| Culinary artist
Chicago's loss has been Parsons' gain. Native son Taylor McCoskey has been putting the skills he learned at Chicago's Le Cordon Bleu culinary school and a four-star Italian restaurant to use at The Breakfast Nook and Bakery. For the past couple weeks, The Breakfast Nook has been open from 6 to 8 p.m. Fridays for dinner and McCoskey develops a three- to four-item menu of traditional Italian dishes. Owner Lee Ellis said the dinners have been so successful, the restaurant will start serving dinner Saturdays starting this week. "It's a nice additive. It's something special that we wanted to do for the town," Ellis said. "It's really paid off. A lot of people like it." McCoskey said he starts planning his meal early in the week and reads cookbooks for inspiration.
Le Cordon Bleu Chef Shares Restaurant Secrets
Ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes of your favorite restaurants? You know, what's common knowledge among chefs and servers, but not so well-known among customers? We have some answers for you.Earlier this summer, I spent some time at Le Cordon Bleu Culinary School in Mendota Heights, Minn. and had a chance to interview the chef instructor there, Pierre Rabbia. He has 25 years of experience at restaurants in Europe and here in the U.S. He shared some advice about dining out.I asked him about the stories I have read about avoiding having dinner out on Monday nights. It's been reported that Mondays are the worst time to eat out because restaurants often use the ingredients that are leftover from the weekend.Rabbia chose the high road on that one and instead told me the best night of the week to dine out: Thursday."Usually Thursday is a good night because you receive the fresh produce for the weekend, and the service will be more attentive ...
Aspiring chef temporarily changes ‘direction’
Gregory Theis is a student at one of the finest culinary schools in the nation, Le Cordon Bleu in Chicago.However, at present, studying the perfect souffl/ is far from the forefront in his mind.That's because Theis is in the middle of a self-described hiatus from culinary school in order to recharge his batteries and spend a little time with his other love, theater. .
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