life after le cordon bleu

Graduation happened, goodbyes happened, tears happened, flights happened...a month to the day after my graduation from Le Cordon Bleu and I'm still pining away for my days in Paris. It's amazing to be back in San Francisco- I love my car, my apartment and my friends, but boy do I miss Paris. Watching the latest episodes of Gossip Girl make me dream of the days I would walk around Paris without a care in the world. I'm left with memories, and a constantly evolving scrapbook (thanks Mom and Dad!). I think about you all the time; how much faster Anthony would have done this in the kitchen, how he would walk wherever he needs to go, how much I miss looking up in the kitchen and seeing Lara, how E'Lane would have helped me pick out my outfit, my makeup, my everything, how Gill would have been able to know what I was REALLY thinking and have said "I've been there", how Lauren would have reacted to the same episode of the show, and how much I wish we had watched it in her bed together, how Noor would have approved of my outfit, or told me to put on heels, how Dimitri would have laughed in my face and told me how ridiculous I'm acting.

We've all gone our separate ways- my worst nightmare has happened. While I know we're all moving towards our eventual goals- it's hard to imagine it happening without each other. I've worked 2 great weeks at Spruce in SF, gone on an amazing boat cruise on the bay and spent an unreal night up in Napa. Spruce is incredible. I walked in completely clueless- not knowing how to 'really' sharpen my knives, not knowing how to properly communicate in a professional kitchen (KNIFE IN THE SINK, BEHIND SHARP!!) and I've learned how to navigate, communicate and operate in a professional setting. Everyone has been so nice, laid back and helpful. I've had very long days, but I'm happy to re-fill the flour tanks in order to earn the respect of the Chefs. For some strange reason, on my first day- I was chosen by the Chef/Owner to work an event for 500 Bank of America VIPs at Fort Mason. While it was a long day, and I wanted to cry- I must have done something right- as he asked me to do another event with him. Same premise, same menu, and same idea, I was on the 32nd floor of a Hotel in San Francisco serving Oracle VIPs their braised shortribs. Chef Mark is unlike any Chef I've ever met- he's a true San Franciscan- super laid back, calm and pleasant to be around. He is an inspiration- a true talent with the bedside manner and attitude of any old guy. He's asked me to work with him for 3 straight days in October on an event for 750 people...again, I must be doing SOMETHING right. People know my name, they ask me how my day has been...all completely foreign to me, and yet they all have taught me something very helpful in the kitchen. I spend a lot of my time organizing the walk-in. It's become my personal project and I've done well with it. I go in with my large Patagonia fleece on and a roll of blue tape and a sharpie ready to label and mark everything up. No one told me to wear a coat, or said it was allowed-but the Chef walk in and say "wow, no one else has done something like that before- that's a good idea!" I organize all the cleaning products, and make sure all the dry goods are organized. I never thought that I would care that the tart cherries go, but when someone moves them, I notice! I'm excited by what else I'm going to learn and what else I'm going to see.

I can't believe it's been a month since we were all having dinner together after graduation...and where we all are now. Can't we go back to Paris and meet at Bar du Central at noon tomorrow? I'm dying for a chicken burger

:(

I did it.

I don't have the words right now to properly express the way I feel right now. How proud I am of myself, or how heavy my heart feels today. The picture will have to do for now

The End is Near

I often use this blog as a means to express my excitement, my ups, my downs, triumphs and successes…this time I’m using it to express my sincere sadness and anxiety about this experience ending.

I decided to come to Paris on a whim, to do something for ME. Explore something that I truly love and see where it led me for 3 months. As my 8th month is coming to a close- I’ve accomplished more than I could have ever imagined. I never thought that I would even be here at this point, let alone completing my last practical, done my exam trial atelier and be sitting at home on a Friday night weeping about it being over.

Since we’ve gotten the list for the final- we’ve had our LAST student dinner, our trip to Rungis market, our last practical, a birthday in Paris and practiced for our final exam of Superior Cuisine (and Pastry). Our dinner at the Park Hyatt was fabulous. The food was not great, the restaurant- while impressive in resume lacked the luster that all of us expected- but we were all there, in our Sunday best with the Chefs. A very late night with Chefs Terrien, Poupard and Deguinet proved to be one of the most memorable in Paris. The same week, we all woke up at 5am to get on a bus and tour the biggest restaurant distribution market in Paris in these hideous overcoats and hair nets. We saw more meat, dairy, vegetables and flowers than we could have imagined. My 27th birthday will be one that I will never forget- spent with my friends at a picnic under the Eiffel Tower (until it started raining and we went to Bar du Central). I couldn’t have asked for anything better.

Yesterday was our final exam practice. Talk about overwhelming! I finally picked and committed to my menu and soon realized…I’ve never made a jelly in my life, let alone 2 in 4 hours! I finished in 4 hours and 30 minutes flat. While I need to shave 30 minutes off my time, I accomplished what I set out to accomplish and did it well. Chef Poupard was impressed- I was told not to change anything in my menu, just tweak some seasoning and presentation and I’ll be all set. My menu was (is) as follows:

Vegetarian (cold) verrine: Tomato water jelly with tartare of fresh cantaloupe and chiffonade of basil

Plat: Guinea fowl breast roasted on the bone, tortellini stuffed with guinea fowl leg. Red wine and Port poached fig stuffed with foie gras mousse and fig jelly, haricots verts and paimpol bean salad, rocket pesto and a jus

Now comes the refining process; streamlining processes, honing seasoning skills and plating all 4 verrines, and plates hot and in 4 hours. I certainly have my work cut out for me, but when I think about it- how on earth am I at the place that I created and executed that recipe? In my head, I’m still in basic learning how to butcher animals and not ready to create a menu and make it sophisticated enough and taste good enough to pass Superior Cuisine and be an LCB chef?

The next time I walk into a kitchen at Le Cordon Bleu, will be with 3 others and it will be when we have our final exam. My parents will be here for my graduation, my apartment will be being packed up, my friends will be leaving and I don’t know when I’ll see them again. Every person I have met in Paris has given me an amazing gift- whether it be a shoulder to cry on, a person to laugh with, people to solve all the worlds problems with, but most of all- every person that I have met has given me knowledge that I will take with me everyday for the rest of my life. I am so thankful, I’m thankful for (in no particular order)…

The knowledge of the egg business, Mormon religion, operations management, time management, stress management, hairy pate, losing a passport and dealing with it, getting a French visa, driving the drama bus, traveling in foreign countries, communication, Michael Buble, laughter, taking back American music, dealing with 4 women all the time, the beauty of walking, confidence, long distance love and so much more from Anthony Fassio

The knowledge of good old American cars, Tracy Anderson, The tea trade (that might still be developing), The process of turning lemons into lemonade, Pierre Herme Macaroons, Mojitos sans sucre, avec vodka, staying true to myself, confidence, that every family has its neuroses, laughter, unconditional love and so much more from Lauren Zimmer

The knowledge of being in a kitchen, knowing what someone’s thinking with no words, exaggeration, everything about Dubai, The Middle East, the French Language, knife skills, menu planning, gossip, being completely myself, being goofy, Muslim weddings genuine comfort and so much more from Lara Said

The knowledge of the metric system, driving on the other side of the road (and the car), Ireland, Irish people, Irish humor, laughing for 3 straight hours at absolutely nothing, Shakira’s one good song, staying BUSY BUSY BUSY, Being something to see, he should see you, loving love, wanting love, sticking my head in an oven, powerwalks that I can’t keep up with and so much more from Gillian Breen

The knowledge of spirit runs, everything southern, unconditional love, affection, being the captain of team Carolyn, recognizing who ISN”T on team Carolyn, what to say to boys, what NOT to say to boys, the makeup section of Le Bon Marché, ‘If I’m lyin’ I’m dyin’, soul food, constantly striving for fireworks, embracing change and wanting to make them in myself, a real, quality, living hug and so much more from E’Lane Bobo

The knowledge of the Muslim faith, what it means to be Arab, Saudi Arabia, Saudi people, Saudi culture, abayas, the booty drop, being constantly friendly, seeing the good in people, realizing when I’m better than something, knowing life is too short, opening my eyes to what really goes on in the Middle East, being wise beyond my years, the beauty of lipstick (and liner), how everyone looks better in heels and so much more from Noor Kandiel

I have just 12 days left in Paris, and while I know they will be amazing, the pit that remains in my stomach of the end is a constant reminder of what I’m leaving behind, but also…what I’m taking away from 8 Rue Leon Delhomme.

