A Berry Good Brightwater Beginning
- Aubrey Johnson
- May 21, 2023
- 6 min read
When I was looking for a culinary program, I didn’t have many criteria. I wanted somewhere relatively close to my parents, either within easy visiting driving distance, or close enough for me to live at their house while paying for school. I wanted somewhere with a good program but also one that I could afford (I knew CIA or other nationally-known culinary schools were way out of my budget). Lastly, I wanted somewhere that would let me start mid-year in January vs waiting until August. In June 2016 during my second summer at camp, I wrote in my journal that I was “feeling wanderlusty. Like I’m ready to go somewhere new.” I knew my time at Sky Ranch Horn Creek Camp needed to wrap up since I felt like I learned all I could there, and I needed a new challenge. When researching culinary programs in the Tulsa area, my mom found NorthWest Arkansas Community College. It was revamping its culinary program and moving into the new facility as Brightwater: A Center for the Study of Food. The school in Bentonville, AR was two hours away from my parents, and they let me start in January. Win, win!
I also appreciated the fact that NWACC has many non-traditional students. It wasn’t a four-year university whose student body was mainly comprised of just out-of-high-school freshmen. Several students were older, going to school for the first time later in life, or getting a second (or third) degree like I was. Additionally, with the exception of visiting the Bursar's office and hanging out in the library a few times when working on my online, required computer proficiency class, I hardly ever had to go to the main campus. All of my other courses were at the culinary campus. (I was a little annoyed I had to take a class on Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Publisher, but I did it. I had made it through three years of teaching without that on my OU transcript, and I have yet to use MS Publisher again with all the online programs offered now. Canva, anyone?)
I never expected to go back to school for another degree after graduating with my bachelor’s degree in 2009, but January 17, 2017, was my first day of school as a student again. Each lab culinary class was five hours long two days each week, and they lasted a quarter semester. The first two I took were Intro to Baking and Foundations, both requirements for all culinary degrees.
During my first Foundations class, I scanned the cooking stations, determining where to stand, knowing that would be my spot for the quarter. I saw mostly younger students, but I was one of the first ones there. I selected a spot at the back of the kitchen; honestly, I think I just liked being by the equipment shelves so I could easily grab what I needed. I was shortly joined by another non-traditional student, Leah. Leah was married and a mom of three girls. While we didn’t have that in common, she was also getting a second degree and had her bachelor’s in science like I did (microbiology for her, zoology for me). She was a few years older than me, but I felt immediate relief that I wasn’t the only older student in the class. (I didn’t need to worry since there were many retirees at the school, too. I just hadn’t seen many yet.) Since I recently exited camp life where I was the “seasoned” full-timer, I wasn’t ready to be considered “the older one” at Brightwater, too, so she, as another student returning to school, was a fast friend. She was one of the few with whom I made it all the way through the baking program, and we had many classes together. There were a few men in the program too, but the group of female friends I made there was so valuable. We learned from each other, joked with each other, felt pressure to do better, and rolled our eyes when our instructors fit the chef stereotypes a little too on the nose (if you know, you know).
For Foundations, Leah and I had a German instructor - Chef Kuefner. He had an interesting sense of humor which was dry enough to not know if he was serious at times, he would share stories of his elementary-aged son Henry, and he had a penchant for cooking eggs “correctly.” In Foundations, we were able to eat what we made since usually it was a portion-controlled dish, or we shared it with our station partner. In addition to learning culinary knife cuts, Leah and I made eggs in many forms, crêpes, French toast, waffles, and lots of potato dishes, to name a few. The eating didn’t come until we wasted a few ingredients during the learning process, though. And on egg day we wasted so many eggs! Chef Kuefner was teaching us to make French scrambled eggs. If they weren’t wet enough, it was easy for him to throw out the “redo” word of too “rubbery.” This was similar to the day we made crepes. I loved the experience of culinary school, but in learning perfect technique, I wish there was a way to ensure less food was wasted. So many crêpes were too dark. But I did enjoy practicing flipping rice in the frying pan before advancing to flipping crêpes. I’m pleased to report, none landed on the ground!
One egg dish that I didn’t throw out was oeufs en cocotte, or French baked eggs or shirred eggs. An egg is cracked into the bottom of a ramekin, heavy cream is poured on top, then the dish is baked in a water bath in the oven. The water bath cooks the egg white with the cream, but the egg yolk is left runny and intact - this is what did it for me! I love a good sunny-side-up egg with a runny yolk that I sop up with toast. This was the one and only time I’ve had this breakfast indulgence, but now I’m wondering why I’ve never bought myself ramekins to make this anytime I want.
We also made waffles in this class, something I’d made many times before.
But in Baby Brightwater fashion (still in the “new infancy” phase of the school with some growing pains to go through), not all kitchens were equipped with the needed equipment yet. Some may argue that whipping egg whites for the Belgian waffles with just a whisk was character-building and made us appreciate advancements in kitchen tools much more. However, stand mixers and electric beaters showed up in that kitchen classroom the second semester, so apparently no one needed to build character after my class. Another shortcoming of the kitchen was the fact that we only had one waffle maker for all 16 of us. Breakfast was a little late that day.
Leah and I didn’t get together often outside of class. She lived about 45 minutes south of Bentonville in a small town. I did get to go blueberry picking once in the summer with her and her three girls, though. In June 2017 we went to Jarvis U-Pick Blueberry Farm. We spent the morning there picking about a gallon each of blueberries and eating some along the way. (Just a few! Okay, she may have had to warn her girls to not eat too many, especially before the buckets were paid for - no one needed an upset stomach later!) There were rows and rows of blueberry bushes. Some were more full than others, and some were more sweet, so it was fun to walk the rows and see who found big clusters with perfectly ripe berries. It was a day with perfect weather and lots of families. I may not have kids of my own, but everywhere I’ve traveled and lived, I’ve enjoyed seeing friends’ kids and getting to experience their excitement over something secondhand. Leah’s girls would call me or her over when they found a good spot. Their young hands and taste buds were forming core memories that maybe they’ll pass on to their kids.
Unfortunately, due to staffing issues, Jarvis Farm had to close in 2021. While you can’t visit them, berry picking is one of the best forms of agrotourism. I felt like a kid in a candy store seeing the rows of berry bushes, imagining all the things I’d make with the blueberries I got to pick. I appreciated supporting a local business, knowing that whatever they were charging was worth the time and energy they put into growing their crop. I know I’ll be looking for OK berry farms to go visit this summer once school is out. There are plenty of recipes featuring berries. Two blueberry recipes of Ken’s that I’ve tried are Blueberry Oatmeal Crumb Bars and Back Bumper Blueberry Cream Cheese Pound Cake (recipe featured here). The oatmeal bars had a shortbread crust, cooked blueberry filling, and oatmeal crumble topping, while the cake was dense with the added cream cheese and pockets of sweet-tart blueberries. Both were loved by all who shared them, because blueberries, whether it’s a gallon fresh or a pint in a baked good, are better shared.
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