In the kitchen with Chef Isaac

It's still orientation week, so we've basically just been sitting through hours and hours of lectures on things like kitchen safety, study skills, and academic expectations. Important information, definitely, but not the most thrilling to listen to.
But today, finally finally finally, we took a tour of the teaching kitchen and actually got to work in it for a couple of hours. Our instructor is Chef Isaac, and he seems like a genuinely nice and approachable guy. Most of the chef instructors here seem intimidating and mean, but Chef Isaac has been working hard to put us at ease.

Our introduction to the pastry kitchen (called the bakeshop) involved watching Chef Isaac mix bread dough, then forming and baking rolls with it. All throughout the demonstration, I was in awe. Chef Isaac has - there's no other way to describe this - a relationship with bread. He kept talking about dough acquiring its "soul" during the mixing process and how important it was to let the bread fully develop its own flavor identity. The entire bread mixing process was so delicate, so graceful, that it seemed like a kind of dance. Chef Isaac's passion was so clear, so addictive, that it was impossible for me not to get excited about it, and I know there's so much I can learn from him.
One of the most valuable things I got out of the demonstration was Chef's emphasis on experiencing the dough with all of our senses. To become a successful baker, we need to know our product inside and out, from the taste of the raw dough to the sound it makes in the mixer. Only that way will we be able to identify the optimum look, feel, smell, and sound so that we can end up with the best possible product.

After we allowed the dough to rise, we divided it into 3-oz segments and started forming small rolls. Chef taught us how to make pretzels, knots, and flowers. After giving the rolls an egg wash and baking them to a nice golden-brown color, we actually got to serve them to the students during lunch. The rolls were absolutely delicious, although I guess I am a little biased. But I can't even begin to describe the sense of pride and accomplishment I felt from serving the food that I personally had made. I could barely keep the smile off my face the entire time we were in the bakeshop. If every day is going to be like this, I think I'm going to like it here...