The List.

You are in possession of the theme for your superior exam- that's how the list begins. This is it- there is no more mystery, no practicing 10 recipes in case one comes on the final...we have it all. Let's cut to the chase:

Required Ingredients
1 Free Range Guinea Fowl
100g Duck Foie Gras
French Green Beans
New Pearl onions
Paimpol beans
4 Fresh Figs
Rocket Lettus

Optional Ingredients
Pancetta
Chicken breast
1 red bell pepper
Cantaloupe
zucchini
eggplant
tomatoes
mushrooms
parsley, cilantro, basil
Ginger
potatoes
lemon
lime
phyllo pastry
chicken stock
agar agar

We also have all the usual ingredients at our disposal:
Breadcrumbs
flour
salt, sugar
tomato paste
potato starch
pistachios
soy sauce
tabasco
Dijon
satay, tandoori
gelatin
honey
vinegars (except balsamic)
brik pastry
All dairy
Gruyere cheese
wines and alcohols

The Requirements
4 identical vegetarian verrines (shot glasses) that include 2 colors as an amuse bouche
4 identical main dishes plated at the same time
1 simple garnish, 1 composed garnish, 1 vegetable stuffed with either meat or vegetable
A jus or sauce
We also have to write out our recipes in French and draw out our plating in color.

I'm really excited to build my menu, but really apprehensive, as this means my journey is coming to an abrupt end. Again- I would love any and all recipe ideas that might be in your heads. I know how popular guinea fowl is :)

A Bientot!!

Atelier 2

Well...it's over. Atelier 2 was on Saturday. Here were the regulations:

You must make an entree and a main dish, respecting the required techniques:
1. Make a fish stock
2. A crust or pastry to enrobe the main dish or the entree
3. 1 vegetable flan and 2 simple garnishes
4. 1 hot sauce
5. I small vegetable brunoise
6. You must present 2 servings of the entree and 2 servings of the main dish.

Here were the REQUIRED ingredients that we had to incorporate:
1 gilt head sea bream fish
1 veal tenderloin
veal sweetbreads+caul fat
1 Brittany artichoke
Large spinach leaves
1 raw beet
Cauliflower
New pearl Onions
White asparagus

Between my first atelier experience and anticipation for the final- I was terrified. I was really concerned with making a good menu and also shaving a good hour off my first atelier time. Our final is 4 hours long- so I was aiming to get closer to that time requirement. I had my menu- and 2 days off before the atelier. So I practiced, researched plating ideas, and tried to come up with something 'more interesting'. I resolved that I could take this 1 of 2 ways; I could make a simple recipe and do it VERY well, or I could go for something really jazzy and contemporary and risk it not turning out.

I practiced my flan idea, I practiced my vinaigrette idea, and I wrote out my recipes in 27 'easy' steps. I was ready. Lara had put Top Chef on a USB for me and I had gotten HOOKED on it the night before. So I went in there thinking I was on Top Chef- and I had to really work fast.

We had Chef Terrien- the Chef of Chefs who was recently back from vacation. He's seemingly old school in style, HATES waste and is pretty intimidating. He announced in the beginning that he wanted our entrees at 11am, and that he wanted 1 round plate and 1 square plate. I remembered how screwed I was last time by not starting everything at once. I quickly threw my beet in water and went to filet my fish. I quickly worked out the filets, then trimmed my veal. Proteins were prepped. I started my fish fumet and went on to make my purple potato scales. I used an apple corer to make all of them uniform in shape, and used my mandolin to make them uniform in thickness. I eggwashed my fish, blanched the scales and put them on my fish. That was done. I then became the blanching queen- blanched asparagus, cauliflower, carrots, artichokes, sweetbreads...you name it, I blanched it. Once that was over I quickly moved on with my entree recipe. Plated at 11am on the nose, I presented these to plates to Terrien:




That is pan fried sea bream with purple potato scales on a bed of rocket lettuce with a beetroot vinaigrette and brunoised beetroot. Terrien really liked it. It was pretty, my fish was cooked, my portion was correct and my vinaigrette was good. He offered some good tips: that I should have put green on top of the fish, or something white, and perhaps could have made a tartare of the leftover fish that I cut (he HATES waste) I was really excited, but I was only halfway there.

I quickly cleaned and continued on my way to the finish line. I make pasta dough, made a basil coulis, 2 flans, a jus, cooked my meat and seared some spinach in the coming 2.5 hours. I plated in exactly 5 hours. With the critique and clean up session removed, I'd say I did the whole thing in 4 hours and 45 minutes. I presented these two plates to Terrien:





He really liked these plates too! Portion was correct, my flans were impeccable, cooking of veal (I thought was overcooked) was good, my ravioli was properly seasoned and it was pretty. He offered some good feedback again: that the pan where I cooked my meat was too hot, and that I needed more sauce. I also put a little bit of basil on top of my ravioli and he didn't like that, but all in all I was really pleased. He offered his congratulations (I think because my face lit up) and I quickly ate both portions of veal (hey- I was hungry and I earned it!) and began my cleanup. Before I cleared one of my plates- Chef Clergue came in to survey what we had done. He also really liked my dishes. He's HUGE on portion size and was pleased with mine, and my flan was 'soft' enough. The tired-ness hit me when I was cleaning up. My feet and back started to hurt and I didn't want to do anything. A quick lunch with Anthony and Lauren and I was napping on my couch before a FABULOUS home cooked meal by E'Lane's mom. It was perfect. Having a Mom around is so comforting, even if it's not your own. It was a great end to a long day. I'm really pleased with my atelier, and exceptionally pleased with the progress from #1 to #2. The improvement is what really I'm proud of. I'm excited to start bainstorming my final exam dishes, don't worry I'll be sure to seek out any ideas and advice from you all!

I'm off to bed- I'm still a zombie even after a 2 hour nap today and a great night's sleep last night. I don't think I accounted for the stress of the anticipation of the upcoming atelier. I'm sure I'll sleep well tonight! That is, of course before my 8:30am demo class tomorrow.

A bientot!

Reflection.

Sometimes I have these moments where I think about what I'm doing versus what some of my friends are doing. Cate is studying for the bar, Hannah and Jana are in medical school, Beach is back in New Haven in graduate school, Kerry is a lawyer, Talley is an architect, Laura is in business school...and here I am in culinary school...in Paris.

My lcb friends and I joke that a hard day for us is when our sauces won't reduce, or we undersalted or oversalted our mushroom flan- and our friends in the 'real world' are saving lives, and fighting for others' rights. I'm not discounting where I am or what I'm doing, I often just sit back and think about how different our lives are; how similar we can all be in so many ways, yet our passions and interests couldn't be farther from one another.

As I sit here on my couch researching sweetbread recipes, getting ready for lesson 15 of superior cuisine at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, I can't help but smile thinking about the different paths we've all taken, and how much farther we have to go. 5 years ago we were all freaked out college graduates hoping to get our first job; now we've all had those first, second, third jobs all eventually getting us to where we are now all over the world.

We had our last student party the other night at Alcazar. As I looked around at all the students letting loose, I wondered where all of us will be in the future, who I will keep in touch with, and who I might never see again. Lara and I were talking today about the first conversation we had- neither of us remember the initial contact that first day, but now we both bemoan the fact that we won't be across the counter from one another everyday cooking, sharing farce, laughing at Chef Cotte's English and griping over who took the sponge from the sink. I can say with confidence that I have grown more in the past 6 months and 13 days than I could have ever imagined. Paralyzing panic for the basic practical exam to dreaming about different flan ideas for my second superior atelier has been the most fulfilling period of my life. I used to consider my 7 leg operations as an accomplishment...that's got nothing on impressing the chefs at school, the anticipation of Chef Clergue putting the toque on my head on August 26th, or Chef Cotte telling me today that he loved my attitude in the kitchen and that he was happy at how far I've come in my time in Paris.

