Class Act

Meet the new Classmates

You'd think that after finishing public school in the mid-1970s, even university in the late 70s, that the anxiety of meeting one's new classmates would have gone by the wayside. Que sera, sera. That sort of thing. At 48, I'm past the point where I really care whether I have a bunch of friends or just a couple, whether people admire me or they don't. Call it self-actualization if you like, I'd just call it middle-age. Never the popular kid, I'm used to being a solo act.

Nonetheless, in this type of school environment, you're working directly, 1 on 1, with your classmates, each one a week at a time. You learn from them (both their good habits and their bad ones), teach them (both your good habits and...). If friendships develop, maybe you spend more time with then. If animosity builds, as it did a year ago -- well, there isn't much you can do except deal with whatever transgressions occur. So it's better if there's a reasonably mature bunch, and we've pretty much got that.

It's a good group. There are eleven students, which makes for a student-teacher ratio just a bit under 7:1 -- can't ask for better than that. The majority are in their early or mid 20s, with two in their 30s and three 48 or 49. Four men, seven women. Here's a rundown (with apologies in advance for any inaccuraces... let me know and I'll fix them). In no particular order:

Guy. "Our" age, Guy has had a diverse career (Painter; worked for Revenue Canada). He's incredibly nice, polite -- here's a person who genuinely cares about others (you can't fake it). He's following a lifelong interest in baking & pastry.
"QZ".. Also at the middle-age-end of the class spectrum, she's also a fellow-graduate of the Culinary program at Northwest in the previous semester. Her background was in retailing, and she leans toward Personal Chefing / catering
Alex. Twenty-something and a native of Puerto Rico, Alex and I have become buddies. He's a bright guy with one master's degree and a 2nd in progress. We share interests, as well as a demon or two.
Erin, Marcela, and Johnny are the youngsters in the group. Marcela hails from Colombia, Erin & Johnny are "locals".
Miri. Miri's from Israel, her husband is studying toward an MBA here in Vancouver.
Marcella. Cousin of Johnny, I think Marcella shows a real "diamond in the rough" quality about her work. I think she has the creativity and focus to succeed.
Kate. One of our stars, I think, she's got excellent focus and does great work. Kate attended Dubrulle.
Lisa and Taryn round out our class. Both fun (and competent) 'mates. Taryn graduated from NWCAV's Culinary program the semester prior to this one. Lisa has a ebullient personality and a quick wit.

All-in-all it's a good group. We've all got our quirks ("let he who is without sin cast the first stone" :) but there's nobody in class who "just doesn't fit in". The girls have bonded rather tightly and get together in various groups outside class. Alex and I usually walk home together (to our respective mass-transit points) -- talk about the day and such. Alex and his fiancee have a house in Portland, OR (about 5 hours driving time from Vancouver) so he's commuting back there every weekend or two, which takes its toll.

And the Instructors...

Chef Marco Röpke is a great addition to Northwest's Chef-Instructors. He's recently cooked up a website, so I'll let him do the self-describing. You'd have to understand all the different personalities at NWCAV to really appreciate Marco, he's sort of an amalgam of them all: a serious streak like Chef Christophe; outgoing and with a great sense of humour like Chef Tony. Passionate about his craft like everyone there ("a very beautiful flavour" you'll often hear him say). A natural flair for teaching (even though he isn't formally trained at it).

I find him the most "real" of all the staff at Northwest. Before getting myself in trouble over this (from the rest of the staff) -- what I mean is, that every one of us has a "face" we present to our co-workers (or students, as the case may be), and we have a personal side. Some people keep these persona quite separate from one another, whether intentionally or otherwise. With Chef Marco, you don't see him slip "in and out of character". He is the person he is, whether on or off "stage" -- and a likeable one at that.

Chef Barb Finley [shown here savouring a class-made marshmello] works around 3 days/week in the Pastry kitchen. We'd met when she was "Guest-Chefing" in the Culinary classroom; with a brand-new school and just two Instructors, Northwest needed the help last year. Now the culinary side has a 3rd full-time instructor (Chef Ian Lai) and she's free to persue her "Pastry Passion". I wrote a bit about "Chef Barb" last year. She remains a calm in the storm and I think everybody looks forward to her thrice-weekly visits.

