energy is just pouring out of you? Today was one of those days for me. You may think that it was because of the imminent arrival of Valentine’s Day. But I owe my joy entirely [...]

Have you been asking yourself, “does the fun ever end at the 105Academy“? The short answer is “NO”. But, as someone who sat in her cubicle and pined for the chance to trade places with fellow bloggers completing the Fundamentals of Raw Cuisine program, I will give you the long answer. Just don’t hate me…today [...]

On day 8 of my 105Academy experience, I spent 10 hours at school (which is why I’m writing this post from bed – in my most comfortable cardigan). For such a big day, I spent most of it doing really tiny tasks. We learned about spices by sniffing jars and trying small samples. I loved [...]

It seems seven is a very lucky number (for me). Although most schools in Oklahoma City were closed today due to another dumping of snow,  the 105Academywas open! We (which really means, the fabulous T) drove from the hotel to the restaurant, surrounded by big fluffy flakes of snow. With all the local media enthusiastically [...]

Today I started week 2 of the raw fundamentals program at 105Academy (the blizzard last week has us slightly off schedule). It was a very productive day in the kitchen -we prepped a number of recipes and turned to the raw chef’s favourite assistant, the dehydrator, to finish the job while we all went home [...]