Looking at recipe 15 for tomorrow has brought me back to life- deboned and stuffed squab cooked in a cocotte with pork belly and garlic cloves...YUCK!

Bonne Nuit!

Happy Bastille Day!

July 14th has usually only meant one thing to me in the past...Cate and Jordan's wedding anniversary. This year, I along with about 100,000 of my closest friends watched the fireworks spectacular over the Seine.

The French know how to celebrate!

The start to the 'lasts'.

Tonight is our last student party as LCB students. This first of many lasts is really hitting me harder than I imagined. I knew this would come to an end, but I'm just not ready yet. To all you faithful readers wherever you are, get ready for a lot more of these sappy posts as more and more lasts start to occur. I'm excited to live it up with the students tonight...I'll post pictures tomorrow (Bastille Day!)

Slainte!

Correction/Retraction

As my wonderful father pointed out, I made a mistake. Circle the calendar! Having been an athlete my whole life, it's slightly embarrassing to have made the mistake in the title of my last entry. OBVIOUSLY you only need to win 4 out of 7 games to be world champions.

Crow eaten. Sorry Dad, next time I wont screw up when quoting you! Thanks for always being there to tell me those funny quotes during my various meltdowns...the last one having been pretty biblical. Mom- be thankful you didn't answer your cell phone!

A Bientot!

You only need to win 5 out of 7 to be world champions...

That is a famous Robert Gioia line. He mentions is to me anytime I freak out about a bad day in the kitchen. That can pretty much sum up my first atelier experience. After working through my recipes and finally deciding what to make, I felt like I was ready to walk in, and cook for 6 straight hours. I felt like I had a battle plan, and that I certainly wouldn't need all 6 hours.

Chef Malike- a new Chef was our proctor and we were in the smallest kitchen. My plan had been to completely finish the entree and present them, and then work on my main dishes. I got to working, making my shortbread dough and letting it rest, escaloping my salmon, cleaning my shrimp, making my marinade. I got lost in my garnishes- I blanched and candied lime zest, I sliced very think lime slices, coated them in sugar syrup and left them in an oven on a silpat to dry. I sliced paper thing potato crisps, dunked them in clarified butter, salted them and left them to dry as well. I blanched my peas and made my puree. In the end, a very simple entree took me way too long. Chef Clergue came in to taste all of our dishes. He liked mine, but I put too much salmon on the shortbread, and my marinade cooked my salmon too much. He liked it all in all, my shrimp was cooked well, plated well. My marinade was good, my brunoise of red bell pepper was good...but wasn't out of this world.

A quick and not nearly thorough enough cleaning and I was moving on to the main dish. I made my pastry for my tart, lined the molds and blind baked them, butchered my meat and started my jus, peeled, seeded, and petaled my tomatoes and got them ready to be put in the oven to confit. I used my trusty mandolin and started my eggplant and zucchini roasting in the oven. I made my stuffing, stuffed the legs, steamed them, then browned them, I seasoned and seared the breast meat, sliced, seasoned and cooked my mushrooms and put it all together. Again, Chef gave me some good feedback and some constructive criticism for my dishes. He really liked the plating on my square plate, my jus was very good. My meat cooked very well, tart was good. I survived.

Lara and I were dead last to plate. 2 very speedy people typically in practical were LAST TO PLATE. There was a moment of stress when I was finishing everything up that I wouldn't finish on time. I thought to myself- this is not me in the kitchen, I'm usually not such a wreck. After going over that day about 3 thousand times- I realize now what I did wrong. I should have prepped and began everything at the same time. Butchered all my meat together, started all my sauces at the same time, dried my potatoes, limes, and tomatoes together. I could have been far more efficient. It was certainly not my best work but Chef said my ideas were good, and my food on the whole was good. For the next atelier, we have 5 hours and the one after that 4- which is what we have for our final exam. I need to really think about how to be much more efficient and work on several things at once. I've already begun researching and have a couple of ideas. Here are the required ingredients:
1 sea bream
1 veal tenderloin
veal sweetbreads
caul fat
1 brittany artichoke
Large spinach leaves
1 raw beet
1/2 cauliflower
1/2 bunch spring onions
6 white asparagus

anyone have any ideas?? I need to blow this one out of the park! I'll leave you with a few photos from my 1st atelier.

4th of July

Happy 4th of July! I was really bummed not to be sitting on the beach in Rosehill with Mom, Dad, Lauren, Allison, Lily, Ej, and the hounds. I kept calling them and hearing 'beach noises' and getting really sad. Lily apparently has become quite the fetch expert with her equally pint sized pal- Harper! Luckily- because my friends are amazing...we managed to have some American fun this weekend! Saturday night in yoga pants, flip flops and a t-shirt- I went over to Gill's for a little dinner. A yummy salad followed by E'Lane's amazing Cherry Pie (pic above) made me feel very American. After dinner we stopped by a bar on the way home to have a budweiser. It felt great! No one here cares about the 4th and I really didn't care much about it until I wasn't in the States (or Canada). I suppose I'll feel the same way on July 14 when the world here goes insane and celebrates Bastille Day.

Superior cuisine is still going very well- though with the recent heat wave in Paris has made the conditions of the kitchen next to unbearable. I walk out of there absolutely dripping as if I just played a lacrosse game. I love the way I feel when I leave, though walking downstairs to the hellish lockerroom quickly sours my mood. We've made some cool dishes- steamed pigeon wrapped in cabbage (stuffed of course), Red mullet fish with potato scales with an orange beurre blanc, and tonight we're making lamb shank slowly cooked in spices. The menus are getting better, and I feel like I'm still doing better than I did in intermediate. Here are some pictures of my latest creations (including the lamb in brick pastry that I overcooked):




I'm off to work on my atelier recipe. I'm really scared for Thursday but feel like my recipe is coming together nicely. I'll be sure to let you know how it goes!

Slainte!

I went to Ireland this past weekend to attend the wedding of Sarah Mitchell and Anthony Duddy. It was precisely what the doctor ordered. After making Pan fried sea bream, squid stuffed with langoustine risotto and cilantro (I got a tres bien from Clergue!), I journeyed on the RER to Charles de Gaulle. I met my driver at the Belfast Airport and in 2.5 hours, I was among more friendly faces than I could have ever hoped for. My parents and sister Lauren first and foremost, the Mitchells, the Sullivans, the Braens, the Bryans, the Gatewoods, the Constantines, the Kahns, the Jewetts all of them very close family friends and all of them offering up hugs (and Guinness!) I have never made an entrance like I did that night, and really realized how absolutely wonderful all those people are. I was in heaven. A club sandwich to go- and an irish coffee with my parents and the Sullivan's at the local pub, and I was out like a light.

The wedding was gorgeous, the weather was beautiful, everyone was so happy and it was a great time. I was very sad to have to leave on Sunday. After getting home at 2am (flight delays were annoying, but more time with Mom and Dad was fabulous!), I went to class yesterday. We learned about squab breast wrapped in cabbage, legs stuffed, tartlets with wild mushrooms. Chef Clergue was great in the kitchen again and I was excited to get down and dirty with some dirty birds. I was extra excited to learn about squab because our first atelier is squab, so I was anxious to know how it can be done, and most importantly, how it's to be cooked. We had Thivet for practical today and I got a parfait. We quickly and quietly worked and I think he was happy with our group. I'm off tomorrow and need to get packing because I'm moving! I found a new apartment right in the same area where I live now and it's perfect. While I'm really sad to leave the paradise on Rue Casimir Perier, I'm excited about what this new place will bring me!

Also- if anyone has any brilliant thoughts on what I might want to do with squab for my atelier...bring them on!

A Bientot!

So that's what perfect looks like!?

Before I get to perfection, I have to say that the beginning to superior has been so much easier for me than all of intermediate. Aside from the first practical, I've felt in control the whole time. I know what I have to do and I just bang it out. I'm not as unsure as I was before, and it's so refreshing! I've done a bar en croute, I've done a quail-in-pastry thing that I'd rather not get into. I've done a Lobster Chartreuse, I've done rack of lamb and haven't had a problem! I've hate Cotte, Lesourd, Strill, Terrien and have felt like I really have a handle on this cooking thing.

