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I continued my Top Chef addiction while in California and watched Season 4 downloaded from iTunes in its entirety. I was happy about the winner, Stephanie Izard, a good chef, nice person, and woman to boot.

I thought the head judge chef Tom Colicchio had some interesting comments on his blog:

The reason I feel good about Stephanie's win is that I truly believe it will alter the course of her culinary growth. I'm not talking just about the course of her career -- it goes without saying that winning Top Chef will have that effect - there will be plenty of bright lights, fans, and press all following her next step. But without this win, I think Stephanie's greatest achievement would have one day been a gem-of-a-restaurant, daily turning out good, comfortable food for a loyal, even ardent, following. Nothing wrong with that. But being named Top Chef may provide Stephanie (if she wants it) with a different sort of stage altogether; one that inspires her to experiment and skate right up to the edge of what she knows will work, thus giving her the chance to acquire that last bit of brilliance and polish a chef needs to be great. I know I'll be watching.

Women are reluctant to enter the culinary world because they believe (and this is not unjustified) that a cooking career is incompatible with raising children, which leaves those of us who want to hire, promote, and mentor women with a slimmer field to choose from than we'd like. And to an extent, they're right: The bottom line is our society does not yet provide women in the workplace with the type of social supports, like high-quality subsidized child care or extended parental leave, that allows them to fully go for it, and the impact this has on the scope and depth of a career is profound. Right or wrong, men plunge into their careers without much thought about how they'll navigate the work/family balance. They assume someone -- spouse, parent, paid caregiver -- will materialize to take care of it (and usually someone does.) This one assumption opens up an entire world of possibility to a young person in a way that can't be overstated. Ask yourself how many female Ferran Adrias, Thomas Kellers, or Joel Robuchons have chosen a different path -- say, catering or opening a bakeshop -- because it seems more family friendly? These may be great career choices, but they aren't the breeding grounds of culinary legend.

http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/blogs/tom-colicchio/a-womans-place?page=0%2C1

That reminds me of what I read today under the financial aid section for this private pre-school we are thinking about applying for. Apparently, their expectation is that both parents will work and place their children's education as a top financial priority; read = give until it hurts and then give more. The school has a good reputation for academics, for diversity, etc. but I was a bit discouraged by that statement and that only 25% percent of families get aid. Is that average for NYC private schools? And do kids really need a top education - isn't there "good enough?" And would I really be okay with that?

I think women have a lot to offer society outside of raising children but I still think society needs to value parents being the primary caregivers of their children as well. I don't believe women have to not work to be moms but I don't think they should _have_ to work outside the home.

Future post with photos for Grandma and Granddad coming soon...