And so begins a new era…
What is chefinstructortom.com?
Hello and welcome to the first post of Chef Instructor Tom. Yup, it’s just me, Chef Tom from Escoffier and Le Cordon Bleu. But this starts a new part of my teaching. I have been using the web for my teaching since 1997 but like everything else that has changed a lot. Back then I was trying to build my own website on places like Geocities and Tripod.com. Let’s see if anyone remembers those. Don’t feel bad if you don’t. I posted my lesson plans online back then and I thought I was pretty cool. It was all very linear and pictures were a true novelty in homemade webpages.
Through the years, I tried to integrate the web into my classes in person at Le Cordon Bleu Chicago (LCB). It was called The Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago (CHIC). My employers were curious but confused when I asked for computers in the classroom and access to the web in the kitchens. We both learned slowly. But it happened. Once LCB really took hold of the school, we took off on the web and by 2005 I was producing my own once-a-week podcast called This Week in Food. I had several partners through the years but it wasn’t until I connected with a young chef named Wook Kang that it took off. We explored all manner of food on the show and helped students and non-students to learn more about their food. We did that show until 2012. (Wook and his partner, an old friend from LCB, John Laloganes produce their own show, “Feeding the Soul” now at https://www.feedingthesoul365.com
I have been teaching online since 2015 at Escoffier. We went from just 200 students to over 7000 students. And it continues to grow. It’s a great school and I would recommend you check it out if you have not already. The online model for teaching culinary and baking concepts is rock solid. I loved being able to connect with my students in a myriad of ways. Those that have texted with me while their pastry cream is coming together or while their bread is sooo slowly rising know what I mean. I’m there to help. I find it very fun. It’s in that spirit that I begin this website. I want to be your go-to on baking and specifically bread related matters. I plan to post some formulas to play with but for right now, we’ll keep it low key. In the future, there may be some classes offered in bread instruction.
Let’s bake!
Chef Tom