We walked into demo this morning and saw Terrien setting up. We've have every other Chef for demo, but not him. He's a superior Chef but there have been loads of rumors going around that he's retiring, or reasons that he hasn't done a demo. As the Chef of Chefs, he gets a lot of flack. We're all scared of him and were intimidated when we saw him in DRC setting up...

...Then he started. I have never seen anything like it. I love Clergue to death (more on him later) and thought his demos were the be all, end all. Then I watched Terrien. Faces fell, no one spoke, we were all completely in awe of this 64 year old man and how he moves in the kitchen. Butchering a rack of lamb like it was nothing, making a 'real' jus, slicing, chopping, and just general knife skills were like music. Quick, deliberate and truly amazing. THIS IS WHAT IT"S LIKE TO BE PERFECT. I speak for all of us when I saw we walked out of there inspired. I wanted to be just like him- confident, deliberate and all-knowing. I can't decide what is more impressive- his absolute skill or confidence. He KNOWS he's the best- and while he's considered old school, no one can deny his skill. He's had about 40+ years in a kitchen and here he is teaching US about how to butcher lamb.

Thunderous applause met the end of his demonstration. It's amazing how inspiring the Chefs are and how much I want to emulate them when I'm finished. I'm assistant this week with Anthony so I bypassed the shitty Carrefour sandwich to get ahead on my duties. I was so excited to see Chef Clergue walk in the kitchen to proctor our practical. I was fine until my jus wasn't the correct color. It was too light. We were making lamb filet wrapped in brick pastry with a tian garnish and a jus. Jus are my thing- I always do well on that so when it was too light I was concerned. Clergue taught me this great trick and it worked, my tian garnish was a thing of beauty, my tomatoes were confit perfectly, and I had wrapped my filet absolutely impeccably....then I over cooked it. "C'est Dommage" Chef Clergue said to me. HIM of all people I wanted to impress and I blew it. What a bummer. I was depressed all through his demo and while my love for him as a chef hasn't diminished-as I know he's doing it to make me better, it's like disappointing your parents. You almost wish they'd just be MAD instead of disappointed at you. Here's hoping I can step it up and make him proud. Nothing would make me happier than hearing "parfait" from him.

I'm off to Ireland this weekend to see many friendly faces at Sarah Mitchell's wedding. I can't wait to escape the kitchen and not have to worry about stock, jus, butchering or presentation.

I leave you with some pictures of my creations... and the term "slainte" which means cheers/live well in Irish!

A bientot!

That's why they call it Superior...

Well...vacation is over.

E'Lane, Lauren, Gillian and I had the most amazing trip to Lake Como, Italy ever. We read books, talked, solved all the world's problems over wine and cheese on our deck and just had a ball. The FOOD WAS INCREDIBLE. I ate caprese with every single meal and filled myself to capacity with pasta. I love the French, but Italians have the food in my book. I also LOVE Italian wine- we had a Brunello our last night there that would have knocked any wine buff's socks off.

Yesterday started Superior cuisine. Feeling rested and confident, I went to my first demo with Chef Clergue. I haven't pinpointed every reason that I love him, but here are a few:

He's like lightning in the kitchen, every move has a purpose and there is never a moment that he isn't doing something. It's almost as if he dances around the kitchen. He's super easy to follow, and really really engaging. He asks us questions, and asks us to ask questions. Another reason I love him is because he talks about wine pairing. He'll ask us what flavors are in each of the dishes and then will have us talk through which wine would go well with the various dishes. He isn't married to French wine and often tells us about wines from different places that would compliment the dish.

...Ok enough gushing about Clergue. He made John Dory filets with red spices (tandoori and satay) and black rice with exotic fruit.

Walking into practical was intimidating. We were in the small kitchen where I hadn't been since my basic final. I took my place and felt lost. I was amazed at how 'out of shape' I was since leaving intermediate. I managed along ok, but got yelled at by Lesourd when I started a vinaigrette with oil first. I KNOW you ALWAYS start with the acid, and as soon as I poured the oil in, I knew it was a mistake but he was watching me, so I was busted. All in all, I wasn't thrilled with my performance, but it was fine.

We had Lesourd in demo today and he made a great lamb dish that I was super excited to make. We had Terrien, the other Superior Chef for practical, and he's very old school traditional. He likes his meat cooked and his vegetables like mush. I did MUCH better today. It wasn't a complicated recipe, but we were very bust the whole time. I was completely focused and felt really good when I was done. My jus was too runny, but tasted parfait- my cuisson was tres bien, my purple potato chip was great as were my haricots verts wrapped in bacon. I'm happy.

Superior is no joke. The Chef's the whole time yell "THIS IS SUPERIOR CUISINE, NOT BASIC CHILDREN" which is intimidating. They expect a lot of us at this point, and I want nothing more that to impress them. I've got a new system where I write down goals for the week. I'm going to research food every day. I need to be inspired for my presentation, as well as my recipes for upcoming ateliers. I need to turn it on now and really kick it into high gear. I've made it this far- I've got to KNOW in my heart that I can do this!

I'll leave you with some pictures from heaven aka Lake Como and I'll write after tomorrow! I'm off to eat my delightful lamb!

A Bientot!

Bring on Superior!

Well...Intermediate is finished. Never again will I get to see a Thivet or Caals demo. I won't get to hear Thivet yell YEEHAW!!! while tasting one of his dishes. While the end of intermediate relieves me a little, the thought of superior scares me. Intermediate was much like basic- replicating recipes and learning more complicated garnishes and techniques. Superior is going to be really hard- we have to come up with our own recipes. There are guidelines to what we have to make, which ingredients we must use, and ones that we can't; but we have to design our menus. While this scares me, I think it will be the turning point in my culinary education. I'm always so concerned with following the recipes and making sure I do things exactly like the Chef that I'm too much in my own head. If I'm making my own recipes, I think I'll be far more comfortable in the kitchen...at least I hope.

Graduation was bittersweet. Sweet in that it was my first one, bitter in that it marks the 2/3 mark of my journey. It was also sad that Anthony and Gill weren't there with us. Not many people were there as we have 2 weeks off until Superior begins, most are traveling. I had helped our Chefs Caals and Lesourd the day prior to get all the food ready for graduation. It was really fun, but tedious prep work. We were there about 8 hours chopping, blanching, peeling, confit-ing. It gave me insight into what a stage might be like...peeling peas for 8 hours straight! The ceremony itself was fine- the new school director was so nervous and it was about 60000 degrees in the winter garden. We got to celebrate upstairs with all the Chefs and take lots of pictures. Chef Clergue (my favorite) gave me his hat and signed it! I'm keeping that thing forever :) Chef Caals gave Lara his hat, and Lesourd gave Noor his...we all got the hats of our favorite Chefs!



The following day, I went to Zu's superior graduation. Her family wasn't able to make it, so I was her date. It was so cool, and got me SO excited for August! I'm not going to post details because I want you all to be surprised when you see the pictures from my graduation!

The really exciting news is that Gill, E'Lane, Lauren and I are heading to LAKE COMO ITALY!!!!!!! We rented an apartment right on the lake for 5 nights and we're going to relax, unwind and get ready for the challenging summer we have ahead of us. I can't wait, I've never been and it will be so great to have a home base where we can cook, play cards, scrabble, read and just have fun.

We depart on Tuesday morning and return on Sunday before superior starts! Thank you all for sharing this experience with me and for all your words of encouragement. I vow to be better about blogging and taking photos of my plates in superior.

A Bientot!

Iceland, you've really done it this time!

Beach is stuck in Iceland. That damn volcano has decided to spu ash again, and she's stuck, ALONE in Iceland! The poor thing had to take a bus for 6 hours in Iceland, and is hoping to get to Paris tomorrow. I'm just so darn SICK of this volcano! Sure it was funny the first time Gill said her plane was canceled due to a volcano, but this just isn't funny anymore!

