Following Your Passion

Krystal Carter  Class of 2001

Many people have childhood dreams spurred by the things they love – to drive a race car, live in a faraway place, or play second base for their favorite team. For Krystal Carter ’01, her dream has always been to take her love of cooking to the next level by attending Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. In 2022, despite the pressures of a busy life, she found a way to make her childhood dream a reality.

How did this passion start?

As a child, I spent a lot of time in the kitchen cooking with my mother. I distinctly remember my father telling me, “Anyone can cook as long as you can follow instructions.” I started cooking at a young age. I scrambled my first egg in a microwave at three and progressed to grilling steak at seven. My grandmother passed just before I started sixth grade at Kinkaid. As an homage to her, that year I prepared my first Thanksgiving meal. Since I was in Mariana Schneller’s French class at the time, my mother introduced me to the idea of going to Le Cordon Bleu in Paris if one day I wanted to become an international chef. That spark immediately became my dream. Naturally, I elected to make French my foreign language through high school. Somewhere along the way, I decided against cooking as a profession, largely because it was something I was so passionate about. I did not want to have it tethered to obligation.

What spurred you on to make this dream a reality?

As I made my career in the area of technical consulting, I have become somewhat of a road warrior. Though technology is how I make my living, my passion for cooking never subsided. In late 2021, I found that I was a few short miles away from making Platinum status with United Airlines so I decided to take a mileage run trip to Paris to hit the goal. I had been to France on numerous occasions by this time and wanted to experience it in a different way. So, I decided to spend the week taking French cooking classes: macaroons, the five traditional French sauces, and choux pastries. I reached out to

Lucas Somoza ’00 who lives in Paris. He joined me for the macaron class - we made our macarons purple and gold because duh!

One of the classes was at Le Cordon Bleu, and after that class, I was hooked. I had finally made it and realized the dream of my sixth grade self. Just that one class was everything I had imagined and more! Out of sheer curiosity, I looked into their longer programs. To my surprise, they offer an intensive option for both their cuisine and pastry programs which shrinks a three-month program down to six weeks. Though the pandemic really opened people up to the idea of working remotely, I felt running a consulting firm in the US while living in France for three months would be difficult, but perhaps I could hack it for six weeks. I took the leap and decided I could do six weeks abroad while still working remotely with my US clients. It would be grueling, but I believed it would be worth it. What was the greatest surprise or joy to come from this adventure?

The list is so long. In addition to learning some great techniques, I love the relationships I gained through this process. The day before I left for Paris, I stopped by Kinkaid to see Mrs. Schneller to tell her of the journey upon which I was about to embark. I am glad I did as I learned she would be retiring at the end of that school year. The greatest surprise would be the friendships that I made with the students in my cohort. I went to Le Cordon Bleu planning to learn a lot about technical French cooking and I did; you should see me truss a full yellow chicken!

I never studied abroad while in school, so this experience was like my almost-over-the-hill study abroad. It was enlightening in so many ways. I really came to appreciate the French way of life, the precision of French cuisine, and the quality of French food. I regularly miss exploring the French markets. I was surprised by how much I knew about France from my studies at Kinkaid. I am actually writing this from Paris, and tonight I met someone from Lyon. My mind immediately went to Jane Murdock’s tenth grade French class where she taught us that “the Rhone meets the Saone in Lyon where they make rayon and silk.” I recounted that little rhyme to the woman I met and she goes, “Oh yes, I live right at that juncture!”

As with most things I do, I like to look at how I can take my experience and expose others to those possibilities. Shortly after returning, I was asked by one of my clients if I would consider teaching a culinary arts class to the students attending their summer program. Within weeks, I set up their commercial kitchen to emulate the teaching style we used at Le Cordon Bleu. I explained I am not a “chef” just yet but the students did not care. They were learning cool skills from someone who looks like them who went to school in Paris! Just like when I was in sixth grade and thought going to Le Cordon Bleu seemed like such an elusive dream, these young kids may have had the same thoughts. Now they were being taught by someone who grew up like them who did it. I used some of those trussing skills that I learned at Le Cordon Bleu when making my Thanksgiving meal this year. It is almost full circle since it was my 12-year-old thanksgiving meal that first sparked my interest in going to culinary school.

Any plans for the future?

I am trying to figure out how I make the time to go back and complete the program. I am planning on completing the intermediate segment in the spring of 2023. Then I will figure out when I dedicate the three months to the Superior program in order to be a fully diplomaed chef. While I do not plan on making a career in culinary arts, the experience and the excellence of the program has left me craving more.

Mrs. Francita Ulmer Honors Kinkaid’s History

November 8, 2022 was a very special day as The Kinkaid School recognized and celebrated the devotion of Francita Stuart Koelsch Ulmer ’49. The School is deeply honored she chose to support Kinkaid in the unique way of naming the Archivist Office, allowing Kinkaid to continually preserve our history.

Mrs. Ulmer has been an integral part of the Kinkaid family and a vital resource to preserving Kinkaid’s history. She received the Distinguished Alumni Award in 2005. She was pleased to honor the request of former Head of School John Cooper to write an account of the School’s early days. She personally interviewed students, parents, teachers, and other acquaintances of Mrs. Kinkaid to meticulously account and record the history. It resulted in one of her proudest accomplishments, The Kinkaid School: First Fifty Years, published in 1956. In addition, she attained a Texas Historical Marker in 1981 to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the School.

Mrs. Ulmer is a sixth generation Texan and has been a dedicated and selfless servant to the Houston community. As a graduate of Wellesley College, Mrs. Ulmer was chosen to be in the History department’s first graduate studies class at Rice University and has carried her love for history and historic preservation into numerous endeavors, including the Garden Club of Houston, Alley Theatre Board, Houston Symphony Board, and the Junior League of Houston.

Thank you Mrs. Ulmer for your many years of support to our beloved School.