My Year in Boston Has Come to a Close

Alright, so the semester is just about over for me here at Boston University. I have one more class tomorrow in which I present my final paper. I'm sure it is going to be an odd feeling, as it is my last class for my master's degree. I am by no means finished, as I now go into thesis mode.

This last year here in Boston has been great. Not only did I learn quite a bit in school, I opened up my mind to a whole new look on food in general. Before BU I had a basic understanding of cuisine and culture, relegated mostly to the kitchen and business. This degree has given me the ability to analyze the social and historical aspects of cuisine.

Getting into this degree also inspired me to write even more, which this blog was born out of. When you work on research for a paper, so many other thoughts come out in the process which one doesn't always have time to put into another paper. This blog has been an outlet for some of that writing. I have also gotten the chance to try so many new restaurants and in the process many of you have been able to read about those experiences.

Now you are probably sitting there thinking, "but Christopher, you are not all that opinionated," oh wait no there is no way any of you could be thinking that. Anyone want to pull up an old post on the Food Network from the last few months on Batali, Emeril or The Next Iron Chef. It's funny though, I wouldn't write about that channel if I didn't have respect for them though. I'm sure I heard a saying somewhere, you criticize those you have the most respect for when they seem to be sliding. Here's to hoping that they have a plan to this whole change up that in the end we might enjoy.

Also while I lived here in Boston, I have been able to make so many great friends. I've made new friends while in classes at BU, but also in my wanderings around Boston. I have made some great friends and acquaintances at Cigar Masters in Boston's Back Bay, some nights are less clear than others haha. Then I have also met some great chefs and cooks that work in the restaurants here in Boston. With so much talent and skill in this city, I can certainly see this cit turning into a full-blown "foodie" destination city. Currently there are some awesome places that people should be visiting, such as Clio, No.9, The Butcher Shop, B&G Oysters, L'Espalier, Jasper White's Summer Shack, Hamersly's Bistro, Craigie Street Bistrot, Toro and others. Wow, I really go out to eat a lot.

In the last year I have also had the opportunity to meet so many influential people through the Boston University Gastronomy program and wandering through Boston restaurants and foodie events. In just this year alone I have had the opportunity to meet Warren Belasco, Jacques Pepin, Thomas Keller, Harold McGee, Shirley Corriher, Darra Goldstein, Masaharu Morimoto, Ken Oringer. I was supposed to see Judith Jones speak, but alas I had to miss meeting her as I had to be back in New York for something. I am sure I will be coming back on a regular basis to meet others while working on my thesis, or just as an excuse to come to Boston.

While here I was also able to start apprentice judging a couple of American Culinary Federation competitions. Although I am not an official apprentice judge, the opportunity was still given to me by friends and colleagues that were hosting or lead judges for shows and those were great opportunities as well. I was also able to go down to Florida to compete in an ACF competition which I took first place in for my Festive assortment of Indian Hors D'Ouervre.

So this past year at Boston has been a rewarding trip and for at least part of it many of your were able to either take part in it directly, or by reading my blog. This blog in going to continue following me while I move back to New York and beyond. In the next month I am going to be working on expanding it into a larger site for some of you to find resources for different culinary and food activities, along with some other tidbits which you should all find exciting.

For those of you who read my blog through MySpace, I will have links posted on a regular basis to get you to come over to the new site. For those of you that do not know, this blog is actually at http:www.gastronomicalinspirations.com I repost it on MySpace. Myspace is a pain however, because each time I goto put something new in there, it seems to screw up something else. So after January I'm going to promote you guys to come over to the regular website so that you can get the full effect. I will let you all in on when the site changes.

So, although the year still has a few weeks left in it, my year here at Boston comes to a close this week. As such I thought I should thank all of you who have been loyal readers of my blog. I assure you there will be many many more fun things to come in the next year, I will also keep you all apprised of my thesis, as I am hoping to have it be my first published work. So thanks again, and here's to the "next step" in the process.