This week has been pretty quiet around LCB. Monday we had demo then practical and made the most delicious meal. We made pan fried steak, turned potatoes cooked in goose fat, a celery flan and madeira sauce, and I have to say...I killed it! We had Chef Thivet who has really grown on me. In demos he seems completely disorganized and not prepped, but manages to finish with plenty of time remaining and is just so happy all the time! I really like him. We had him in practical and I was nervous, I've never gotten more than a "bon travaille" or "bien' from him and because he did the demo, I wanted to knock it out of the park. It was really fun, we got to decorate the top of the flan with blanched strips of leek leaves and carrot and celery root rounds. I thought I would hate that part, but I actually really liked it. I got a 'magnifique' from Chef Thivet and he said my sauce was 'parfait'. I was thrilled!

Here's a picture of the dish after he had tasted it, so it was a little messy.



We had our student soiree on Wednesday night which was SUPER fun at this bar in the 6th. It's so great seeing everyone all dolled up and letting loose together, but I'll tell you what: there are about 25 people that I know! I didn't recognize anyone!

Well I'm off to study and pray that Beach arrives tomorrow morning, I can't imagine what she's doing in Iceland!

A bientot!

Iceland, you've really done it this time!

I love Paris in the Springtime

I'm a bad blogger. I've had about 75 blog drafts done, but haven't pulled the trigger. Many apologies, I know my sisters get upset when I don't update!

Things in Paris are unreal (still). It's hard to imagine what life would be like if I weren't here doing this right now. My friends and I have been talking about what happens when we're done here- like will calling Anthony be my first order of business everyday? Will I ever ride a bike in a line with all my friends again? Will I ache missing being in the kitchens at LCB all day? Sometimes I find myself getting very emotional about when this is all over. These people and this school I've been in have been so amazing that I can't imagine life after LCB. So let's put that out of our minds for now.

Since I was stranded in Paris and couldn't meet Mom in Spain, I somehow managed to live through the weekend and had a great time with her when she passed through Paris. We walked around, had a picnic in the Champ de Mars, had high tea at Mariage Freres, just had fun. I have since recovered from the burns, but not without a bruised ego. Chef Caals, among others have taken to calling me 'main au feu' (hand of fire) and are sure to mention that you shouldn't burn yourself at this point.

After having very low confidence, I'm feeling like I did at the end of basic, like I'm in my groove and doing well. The last 4 practicals I've killed it and am really looking forward to kicking ass the rest of intermediate. I'm so thankful that I've hit my stride again, nothing is worse than low confidence when you're in culinary school!

I leave you with a promise to be better about blogging and a before and after shot of my work today. (warning: sort of graphic picture of a skinned rabbit)

A bientot!

Ouch.

Remember when I thought I burned myself before? I outdid myself today. I had 4 classes in a row and did the following mid way through the first practical. I'm happy to report that I managed to finish and complete the second practical, but boy does my hand hurt!

Stranded in Paris

I never thought that being stranded in Paris would be something that annoyed me, however here I am stranded and I'm most certainly annoyed!

I was supposed to head to Spain VERY early this morning to spend the weekend with the Weber's- who are great friends of my parents. My mom also was meeting me in Spain- which was SO exciting. Thanks to Iceland and their stupid volcano, I'm stuck here. No Tapas, No Paella and most importantly, No Mom. :(

Gill is stuck in Ireland, Anthony and Bruna's trip to Lisbon was canceled, Lauren and her mom's trip to Milan is canceled, Lara's boyfriend can't get to Paris- we've all gotten stuck! There is a silver lining however- this weekend is E'Lane's birthday and we can all spend it with her!!! Another silver lining is that Derek and Lizzie who are honeymooning here are most likely stuck and unable to get to St. Tropez. It KIND of reminds me of a snow day in Buffalo. Where Kerry and Cate would be stuck in the city and we'd all get to play. Too bad it's bright and sunny out with no signs of Volcanic Ash!

Maybe I'll go to a pastry demo this afternoon?

A Bientot!

Forget Stella, how Peeps got her groove back!

I'm BACK!!!!!

After a not so easy beginning to intermediate- I feel like I've gotten in my groove again. Friday- my fish wasn't cooked enough, yesterday my jus was (and I'm quoting the Chef) "fucking perfect!", and today was "c'est magnifique!" according to Chef Caals.

Friday we had Tivet. He says NOTHING during practical- in fact, I think that he's playing tetris on his little palm pilot the whole time. Everything was great except my fish hadn't cooked through properly...oops. I felt like crap after leaving that practical- was I still in basic? Who doesn't cook daurade enough?



Saturday I went to meet Teeter at Cafe de Flore. Teeter (Carolyn Mucci) is a great friend of our family's and her husband Gary is my godfather. They and their 2 kids are in Paris for Spring Break. We had a great day and I went back to see the apt that they had rented in the 6th. GORGEOUS!

They invited me to brunch on Easter Sunday at Laduree, which is a famous restaurant/bakery in Paris. It was so much fun to be with them- especially since I had been so homesick last week. After brunch and in the spirit of Easter...Anthony, E'Lane, Lauren and I decided to cook a lamb. Not just a rack of lamb, or a piece of lamb, but an entire LEG of lamb. It took about 40 minutes just to trim the stinking thing, let alone butterfly it, season it, truss it and roast it! Anthony made a homemade mint jelly and we put a mint crust on it...it was DELISH. E'Lane was the pastry master and made a cake filled with strawberry and raspberry cream with frosting and pralines, Lauren made a delicious, fresh salad and it was just amazing. The perfect cure for being away from home over a holiday.

Monday I got up early and met the Mucci's at St. Germain Des Pres to take the train to CHAMPAGNE!!!!!! A very uneventful trip to Epernay and we were at Moet et Chandon, taking a tour of 750 meters of over 18 miles of their caves. It was so much fun and I learned a TON. I knew essentially nothing about the bubbly, but what I DO know is that the smaller the bubbles, the better the Champagne!



Tuesday we had back to back demo/practical and we made duck with french gnocchi (polenta) with a visiting Chef (the one who said the f word every other word) and I felt like I was really getting back into the swing of things, and not freaking out during practical.

Yesterday we had Caals for demo- where he told us that we needed to do our guinea fowl pie in 2 hours. It was a WHIRLWIND- make dough, roll it out, line mold, make au gratin potatoes, de-bone the guinea fowl- giving chef the leg meat to grind for the stuffing, searing livers and guinea fowl breasts, building the pie and getting it into the oven. It was a sprint. I've never been on autopilot like that before. We were like little robots. After the pie was in the oven, we needed to just reduce our sauce- so we were a little bored, I even helped Chef prepare for today's demo. Lara, Bruna, Anthony and I KILLED it. We were all within the 2 hour limit and well ahead of everyone else in class. He loved it- my first perfect from Caals. I am still on cloud 9!

Tomorrow we have another duck dish practical, then demo and practical until 9:30pm (we're making lobster!!!!!)

A bientot!

French Sounds

The French are known for many things, but one thing I've now discovered are their unique sounds. The Chefs during demo and practical make the silliest noises that I've only heard since being here. When you're demonstrating how to cut something, they use the word 'tac'. It's commonly used in succession while making several cuts 'tac tac tac'. When removing the wishbone of some sort of bird- you run your knife down either side of the bone and at the end you need to make a sharp movement to make sure the ends are cut- that's a 'CLACK'. Chef Lesourd is the king of the CLACK (pronounced somewhere between clock and clack) There's also the recent discovery of Chef Clergue (who is perfect) who says 'hupp' when lifting something heavy, or just generally moving around the kitchen. I'd think these words were unique to the Chef that says them except that I've heard all of the Chefs at one point or another use one or more of those French sounds. Caals today in our demo kept saying 'hupp' so either they have a conference about it in their locker room or they are very typical French words.