Introduction
Week 1

Meet the new Classmates You'd think that after finishing public school in the mid-1970s, even university in the late 70s, that the anxiety of meeting one's new classmates would have gone by the wayside. Que sera, sera. That sort of thing. At 48, I'm past the point where I really care whether I have a bunch of friends or just a couple, whether people admire me or they don't. Call it self-actualization if you like, I'd just call it middle-age. Never the popular kid, I'm used to being a solo act. Nonetheless, in this type of school environment, you're working directly, 1 on 1, with your classmates, each one a week at a time. You learn from them (both their good habits and their bad ones), teach them (both your good habits and...). If friendships develop, maybe you spend more time with then. If animosity builds, as it did a year ago -- well, there isn't much you can do except deal with whatever transgressions occur. So it's better if there's a reasonably mature bunch, and we've pretty much got that. It's a good group. There are eleven students, which makes for a student-teacher ratio just a bit under 7:1 -- can't ask for better than that. The majority are in their early or mid 20s, with two in their 30s and three 48 or 49. Four men, seven women. Here's a rundown (with apologies in advance for any inaccuraces... let me know and I'll fix them). In no particular order: Guy. "Our" age, Guy has had a diverse career (Painter; worked for Revenue Canada). He's incredibly nice, polite -- here's a person who genuinely cares about others (you can't fake it). He's following a lifelong interest in baking & pastry. "QZ".. Also at the middle-age-end of the class spectrum, she's also a fellow-graduate of the Culinary program at Northwest in the previous semester. Her background was in retailing, and she leans toward Personal Chefing / catering Alex. Twenty-something and a native of Puerto Rico, Alex and I have become buddies. He's a bright guy with one master's degree and a 2nd in progress. We share interests, as well as a demon or two. Erin, Marcela, and Johnny are the youngsters in the group. Marcela hails from Colombia, Erin & Johnny are "locals". Miri. Miri's from Israel, her husband is studying toward an MBA here in Vancouver. Marcella. Cousin of Johnny, I think Marcella shows a real "diamond in the rough" quality about her work. I think she has the creativity and focus to succeed. Kate. One of our stars, I think, she's got excellent focus and does great work. Kate attended Dubrulle. Lisa and Taryn round out our class. Both fun (and competent) 'mates. Taryn graduated from NWCAV's Culinary program the semester prior to this one. Lisa has a ebullient personality and a quick wit. All-in-all it's a good group. We've all got our quirks ("let he who is without sin cast the first stone" :) but there's nobody in class who "just doesn't fit in". The girls have bonded rather tightly and get together in various groups outside class. Alex and I usually walk home together (to our respective mass-transit points) -- talk about the day and such. Alex and his fiancee have a house in Portland, OR (about 5 hours driving time from Vancouver) so he's commuting back there every weekend or two, which takes its toll. And the Instructors... Chef Marco Röpke is a great addition to Northwest's Chef-Instructors. He's recently cooked up a website, so I'll let him do the self-describing. You'd have to understand all the different personalities at NWCAV to really appreciate Marco, he's sort of an amalgam of them all: a serious streak like Chef Christophe; outgoing and with a great sense of humour like Chef Tony. Passionate about his craft like everyone there ("a very beautiful flavour" you'll often hear him say). A natural flair for teaching (even though he isn't formally trained at it). I find him the most "real" of all the staff at Northwest. Before getting myself in trouble over this (from the rest of the staff) -- what I mean is, that every one of us has a "face" we present to our co-workers (or students, as the case may be), and we have a personal side. Some people keep these persona quite separate from one another, whether intentionally or otherwise. With Chef Marco, you don't see him slip "in and out of character". He is the person he is, whether on or off "stage" -- and a likeable one at that. Chef Barb Finley [shown here savouring a class-made marshmello] works around 3 days/week in the Pastry kitchen. We'd met when she was "Guest-Chefing" in the Culinary classroom; with a brand-new school and just two Instructors, Northwest needed the help last year. Now the culinary side has a 3rd full-time instructor (Chef Ian Lai) and she's free to persue her "Pastry Passion". I wrote a bit about "Chef Barb" last year. She remains a calm in the storm and I think everybody looks forward to her thrice-weekly visits. Previous Log Next Log

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Meet the new Classmates

And the Instructors...

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