Day 56 of 60 | Bonjour, Paris 🇫🇷✨
Classes at École Ducasse officially concluded today—and instead of fire, knives, and mild panic, we spent the better part of two days in a classroom with a world-class restaurant business consultant.
Decades of hard-earned wisdom on how to actually launch and run a successful restaurant. His cost-control spreadsheets? Let’s just say they made every model I’ve ever built look like finger-painting. And that’s saying something, because I respect a good spreadsheet. Deeply. 😄
It was honestly refreshing to sit still and not worry about whether something was undercooked, overcooked, or missing three of the twelve ingredients required to impress a Master Chef. After seven straight weeks of physical and mental stretching, standing, chopping, plating, thinking, and sweating, this felt like a well-timed exhale.
Tonight, Lori and I did what Paris does best: we went on a date. Great food, great conversation, no timers going off in the background. Simple. Perfect.
Tomorrow? We sleep in. And then… we get after it.
By “get after it,” I mean we’re spending the entire weekend preparing for our final exam. Not out of fear, out of respect for the craft. There’s zero chance we walk into that kitchen anything less than fully prepared.
Because whether it’s business, cooking, or life: Preparation doesn’t guarantee success, but lack of it guarantees regret.
Onward. 👊🍽️✨