We had our first Caals practical yesterday afternoon. Anthony and I are assistants together which adds another level of stress onto everything. Sprinting up 3 flights of stairs several times within a 2.5 hour period isn't easy or fun when you have a sauce to strain, or a bird roasting in the oven. Our recipe was a roasted chicken cut into 8 pieces that we haven't done before, potato pancakes and an herb salad. I ended up doing well, receiving a tres bien from Caals- but I felt really stressed the whole time. I feel like I did at the beginning of basic- constantly stress, running around the entire time and leaving completely drenched in sweat. I lack the confidence that I gained at the end of basic- where I knew that I knew what I was doing, and that I could fix any mistake. I freak out, I stress and the Chef was watching me the whole time (or so it seemed to me). We had to rip the achilles tendons out of the chickens and like I thought I would, I nearly gagged all over the darn thing. When Chef watched me, I just took the tendons in a hook on the end of a ladle, twisted and YANKED- but on the inside my stomach was completely turned. I know it was dead, and I know it couldn't feel it- but I felt awful doing that to an animal! I'm fine chopping off heads and removing gills for fish (not quite there yet with popping out eyeballs, but getting there) but this was TORTURE! I'm excited to get my confidence back, I'm excited to walk into the kitchen and KNOW what I'm supposed to do at any given time, I'm just not there yet in intermediate. As Allison told me last night "they wouldn't call it intermediate if it were the same as basic", and I need to remember that. I've passed basic, I'm getting better and soon will be a Chef myself, but I just want to feel good about myself in the kitchen again.

We had 8:30 demo and Caals was in good shape today. He was on top of his game and ripped through the recipes. The entree was fantastic, so I came right home and tried to re-create it. I failed at my first attempt at homemade mayo and had to eat crow and walk to franpriz to buy hellman's, but the chicken salad was fantastic. I poached the chicken in veal stock instead of chicken stock and it tasted great, the chiffonade of my greens was beautiful and my julienne of apples were works of art, but I can't get past that my mayonnaise was a failure! Oh well, better luck next time?

I'm really wanting to make lamb this weekend in honor of Easter and want to make a mint crust to go over it...if anyone has any recipes- let me know! We learned rack of lamb with a parsley crust in basic, I bet I can use the same technique with mint, no?

A Bientot!

Red Mullet and a Clergue demo!

After such a lovely weekend with Perrin, it was hard to motivate back into school mode. We walked around the Marais, went out to a fabulous dinner one night with my friends and relaxed. It was so nice! It was like we were back in SF, but with Pierre Hermé macaroons! (Spring flavors are out...Jasmine is so far my favorite). Nevertheless, I headed off to school for 8:30 practical. We had the jerky Chef again, but I ended up ok. We had to fillet the fish in a different way than usual. We kept the tail on so we could stuff the fish- which was neat to learn, but a little tricky. I managed to do really well with that. We only plate 1 fish, and instead of wasting time and food (I knew I wasn't going to eat it the minute I smelled it) I decided to only do 1 fish. That left very little room or time for error.

In the end, I did well- all 3.5s and 4.0s which is great, but I was a mess. I'm not sure if it was because I was tired, or because I hadn't really thought THROUGH the recipe enough times, but I felt like I was losing my mind the whole time. Lara and I shared a sauce that was good, but had a bit too much lemon juice. I for once got a 'parfait' on my presentation. My onion royale (essentially an onion flan) had too much egg white in it, making it too firm, but my fish was cooked perfectly, I was very clean, and my presentation was perfect. I was happy...but I need to improve. I've got a new game plan in place that will make sure that I'm on my A game everyday.

After practical- I took off my hairnet and completely forgot that we had class pictures. We took the picture and headed up to the 1st floor demo room for our Chef Clergue demo. I'm not sure I can pinpoint what it is about him that I love. He's an unreal Chef- he moves at lightning pace, is super clean and seems to dance through the demo. He doesn't tell stupid stories, he makes mistakes, recovers from them, and just generally is a happy guy. He made the most amazing dishes- all from his adopted home of Burgundy. Intermediate is all about the regions of France and this lesson was about Burgundy. He made escargots with smoked bacon and brunoise vegetables, a free range chicken (with the feet...you know what that means, achilles removal), with potato pancakes and a a fabulous sauce, and the dessert- gingerbread millefeuille with gingerbread ice cream (all homemade of course) with a pear poached in red wine. I went back for another potato pancake and another spoonful of the ice cream.

I'm so excited to make the chicken dish tomorrow, I think I have a good handle on the recipe and the order in which I should do it in practical, and it's delish! I might just have to bring it home to make!

I'm off to read- I feel as though I haven't sat down to read anything that isn't French cuisine in months, and I am excited to start a new book and read the rest of my Vanity Fair!

A Bientot!

Guinea fowl practical, sweetbreads and oysters

Thursday I had the day off and only had practical at 6:30pm. Being my first practical in intermediate cuisine I was extra nervous. Anthony came over in the morning- we picked apart my report card and then had a glorious walk to Les Halles. We walked there to meet Bruna, her mom, Lara, and Laura for lunch. Laura unfortunately had to drop out of intermediate because of scheduling with her kids. We had lunch outside and the sun felt amazing. In standard culinary school fashion- we all went to the kitchen supply store before lunch...I held off (though I could have bought spatulas and whisks until the cows came home!)

Getting on the Metro- I needed to get in the zone. Like when I was an athlete, I always listen to the same songs before I go into practical- sometimes I think it's superstition, other times I think I just need to get pumped up! We got there SO early and I was pacing like an idiot. Waiting impatiently outside the 2GS, I saw the Chef Clergue was the proctor of a basic practical. WHAT? I so wished that I had him for my sole bercy recipe, and here these little brats are getting the most amazing Chef critiquing their SOLE? He came out periodically and rolled his eyes at some of the students. We eavesdropped listening to the feedback from Chef...lots of dishes were cold, some over salted, some not salty enough. By no means am I an expert, but I felt good thinking about those recipes. I never thought I would say this: but I really thank Chef Cotte for being so hard on me in the beginning. Had I not plated my puff pastry with poached egg and albufera sauce cold, I wouldn't know one of the most important lessons that I've learned here. I also thank Caals for telling me that I had a finger print on my plate when we did the poached chicken with riz au gras and sauce supreme. Plating things EXTREMELY hot and making sure I have a completely clean plate are some of the things that are just instinct to me now. So while I was jealous that the basic students had Clergue, I'm glad that we had who we did...as I learned from them.

We walked in to the big salle and I felt rusty. It had been over a week since I'd been in the kitchen and I hoped that I remembered what I had to do! We had a new Chef- another visitor for the practical. I didn't really like him very much. He's extremely hard to understand and when I said to him 'je ne comprend pas' he yelled "YOU GO TO A FRENCH SCHOOL!" I just said "oui Chef" but was thinking to myself that I can understand every other Chef in school, just not you! I prepped the guinea fowl (luckily it did NOT have it's feet) and got it in the oven, I began working on cannelling my vegetables and slicing them thinly. We had to make 1/2 moons with them, so we used an apple corer to take out the middles...it was actually fun, but cannelling celery is VERY difficult. All in all my dish was good- I got 3.5s and 4.0s across the board but the Chef got to me a little. I was annoyed that the school would have a stranger giving us our grades- he doesn't know me!

Friday we had 8:30 demo with Caals. He was a mess! He was completely all over the place with the recipes and I'll be shocked if Monday morning I get it right. I tried to keep my notes organized, but he was jumping around from entree to plat to dessert and not really making much sense to me (or anyone for that matter). Monday afternoon we have a Chef Clergue demo! I'm so excited...I just love that man and can't wait for his fabulous demo!

A Bientot!

My own little ceremony!

Having missed the real graduation ceremony to travel to San Francisco, I went in to the academic office to receive my diploma yesterday (and to have my absences excused). I have to admit, I was pretty sad to have received it from Céline in the office rather than hearing my name called and taking pictures with the Chefs. Nevertheless, I went to my first demo class of intermediate (guinea fowl, fish stew, and an apple tart...more on that later) and really looked at my certificate. When i first decided to take this journey, I was hoping to not flunk out and just make it through basic. Now- I'm sad that I didn't graduate from basic with distinction and I'm already plotting how I can improve for intermediate. I never in a million years thought that this is what I'd be doing right now, that I'd be living a dream of mine in Paris and meeting the friends that already have and will continue to change my life.

I have proudly displayed the diploma and our class picture with distinction and prominence in the house- where it should remain to remind me just what I have done. I hope to look at it when I have a bad day and think to myself that I overcame what I thought impossible at the beginning and was able to do well and finally feel like I've accomplished something in a school setting.

Let me rewind a bit here- or as Anthony would say start at my 21st birthday and move forward. Wednesday March 17th and the days preceding were quite stressful. I tried to remain calm and have a sense of humor through it all, but there were times when I was so scared I could barely speak. A group of us practiced at Laura's house one day and I was mute. Constantly thinking about which dishes might be on the final and going through the steps in my head. We had been tipped off that our dishes were going to be brill (a flat fish) and the roast duck, but we couldn't rest on that. I memorized every step in every recipe. When we were there- a sudden calm came over me. People were freaking out and for some reason, I felt ready. Chef Caals was our proctor and knowing that he would give us the grades on organization, our skill (turning 2 artichokes), technique and generally overseeing us in the kitchen made me nervous. He's SUCH a clean freak that I really wanted to blow him away. I thought of the organization and the technique as gimme points. We could control everything about those 2 aspects of our exam, so it was imperative to really knock those out of the park. I chose the brill dish- so I just went right to work.

Pretty soon into the dish, Lara cut her thumb, badly. I didn't think anything of it initially, but when she came back with a glove on her hand that was filling with blood- I knew it was bad. I told her that of all the Chefs at school Caals would freak about the blood, so she went down and had it properly taken care of. She was gone for 30 minutes of our final. At first I thought to myself, keep going Carolyn and get yours done. But when she still wasn't back- I knew she'd be in trouble if I didn't help. I cored her tomatoes, put on a pot of boiling water for her to peel the tomatoes, skimmed her stock, chopped her mushrooms and made her a bouquet garni. She came back and was right on par time wise with me. We both went on to chop out onions and shallots, peel, seed and chop our tomatoes and were in good shape. We talked each other through steps and it felt like it was just she and I in the kitchen. All of a sudden, it was time to plate- and we were SCRAMBLING to finish on time. Both of our sauces weren't reduced enough, and I knew my presentation wasn't going to be great.. but when push came to shove, Lara and I both were finished. While she wasn't pleased with her performance, I knew we both had passed. Caals had told us that we all had received great organization grades- so I knew we were ok. We presented our dishes to the jury of Chefs and went down. Sweaty, tired, and emotionally exhausted- we went to clean out our lockers. I just started crying. Not sure if it was because I was happy, I wished I had done better, or that I was just proud of myself- but I sat on the floor of the locker room surrounded by all my stuff and cried. After pulling myself together, Lauren and I went to have a celebratory lunch. We sat outside in the 6th and had a bottle of wine and a great lunch. I called Dad for him to make the phone tree calls that I had finished and that I knew I had passed. Lara came later to join us and we had a great day. Anthony, Gillian, Bruna, Laura met us later and we celebrated with a bottle of Champagne (or 2).

I'm happy to report that we all passed with flying colors. In fact, our own Lauren was #2 in our class!!!!

Back in Paris after a quick, but fantastic jaunt to San Francisco- and my first demo was a fish stew, guinea fowl, and apple tart. Having gotten to class early Caals had recruited me to help him along with Sara and Lara to remove the digestive tracts of LIVE crayfish. You pinch a section of the tail, twist and pull it out. It's repulsive and they are in fact still alive at this point- pinching and squirming. That was nothing compared to what we have to do to the guinea fowl. Those who know me that ligaments and tendons give me the willies due to the amount of times I've torn them. The guinea fowl come with their feet on, and in order to really lop them off, you need to remove the achilles tendons. So a knife cut on either side of the tendon, then reach an S hook around it, twist and twist and twist and YANK! It 'should' rip. While you do this however, the toes on the feet clench around you. I have to do this tonight, so Dr. Marzo- wherever you are, I'm very sorry to have to do this to the guinea fowl- I know how much it hurts!

I'm in a brand new practical group- thank goodness for Lara, she saved my spot for me!!!! I'll report back after my first practical tonight! I'll leave you with a picture I took out the window last night!

A Bientot!

Back in the saddle again...

After about a minute in San Francisco which was delightful- I'm back in Paris and ready to take on Intermediate! I have to run to school and talk to the woman in charge about excusing my absences while I was getting my visa.

I'm really sad I missed graduation, but I had a great time being home. When I landed back at SFO- I really felt like home which was so nice to feel after being away for so long! I got my apartment subletted, I got my visa, I went to MB's amazing wedding and saw all my friends!

I'm off to my first intermediate class, wish me luck!

A Bientot!

The end...

...of Basic cuisine leaves me with a very heavy heart. I was finding myself getting misty when I walked to school for our last demo as a basic student. I never thought coming to Paris would have this profound of an impact on me, but it sure has. I'll never be in the same class as many of these people again, and those who are leaving- I'm sure I won't see again. It's crazy to think that these people that have been such a huge part of my life won't be here come the beginning of intermediate.

Ask anyone in my family- one of my favorite things about holiday season is Susie Schoellkopf's annual Christmas party. Sure, I can count on one hand the people that I know- but there is ALWAYS au gratin potatoes. I could eat those things by the chafing dish- so it was very fitting that it was included in our last demo. They are incredibly delicious- but knowing how healthy they aren't makes me think I might not go back for 4ths at Susie's next gathering.

Chef Lesourd went out with a bang- the end of demo brought a flambé baked Alaska and Champagne. I had chills- we were all clapping as we do at every demo, but it just felt different knowing it was the last one...and of course with the Champagne! He made rack of lamb with parsley crust, the potatoes and the baked Alaska (of course with all freshly made sorbet). It was great. Now all we have to do is pass our test! Thursday- Laura and Anthony came over to practice beef strogonoff. Tonight, I'm cooking for my neighbors. Here's the menu:

* Marinated raw salmon (salmon escalopes marinated in shallot, lemon, lime)

* Roast duck with glazed vegetables (which is one of our exam dishes!)

* Green Salad

* Cheese course

* Profiteroles with ice cream and chocolate sauce (and if I'm really ambitious...chantilly cream)

I had planned on making a chocolate mousse- but they called and asked for profiteroles. I've never made them, but we watched Chef make them...so here's hoping they turn out!

I got up at 7:30 this morning and was at the market by 8 to make sure that I would be able to get everything. Today was the first day that I really felt French. It was really fun to see everything and walk up and down the market with my list. Dinner is going to be served around 8:30 or 9:00 and I'm going to time myself with the duck...it all has to be done under 2.5 hours. Profiteroles...I might have to start those babies now.

Off to commence the cooking- I promise to upload pictures of the final product!

Veal with Fresh Pasta, Practice, Truffle Lecture

You'll all be thrilled to know that I am over my exam grade. You won't need to hear me gloat anymore! You'll also be pleased to know that I am now the owner of a brand new, shiny 10 year passport. I picked it up yesterday, hopefully that will be the last time I'll need to go to the Embassy. I've also emailed it's secret hiding place location to my father in case of another 'incident'.

8:30 yesterday morning came very early (as usual) and there was a problem on the Metro. I get on the 12 at Solferino as I do everyday. And we stop at Montparnasse. The announcer comes on and blabbers something in French and everyone gets off the train. I start to panic, having not listened to the announcement due to my ipod, I had no clue what was going on. I looked over and spotted Gilbert and Alexx from class. We soon found out that the train was closing and we needed to get to school! We get out and start to walk to school from Montparnasse (which is far). I'm asking directions when all of a sudden a taxi SCREAMS over to us on the side of the road. Someone rolls down the window and yells "GET IN!" it was Dimitri! He had the same problem and had found a cab. Luckily we got to school on time, but many others did not. We had the chatty Cathy new annoying Chef for our breaded veal, fresh pasta and tomato sauce. I burned through practical and finished second. Partially because I didn't want to listen to him tell us how many different meats we could bread the same way. I got a tres bien (and 4's across the board- he kept his paper where we could see him marking our grades). I left school, went to the Embassy, came home and went to meet Anthony and Lauren for some celebratory wine.

This morning, Laura and Anthony came over to practice Beef Strogonoff. It was DELISH and we did very well with it. I didn't overcook my meat thank goodness! The people that live in the apartment next door were coming in and I met them. They seem very nice! I stupidly offered them the leftover Strogonoff being as they had just traveled. I went to this amazing lecture at school on truffles- given by the only Michelin starred Chef from Avignon. It was great- he did a demo and we all got to taste while this other guy talked to us about truffles. How they are harvested (dogs only these days), how long they keep etc. It was really really interesting.

I came home and was changing laundry when the bell rang. I ran over and it was the neighbor inquiring about the food. I hadn't ever thought that she might pop in and get it! I kind of just offered to be nice, not thinking she'd take me up on it! Off went my dinner, but she also asked me to cook a 'romantic' dinner for she and her husband on Sunday night. AND she offered to pay me! I of course got very awkward when money was mentioned and she just kept right on going about how she'll think about the menu etc. This could be my first 'catering' job! Very exciting!!!!! Who knows? Maybe they have some very important friends that might need a meal cooked for them!

In other news, tomorrow is my LAST BASIC PRACTICAL AND DEMO! Could you IMAGINE if I was leaving now? I'd be such a wreck. Word on the street is that we get Champagne in our last demo- which is a good thing that it's after practical! I have to make duck l'orange and Parisienne style gnocchi tomorrow morning at 8:30. I'll let you all know how it goes!

A Bientot!

I'm gloating and I'm ok with it!

Yesterday after the daurade debaucle, Lauren and I went to meet up with E'Lane who had had the dreaded stomach bug that's going around for 2 days. She didn't care where she went, as long as it wasn't her house! We went to Le Bon Marché and walked around before coming back here to finish off the rest of the Italian Wedding Soup (which I must say was fabulous). Gill came over later and it was just heavenly- 4 girls sitting around chatting...what could be better than that?

I had to go to the Embassy AGAIN this morning to check the status of my passport. The gentleman told me that I wasn't permitted to bring any beverage into the Embassy, that I needed to chug my tea in front of him before entering the building. 3,000 burned taste buds and 15 minutes later, I was out sans passport. I hustled to school- not wanting to miss out on veal escalopes with fresh pasta and tomato sauce. As if the menu wasn't enticing enough, we walked into demo and heard MR. BEAN'S voice!!!!!!! Chef Clergue did our demo today and it was UN REAL. He's a superior cuisine Chef and his demo was so great. We all were so engaged the whole time, he never idled or told stupid stories (AHEM Lesourd) and we all were SO into it. When he finished- the classroom ERUPTED into a powerful applause, complete with hoots and hollers. That certainly hadn't happened before! We tasted the delicious breaded veal, fresh pasta and tomato sauce and chocolate and orange mousse and were all in heaven.

I came up from the locker room and saw this swarm in front of where they post the planning. OUR GRADES FROM THE WRITTEN FINAL WERE UP! Suddenly my heart started beating a mile a minute and I sprinted back down to get my ID card. We needed it to identify our grades. The crowd was similar to that surrounding the Chefs plated dishes at the end of demo. I tried to wait patiently, but I couldn't. I strained my eyes and found my ID number 480971. There were 2 grades- the first one was 100 and the second one was a 92. I couldn't really see too well what it said up at the top so Anthony read it to me. The first grade was the recipe memorization grade...100!!!!!! The second grade was the rest of the test 92!!!!!!!!!!!!! Once the crowd faded- I got a closer look to make sure my eyes weren't deceiving me. I matched my ID card number to the grades at least 5 times. I DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Only 2 people had beat me in the entire class. The highest grade was merely 3 points ahead of me, and most impressive was that my grade indicated that I had only gotten 2 questions wrong.

For someone who ALWAYS struggled with schoolwork and never was able to excel on tests- this was a huge coup. I am so excited, so relieved and so happy that all my hard work had paid off. I wanted to scream from the rooftops- I GOT A 92 ON THE WRITTEN FINAL!!!!!!!! I refrained and went to eat with Bruna, Lara, Anthony, Noor, Sara and Bruna's friends from Barcelona- the whole time wanting to run outside and make 2 phone calls- 1 to my parents (they would share with the sisters) and another to Carol Pratt. If anyone in this world can understand my academic struggles- it's her. I made it home and made the first call. Mom was so excited! I've since told Dad, Bird and Boo...and I bet if a stranger on the street asked me about it, I'd tell them too! I'm so excited that I'm not ready to stop talking about it yet...maybe tomorrow, but certainly not today! My email is not working properly or Carol would have an email in her inbox too. Too bad we don't actually get the tests back- or that bad boy would be sent to 36 Rumsey Road to be posted on the refrigerator (I think my acceptance letter to St. Lawrence was just recently retired...I like to relish in any academic accomplishments)!

Off to bed- I'll be breading veal at 8:30am tomorrow!

A Bientot!

ps. I GOT A 100/92 ON MY WRITTEN TEST AT ONE OF THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS CULINARY SCHOOLS IN THE WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Written Exam, Chicken with Tarragon, Fish Terrine and Daurade

Apologies for the delay (again) I promise I'm going to get better at this blogging thing. Last week was really exhausting- I didn't realize how much so until it was over and I still can't seem to catch up on sleep.

First- was the written test. I had practical that Thursday at 12:30 before the test at 3:30- we were making chicken with tarragon, Italian style veggies and a sauce. I felt like I had a good handle on the recipe, but again- I had spent so much time studying that I was unsure about pretty much everything. We had Chef Terrien and this new Chef who is visiting. He's perfectly nice, but he's an odd duck. He wants to help out, but seems to annoy more than help. He kept telling me how perfect my chicken was, how amazing my sauce was etc. I mean it was good, but Terrien mentioned that the sauce could have used more tarragon. I was so mad, and flustered before my test I had to go sit by myself and not talk to anyone. Then out of nowhere I just burst into tears! I think I had worked myself up so much that I just lost it. I had to have Anthony do the bain-marie dance so I could get my shit together before the test.

Everyone at school had said that the test was no big deal- but the pastry people said their test was really hard, so I really studied (as you all know). I sat in the front row and all my test anxiety came back at once. It took me 20 minutes flat. That's with having checked every answer and every question. I felt very prepared for it and was very happy. I left and thought I was going to collapse. What a relief! Friday we learned about hot fish terrine- which is repulsive. Spinach wrapped pike perch paste with a salmon stick in the middle- also wrapped in spinach baked in a water bath so it's gelatinous. We made it right after and It was disgusting. We also made a beurre blanc sauce which is made from 250g of butter (!!!!!) that's 2 American sticks in a sauce that goes on a plate with hot fish terrine....GROSS. I had Caals and he loved it- I of course didn't touch a bit of it.

I had a fun weekend- went to the Louvre...saw Mona, she says hello to all my blog followers and had some fun times with friends. Saturday night, Anthony, Lauren and I made homemade gnocchi with tomato sauce, prosciutto, spinach and baked it...AMAZING. Yesterday I made Ina's Italian Wedding Soup- I love that stuff. Today we learned about filleting a round fish (one with 2 fillets instead of 4 like Sole). We were making daurade with stewed fennel, and yet ANOTHER butter sauce with Pastis in it (anise flavored liquor). Chef Lesourd said mine was tres bien and I headed down to try and deal with the US Embassy because....

...I'm staying for intermediate!!!!!!!!!! I didn't want to share until I knew for sure, but I'm staying and I can't wait to continue here. I have to go back to SF and get a visa (ugh) go to MB's wedding (YAY!) and deal with getting spring clothes, subletting my apartment again (by the grace of God, I'm allowed to) and just generally dealing with 'stuff'. It's a major pain in the rear, but I'm so excited about it that I can't let it bother me. It's amazing how well things have worked out for me- I feel so lucky to have had such seamless transitions into life in Paris and also Le Cordon Bleu. I can't imagine what's to come and I just get excited every single day to go to class. The friends I've made here have been so incredible too- as you know they are from all over, but it's so nice to be around people who are so passionate about the same things that I am. It's refreshing to just 'get' it. To order food at a restaurant and have everyone pick it apart and appreciate it like I do. I've never felt like I've belonged somewhere like I do here- I think that's why everything has been so great for me...it was what I was meant to do, so things just fell into place!

I've appreciated all of the comments, questions, words of encouragement that you all have given me over the past 3 months. I've loved every single second here (yes, even those I didn't have blanky...just not as much) and I can't wait to continue my adventures. I hope you all continue this journey along with me until June 4th!

A Bientot!